The
Hohokam people lived in this area and built
canals to support their agriculture. They abandoned their settlements during the 15th century, with a few individuals and families remaining nearby.
Fort McDowell was established approximately northeast of present downtown Tempe on the upper
Salt River in 1865 allowing for new towns to be built farther down the Salt River. US military service members and Hispanic workers were hired to grow food and animal feed to supply the fort, and less than a year later, had set up small camps near the river that were the first permanent communities in the Valley after the fall of the Hohokam. (Phoenix was settled shortly afterward, by 1867–68.) The two settlements were 'Hayden's Ferry', named after a ferry service operated by
Charles T. Hayden, and '
San Pablo', and were located west and east of
Hayden Butte respectively. The ferry became the key river crossing in the area. The Tempe Irrigating Canal Company was soon established by William Kirkland and James McKinney to provide water for alfalfa, wheat, barley, oats, and cotton. Pioneer
Darrell Duppa is credited with suggesting Tempe's name, adopted in 1879, after comparing the
Salt River valley near a -tall
butte, to the
Vale of Tempe near
Mount Olympus in
Greece. From its founding in 1871 until 90 years later, Tempe was a
sundown town where African Americans were permitted to work but forced to live elsewhere. In 1965, Warren and Carol Livingston were the first African Americans to buy property in Tempe. In 1885, the
13th Arizona Territorial Legislature chose Tempe for the site of the Territorial Normal School, which became Arizona Normal School, Arizona State Teachers College, Arizona State College and finally
Arizona State University. The
Maricopa and Phoenix Railroad, built in 1887, crossed the Salt River at Tempe, linking the town to the nation's growing transportation system. The Tempe Land and Improvement Company was formed to sell lots in the booming town. Tempe became an economic hub for the surrounding agricultural area. The
Maricopa County Board of Supervisors incorporated the town of Tempe in 1894. The completion of
Roosevelt Dam in 1911 guaranteed enough water to meet the growing needs of Valley farmers. On his way to dedicate the dam, former President
Theodore Roosevelt applauded the accomplishments of the people of central Arizona and predicted that their towns would be prosperous cities in the future. Less than a year later, Arizona was admitted as the 48th state, and the Salt River Valley continued to develop. On August 30, 1971, Tempe was hit by a rare F2
tornado that injured 41 people, the most injuries recorded from a tornado in Arizona, and caused damage in upwards of $3 million. One indirect fatality occurred when a man died from a
heart attack during the storm. In the 20th and 21st centuries, Tempe has expanded as a suburb of Phoenix, and as a center of education and commerce. ==Geography==