The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Mesa, Arizona, United States.
Prior to 20th century edit
- 1878 – Mormon settlers arrive.[1]
- 1883
- Mesa City incorporated. The townsite's bounded by Broadway Road on the south, Mesa Drive on the east, University Drive on the north, & Country Club Drive on the west.
- Alexander Findlay Macdonald becomes mayor.
- 1892 – Mesa Free Press newspaper begins publication.[2]
- 1896 – Sirrine House built.[3]
20th century edit
1900s–1960s edit
- 1902 – Evans School for Boys opens; later renamed Mesa Ranch School
- 1908 – Granite Reef Diversion Dam is completed; the Salt River Valley Water Users' Association permanently provides water for irrigation canals in Mesa from this point, replacing the earlier Mormon-lead efforts
- 1909 – The original "Old Main" campus of Mesa High School opens
- Mesa installs potable waterworks system
- 1911 – Roosevelt Dam is completed, regulating the flow of the Salt River for the first time, and providing cheap electrical power to parts of Mesa
- Mesa takes over irrigation system operation within incorporated city limits
- 1915 – Mesa installs sanitary sewer system and septic tank tract at Riverview
- 1917 – Mesa purchases existing gas and electric utilities from Dr. A.J. Chandler
- 1921 – Mesa Welfare League founded.
- 1923 – Mesa Tribune newspaper begins publication.[2]
- 1927 – Mesa Arizona Temple dedicated (first time).[1]
- 1928 – first production of the Mesa Arizona Easter Pageant
- 1931 – Town area expanded.[1]
- 1937 – City Hall built.
- 1941
- U.S. Williams Air Force Base established.
- British Flying Training School at Falcon Field active near Mesa[4][5]
- 1948
- 1949 – Modern wastewater treatment plant built at Riverview
- 1950
- KTYL-FM radio begins broadcasting.
- Population: 16,790.
- 1953 – General Motors Desert Proving Grounds opens
- 1962 – Westwood High School opens
- 1965 – Mesa Community College, and Adelante con Mesa[7] established.
- 1967
- Regional Maricopa Association of Governments established.
- Original "Old Main" building of Mesa High School burns to the ground
- 1968
- Tri City Mall in business.
- KMND radio begins broadcasting.
- City of Mesa takes over operations of Falcon Field[5]
1970s–1990s edit
- 1970
- 1971 – Prehab of Mesa (youth-related nonprofit) established.[9]
- 1972 – Mesa High School reopens at a new location (farther east and south)
- 1972 – Mesa Central High School opens at site of original Mesa High campus
- 1973 – Dobson Ranch planned community began selling homes in the first phase of its 26-year development
- 1975
- After extensive renovations, the Mesa Arizona Temple is rededicated
- The Park of the Canals is added to the National Register of Historic Places; work then commences for developing park facilities and later the botanical garden
- 1976 – Mountain View High School opens
- 1977
- Mesa Southwest Museum (later renamed the Arizona Museum of Natural History) founded
- the original Hohokam Park opens
- 1978 – Western Design Center is founded by Bill Mensch
- Mesa celebrates 100-year Centennial
- 1979
- Fiesta Mall in business.
- Mesa Amphitheatre built.
- Mesa Weekly News begins publication.[2]
- 1980
- Population: 152,453.[10]
- Arizona Museum for Youth opens
- Used Cars, filmed primarily in Mesa, opens in theaters
- 1981
- Dobson High School opens
- Mesa Sister Cities Association[11] and Mesa United Way[12] active.
- Sister city relationship established with Guaymas, Mexico.[11]
- Champlin Fighter Museum opens
- 1983
- Sister city relationship established with Upper Hutt, New Zealand.[11]
- Mesa Golfland opens, expanding to become Golfland Sunsplash by 1986
- 1984 – Al Brooks becomes mayor.
- 1987
- Mesa Historical Museum opens
- Living Word Bible Church active.[13]
- 1988
- Peggy Rubach becomes mayor.
