THE HISTORY OF TUCSON
3,000 YEARS AGO
People live in prehistoric pithouses along the Santa Cruz River valley
AD 450–1450
A relatively complex agricultural society known as the Hohokam inhabits the area ranging from Northern Mexico to Central Arizona
1536–1540
Spanish explorers Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca, Fray Marcos de Niza, and Francisco Vásquez de Coronado visit what is now Arizona
1687
Jesuit missionary Father Eusebio Francisco Kino makes his initial visit to the area and finds Tohono O’odham and Akimel O’odham Indians living in the agrarian settlement they call Stjukson
1700
The foundation of Mission San Xavier del Bac is begun by Tohono O’odham laborers, under the direction of Father Kino
AUGUST 20, 1775
Tucson is officially founded as a walled presidio (on the site of present-day downtown), by Irishman Hugo O’Conor, working for the Spanish crown 1821 Mexico wins a long fight for independence from Spain, and Tucson becomes a remote Mexican village
1849–1850
Tucson begins to see Anglo faces in large numbers for the first time, drawn westward by gold
discoveries in California 1853 Tucson becomes a part of the United States with the Gadsden Purchase
1862
Tucson is occupied by 200 Confederate troops in February; Confederate troops lose a skirmish to Union soldiers at Picacho Pass in April; Union troops occupy Tucson in May
1863
President Lincoln signs a bill creating Arizona, which was previously a part of New Mexico Territory
1866
Military post of Camp Lowell is established in the area of present-day downtown Tucson (Broadway Boulevard was once named Camp Street)
1870
Tucson’s census records indicate 3,224 residents 1873 Fort Lowell, a US Army post with the purpose of protecting locals during the Apache conflict, is built seven miles away from the "unhealthy" distractions of Tucson (at the site of present-day Fort Lowell Park)
1880s
The railroad comes to Tucson, bringing new building materials and improving the area’s economy 1881 Tucson, Yuma, and Tombstone are connected with all points east and west by telegraph lines
1885
The Territorial legislature decides that The University of Arizona will be built in Tucson
1886
Geronimo and renegade Apaches surrender
1891
U of A begins first classes
1906
The last mule-drawn street car is retired, as electric cars begin operation over a three-mile loop between the downtown area and the U of A
VALENTINE’S DAY
1912 Arizona becomes the 48th state
1912
Tucson begins paving Congress Street and Main Avenue
1915
Students construct "A" on Sentinel Peak to celebrate the U of A’s second football victory over Pomona College
1925
Tucson acquires 1,280 acres from the state for a military airfield (Davis-Monthan)
1929
Valley Bank Building, Tucson’s first skyscraper, is dedicated
1931
Gasoline-powered buses replace electric trolleys
1940–1950
World War II brings great change to Tucson, temporarily tripling the city’s population as
thousands of troops are deployed to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base and the bases at Ryan Field, Marana, and Fort Huachuca
1951
The state legislature repeals the school segregation law, and Tucson District Number 1 becomes the first in the state to desegregate
1952
Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum opens
1963
Arizona wins US Supreme Court decision in a long contest over its share of Colorado River water,
reviving hopes for the Central Arizona Project
1975
Pima County population reaches 448,872
1987
"Save the Temple" group succeeds in saving the historic Temple of Music & Art from demolition;
restoration begins
1990s
Mission San Xavier del Bac undergoes extensive cleaning and restoration by local artisans and
European experts who also worked on the Sistine Chapel
1992
Central Arizona Project water arrives in Southern Arizona
2005
Downtown’s Fox Tucson Theatre reopens on New Year’s Eve after a 26-year hiatus.
2006
Tucson High, Tucson’s first high school, celebrates its 100th birthday
2006
Pima County population reaches 1 million
For a good introduction to Tucson history visit the Arizona Historical Society Museum (520-628-5774), Arizona State Museum (520-621-6302), Ft. Lowell Museum (520-885-3832), Sosa-Carillo-Frémont House (520-622-0956), Pima Air & Space Museum (520-574-0462), and Titan Missile Museum (520-625-7736).
Thanks to the Arizona Historical Society for providing much of this information.