Arizona State Capital: Phoenix

Phoenix is the capital city of Arizona. Phoenix became Arizona’s capital on February 4, 1889. Jack Swilling, a civil war veteran, was at the front line in founding Phoenix as a city. This was because the terrain and climate in the area favored farming activities. It is located on the banks of the Salt River in the south-central part of Arizona, near its confluence with the Gila River. Another interesting fact is that Phoenix is the fifth-largest city in the United States of America, covering 517.9 square miles and with a population of more than 1.6 million people. Lord Darrell Duppa came up with the name Phoenix after a failed attempt to name it Pumpkinville.

Why Phoenix is Unique and Popular

Besides the fact that Phoenix is rich in heritage, culture, and history, there are many factors that make it stand out. Some of them include:

It is the fifth-largest city by size and eleventh by population in the U.S.A. The dam construction helped regulate floods from the Salt River, which resulted in more people settling in Phoenix. 

Phoenix’s economy majorly relies on insurance, plant manufacturing, real estate, and the retail industry.

Phoenix is a tourist attraction center. It is home to a couple of museums, like the Phoenix Art Museum, Heritage Square, and The Hall of Flame Fire Museum. Some other tourist attractions also include Camelback Mountain, the Pueblo Grande Ruins, and the OdySea Aquarium. 

Previous Capitals of Arizona

Phoenix was not Arizona’s first capital because there was a lot of controversy over which city should be the capital. As a result, the capital of Arizona changed four times before Phoenix was declared the official capital. 

During the civil war in 1892, the Confederacy ruled the Confederate Arizona Territory, and as a result, a new border was created by the Union. Both parties declared different cities as their capital. The Confederacy settled on Tucson while the Union chose Fort Whipple in Chino Valley, now Prescott. 

Later on, after the civil war, Tucson became the capital. It was selected as the capital because it was more developed compared to other cities. In 1879, Prescott would once again become Arizona’s capital. At this point, Arizona’s capital had shifted equally several times in the Northern and Southern parts of Arizona. Phoenix would later be declared as Arizona’s territorial legislature because of its central location.