- Red Mountain High School opens
- 1989 – Sister city relationship established with Caraz, Peru.[11]
- 1990
- Population: 288,091.[14]
- Superstition Springs Center opens
- first section of Arizona State Route 202 opens; downtown Lehi was removed to make way for it
- 1991
- East Valley Institute of Technology Main campus opens
- Mesa Community Action Network active.[7][15]
- 1992
- Willie Wong becomes mayor.
- Mesa Solar Sox is founded
- 1993
- Sister city relationship established with Kaiping, China.[11]
- Williams Air Force Base closes, begins transition to Williams Gateway Airport
- 1994
- Williams Gateway Airport opens
- Paz De Cristo Community Center opens[16]
- 1995
- A.T. Still University's Arizona School of Health Sciences opens
- Heritage Academy (Arizona) opens
- the current Organ Stop Pizza location in Mesa is opened
- 1996
- City website online.[17][18]
- Wayne Brown becomes mayor.
- Arizona State University at the Polytechnic campus opens on the former Williams Air Force Base
- Sun Valley High School opens
- 1997
- Harkins Superstition Springs cinema in business.[19]
- Noah Webster School opens.[20]
- the new HoHoKam Stadium opens
- 1998 – Tri City Mall closes, all existing buildings demolished except for former site of JCPenney store, which remains standing until 2006
- 1999
- Skyline High School opens
- AMC Mesa Grand 24 cinema in business.[19]
- Saint Ignatius of Antioch Church active (approximate date).[13]
- Sister city relationship established with Burnaby, Canada.[11]
- 2000
- Keno Hawker becomes mayor.
- Population: 396,375.[21]
21st century edit
- 2002 – Desert Ridge High School opens; it is physically located in Mesa, but is part of Gilbert Public Schools instead of Mesa Public Schools.
- 2003
- Arizona School of Dentistry and Oral Health opens at A.T. Still University's Mesa campus
- Champlin Fighter Museum closed
- 2005
- Mesa Arts Center built.
- Mesa Miners is founded
- Mesa adopts city flag
- 2006 – Mesa Preparatory Academy opens
- 2007
- Mesa Riverview opens
- Gateway 12/IMAX Theatre (cinema) in business.[19]
- A.T. Still University School of Osteopathic Medicine in Arizona opens at A.T. Still University's Mesa campus
- 2008
- October: Immigration raid by Maricopa County Sheriff.[22]
- Sycamore Drive and Main Street Valley Metro Rail station opens, in front of the former Tri City Mall location; it is the first Metro Light Rail station in Mesa, and is the eastern terminator until future expansions are completed
- Scott Smith becomes mayor.[23]
- 2009
- closure of the General Motors Desert Proving Grounds is completed
- East Valley Mormon Choral Organization established, as part of the Millennial Choirs and Orchestras
- 2010
- 2011
- East Valley Institute of Technology East campus opened, adjacent to ASU Polytechnic
- Humanist Society of Greater Phoenix active.[13][28]
- 2012
- February 22: Republican Party presidential primaries debate held.[29]
- December 10: Alexander murder trial begins.
- 2013
- Mesa Grande Cultural Park opens.[30]
- Matt Salmon becomes U.S. representative for Arizona's 5th congressional district and Kyrsten Sinema becomes U.S. representative for Arizona's 9th congressional district.[31]
- the inaugural Visit Mesa Gateway Classic annual golf tournament is held
- 2014
- Cubs Park opens
- 2021 - after renovations and redevelopment of the surrounding area,[32] the Mesa Arizona Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is rededicated on December, 12th 2021.
See also edit
- History of Mesa, Arizona
- List of mayors of Mesa, Arizona
- Timeline of Arizona
- Timelines of other cities in Arizona: Phoenix, Tucson
References edit
- ^ a b c Federal Writers’ Project (1966). Arizona, the Grand Canyon State. American Guide Series (4th ed.). New York: Hastings House. p. 351. OL 5989725M.
- ^ a b c "US Newspaper Directory". Chronicling America. Washington DC: Library of Congress. Retrieved February 18, 2014.
- ^ Lonely Planet 1995.
- ^ Mesa Public Library, Brief History of Mesa, Arizona, City of Mesa, archived from the original on March 7, 2012
- ^ a b c "Falcon Field History", MesaAz.gov, City of Mesa, retrieved 2012-05-05
- ^ "Mesa Country Club". Retrieved February 18, 2014.
