Scottsdale

History

The area which would include what would become Scottsdale was originally inhabited by the Hohokam, from approximately 300 BC to 1450 AD. This ancient civilization farmed the area and developed a complex network of canals for irrigation which was unsurpassed in pre-Columbian North America. At its peak, the canals stretched over 250 miles, many of which built remains extant today, some having been renovated and put back into use in the 20th Century. Under still-mysterious circumstances, the Hohokam disappeared around 1450 or 1500, the most likely theory having to do with a prolonged drought. The later occupants of the area, the Pima and O’odham (also known as the Papago), are thought to be the direct descendants of the Hohokam people.

Before European settlement, Scottsdale was a Pima village known as Va?ai S-va?on?, meaning “rotting hay.” Some Pima remained in their original homes well into the 20th century. For example, until the late 1960s, there was a still-occupied traditional dwelling on the southeast corner of Indian Bend Road and Hayden Road. Currently, those Pima who live within Scottsdale reside in newer homes rather than traditional dwellings. Many Pima and Maricopa people continue to reside on the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, which borders Scottsdale directly to the south and east.

In the early to mid 1880’s, U.S. Army Chaplain, Winfield Scott, visited the Salt River Valley and was impressed with the region, and its potential for agriculture. Returning in 1888 with his wife, Helen, he purchased 640 acres for the paltry sum of $3.50 an acre for a stretch of land where the Downtown Scottsdale is now located. Winfield and his brother, George Washington Scott, became the first residents of the town, which was then known as Orangedale, due to the large citrus groves planted by the Scott brothers, who were known as adept farmers, capable of cultivating citrus fruits, figs, potatoes, peanuts and almonds in the desert town. Many of the community’s original settlers, recruited by Scott from the East and Midwest, were educated and had an appreciation for cultural activities. The town’s name was changed to Scottsdale in 1894, after its founder.

In 1896, these settlers established the Scottsdale Public School system, and opened the first schoolhouse, which was followed by the opening of the first general store by J.L. Davis, which also housed the first post office for Scottsdale in 1897. In the early 1900s the community supported a thriving artists and writers culture, culminating in the opening of the region’s first resort in 1909, the Ingleside Inn, located just south of the Arizona Canal and west of the Crosscut Canal (Indian School Road at about 64th Street) in what is today Scottsdale. Also in 1909, Cavalliere’s Blacksmith Shop opened in downtown Scottsdale, and the original schoolhouse was replaced by the much more expansive Little Red Schoolhouse, which remains standing to this day. While not in its original building, Cavalliere’s has been in continuance operation since that time.

In 1912, both the Phoenix Street Railway Company and a competitor, the Salt River Valley Electric Railway Company, proposed building streetcar lines to Scottsdale but due to an economic downturn, neither was built.

Between 1908 and 1933, due to the construction of the Granite Reef and Roosevelt dams (in 1908 and 1911, respectively, Scottsdale’s population experienced a boom, growing steadily during those years, and Scottsdale became a small market town providing services for families involved in the agricultural industry.

During the First World War Scottsdale and its environs supported a large cotton farming industry, which was due to the creation of Long Staple Egyptian Cotton, developed by the US Department of Agriculture. Although cotton is still grown in southern Arizona, Scottsdale’s cotton boom ended with the loss of government contracts at the end of the war.