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Scottsdale's History
     

• In 800-1400 A.D., the Hohokams farmed the land we now call Scottsdale and built over 200 miles of canals to support their agrarian lifestyle.

• Army Chaplain Winfield Scott, the founding father of Scottsdale, arrived in town in 1888 and purchased land that he farmed with his brother, growing citrus, sweet potatoes and peanuts.

• The first one-room schoolhouse opened 1896, creating School District #48. That school was just east of the current “Little Red Schoolhouse,” which was built in 1909, and is now home to the Scottsdale Historical Society.

• J.L. Davis opened a general store and post office at the corner of Brown Avenue and Main Street in 1897, bringing retail to Scottsdale.

• Ingleside Inn (Indian School and 60th Street), one of the area’s first winter resorts, was completed in 1909. Other early resorts --some started as health camps-- were the Jokake Inn at the foot of Camelback Mountain (still standing at the entrance of The Phoenician), the Casa Blanca Inn (Chaparral and 68th Street), Graves Guest Ranch (NW corner of Scottsdale and Indian School Roads), Paradise Inn (Camelback Road west of Scottsdale Road), and Royal Palms Inn (Camelback Road).

• Cavalliere’s Blacksmith Shop at Second Street and Brown Avenue opened in 1910; it was the site for boxing and wrestling matches, too.

• A cotton gin opened at Second Street and Brown Avenue in 1920 to process Scottsdale-grown Pima cotton, which was in great demand during World War I.

• In 1937, Architect Frank Lloyd Wright set up his “winter camp” at the foot of the McDowell Mountains, creating what is now known as Taliesin West.

• Scottsdale’s Thunderbird 11 Primary Training Facility began training pilots for World War II in 1942. By 1945, over 5,000 had trained at what is now Scottsdale Airport (which opened in 1967).

• Scottsdale was incorporated on June 25, 1951, with the Charter being adopted on November 16, 1961. Malcolm White was elected mayor. He is credited with giving the city its slogan, “The West’s Most Western Town.” At this time, the city was a 2,000-person farming cluster.

• Baseball spring training came to Scottsdale in 1955 when the Baltimore Orioles played ball at Scottsdale’s new stadium.

• In 1967, Eldorado became Scottsdale’s first city park; McCormick Ranch was annexed.

• Scottsdale Community College opened in 1970.

• Scottsdale annexed an additional 36 square miles to the north in 1984, increasing in size by 25 percent.

• The Phoenix Open moved to Scottsdale’s Tournament Players Club in 1987 and became the most-attended golf tournament in the world.

• Scottsdale citizens, in 1989, passed the largest bond election ($287.2 million) in the city’s history by a 3 to 1 margin to build a new stadium, expand the historic Civic Center Library and make numerous road and park improvements.

• The City of Scottsdale was awarded the Most Livable City Award by the U.S. Conference of Mayors in 1993

Slogan: "The West's Most Western Town"

Population: 215,030 (July 2002)

Size: 184.5 square miles, stretching 31 miles from north to south

Elevation: Average is 1,248 feet above sea level (Scottsdale Airport field elevation is 1,508 feet MSL)

Longitude & latitude: 111.93 degrees W, 33.50 degrees N  

Density: 1,109 people per square mile; 2.22 persons per household (July 2000)

Median age: 42.1 years (July 2000)

Median household income: $61,700 (July 2000 estimate)

Size rank: Fourth in total area and fifth in population within Arizona (January 2000)

Education level: 42 percent of population are college graduates, 28 percent have some college, and 20 percent are high school graduates

Seasonal residents: 34 percent from the western states; 21 percent from the southern states; 18 percent from the northeastern states; 17 percent from the north central states; and 10 percent from overseas

Number of visitors annually: 7.2 million visited Scottsdale during 1999

Housing: There are 90,669 occupied living units in Scottsdale (Census 2000)); 69.6 percent owned and 30.4 percent rented

Average cost of housing: Home prices range from $60,000 to $6+ million with $228,000 as the median price (1998).

Unemployment rate: 2.0 percent (June 2000)

Budget: Scottsdale's fiscal year (July 1 - June 30) 2000/2001 operating budget was approved at $335.7 million.

Financial rating: Scottsdale's general obligation bond rating was upgraded to AAA, the highest possible rating, by Fitch IBCA in 1999. Only 12 other cities nationally enjoy the same rating from Fitch. Moody’s Investor Service maintained Scottsdale’s rating at Aa1 and Standard & Poor’s maintained our AA+ rating.

Property tax rate: Among the lowest city property tax rates in Maricopa County, at $1.38 per $100 assessed valuation for Fiscal Year 2000.

County: Maricopa County, population 3,072,149 (Census 2000)

State: Arizona, population 5,130,632 (Census 2000)

Official food: Chili, by 1994 mayoral proclamation