- ^ a b "MesaCAN: Timeline". Mesa, AZ: A New Leaf. Retrieved February 18, 2014.
- ^ D.L. Turner (2006). "Forgotten City of the Saints: Mormons, Native Americans, and the Founding of Lehi". Journal of Arizona History. 47 (1): 57–82. JSTOR 41696951.
- ^ "About Us". Mesa, AZ: A New Leaf. Retrieved February 18, 2014.
- ^ United States Census Bureau (1984), County and City Data Book, 1983, Statistical Abstract, Washington DC, OL 14997563M
{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ a b c d e f "About". Mesa Sister Cities Association. Retrieved February 18, 2014.
- ^ "History". Mesa AZ: Mesa United Way. Retrieved February 18, 2014.
- ^ a b c Pluralism Project. "Mesa, Arizona". Directory of Religious Centers. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University. Retrieved February 18, 2014.
- ^ Population of the 100 Largest Cities and Other Urban Places in the United States: 1790 to 1990, US Census Bureau, 1998
- ^ Mike Tigas and Sisi Wei, ed. (9 May 2013). "Mesa, Arizona". Nonprofit Explorer. New York: ProPublica. Retrieved February 18, 2014.
- ^ "History of Paz de Cristo". Mesa, AZ: Paz de Cristo. Retrieved February 18, 2014.
- ^ Annual Report, City of Mesa, 1996
- ^ "Mesa Arizona Homepage". Archived from the original on 1997-01-01 – via Internet Archive, Wayback Machine.
- ^ a b c "Movie Theaters in Mesa, AZ". CinemaTreasures.org. Los Angeles: Cinema Treasures LLC. Retrieved February 18, 2014.
- ^ "Mesa". Public School Search. Phoenix, AZ: Arizona Department of Education. Retrieved February 18, 2014.
- ^ "Mesa (city)". Arizona QuickFacts. U.S. Census Bureau. Archived from the original on March 9, 2005.
- ^ "Arizona Sheriff Conducts Immigration Raid at City Hall, Angering Officials". New York Times. October 18, 2008.
- ^ "US mayors". City Mayors.com. London: City Mayors Foundation. Retrieved February 18, 2014.
- ^ "History". Mesa, AZ: United Food Bank. Retrieved February 18, 2014.
- ^ "Arizona Food Banks". Food Bank Locator. Chicago: Feeding America. Retrieved February 18, 2014.
- ^ "Mesa (city), Arizona". State & County QuickFacts. U.S. Census Bureau. Archived from the original on March 9, 2005. Retrieved February 18, 2014.
- ^ "Largest Urbanized Areas With Selected Cities and Metro Areas (2010)". US Census Bureau. 2012.
- ^ "Humanist Society of Greater Phoenix". Archived from the original on November 2, 2011. Retrieved February 18, 2014.
- ^ "About Last Night". New York Times. February 23, 2012.
- ^ "Mesa Indian ruins open after decades of effort". USA Today. January 18, 2013.
- ^ Civic Impulse, LLC. "Members of Congress". GovTrack. Washington, D.C. Retrieved February 18, 2014.
- ^ "Mesa Arizona Temple Rededication".
Bibliography edit
- Ory Mazar Nergal, ed. (1980), "Mesa, AZ", Encyclopedia of American Cities, New York: E.P. Dutton, OL 4120668M
- Otis, Reta Reed (1996). Mesa, desert to oasis. Mesa, Ariz.: Mesa Historical Society.
- Rachowiecki, Rob (1995), "Phoenix: Mesa", Southwest, Lonely Planet, OL 24220208M
External links edit
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mesa, Arizona.
- "Mesa (Ariz.)". Collection Directory. Arizona Memory Project.
- Arizona Archives Online. Materials related to Mesa, various dates
- Digital Public Library of America. Items related to Mesa, Arizona, various dates
- Library of Congress, Prints & Photos Division. Materials related to Mesa, Arizona, various dates
- Heritage Wall, Arizona Museum of Natural History