With its mixed cultural heritage and international population, Tucson
provides a fitting backdrop for a university. Spanish, Mexican, and Native
American influences mark a city which celebrates its differences and
preserves its traditions. Tucson's traditions span centuries of habitation
from prehistoric Indian cultures to recent immigrants from Malaysia.
True to its Old West beginnings, Tucson's history is peopled with
visionaries, opportunists and free-thinkers of every stripe. Over the
years, the city has flown the flags of three different countries and both
sides in the Civil War. Tucson's first inhabitants roamed the area hunting
mammoth and bison between 12,500 and 6,000 B.C. Following them were the
Cochise culture, who built pit houses and used stone tools, and the
Hohokam, who began farming the valley floor in 300 A.D.
In 1692, Spanish missionaries, looking for souls to convert and subjects
for the king, arrived in the valley to find the Indian village S-tukson
("black base").
In 1775, the Spanish built an outpost, the Presidio of San Augustin.
By 1804, some 1,000 people lived in the dusty adobe village - mostly
Spanish, Mexicans, and Native Americans who made their living raising
crops and livestock. They had little contact with the outside world. After
the Mexican Revolution of 1821, Tucson became part of Mexico. As trade
opened between the East Coast and California, a new brand of Americans -
trappers and traders - began traveling through Arizona.
The discovery of gold in California in 1848 brought even more outsiders to
the region - an influx of Easterners seeking their future in the mines.
Some saw opportunity in the rough frontier town of Tucson and stayed to
begin families.
Looking for a southern rail route, the U.S. negotiated the Gadsden
Purchase with Mexico in 1854 and Arizona became a U.S. territory. The
appeal of the area was not apparent to everyone. Several congressmen
suggested the nation pay Mexico double the sale price to take Arizona
back.
As a tide of newcomers to the Tucson region swelled, the area's native
inhabitants defended their territory. Battles between the settlers and the
Apaches paralyzed Tucson for several decades,
distracting it
from the War
Between the States taking place back East. The 1860s were the days of the
Wild West in Tucson, with arguments frequently ending in gunfire.
In 1867, Tucson became the territorial capital for the 10-year period,
which accelerated civic progress. In 1880, great excitement greeted the
first train. Jubilant townspeople sent out announcements that Tucson was
now connected to the rest of the world.
The city continued to grow rapidly, reaching 7,000. Around the turn of the
century, Tucson began marketing itself as a sunshine city, attracting
thousands of tuberculosis victims seeking a cure in its dry climate. In
1912, Arizona became the 48th state to enter the union.
During the Second World War, Davis-Monthan Field became an important
training base. Many airmen returned to Tucson to settle or retire. Fueled
by post-war industries and tourism, the population grew rapidly - at one
point welcoming 1,000 newcomers each month. By 2000, the population had
reached 800,000.
All contents copyright © 2007. Arizona Board of Regents.
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