History of Mesa Arizona begins with ancestral Hohokam communities, Salt River Valley canals, Mormon settlers, and desert agriculture. Located in Maricopa County east of Phoenix, Mesa developed on lands shaped by ancient irrigation networks. Farming, water projects, railroads, military aviation, and population growth later transformed the community.
Hohokam communities farmed the Salt River Valley for centuries before Mesa existed. They constructed extensive canal systems to move river water across the desert. These waterways supported crops and permanent settlements. Later, Mesa pioneers reused portions of ancient canal routes for their own farms.
Mormon settlers from Utah and Idaho began establishing communities in the Mesa area during the late 1870s. The first group, known as the Lehi Company, arrived in 1877. They established a settlement north of present-day downtown near the Salt River.
A second group of Mormon settlers arrived in 1878. Known as the Mesa Company, they selected land on the mesa south of the Salt River. The settlers surveyed a townsite with broad streets and agricultural lots. Additionally, they began constructing irrigation canals needed for farming.
Reliable water became essential to Mesa’s survival. Settlers developed canals using knowledge gained from the ancient irrigation landscape. As a result, farmers produced grains, fruits, vegetables, and other crops. Agriculture remained a major part of Mesa’s economy for generations.
Mesa was incorporated as a town in 1883. Businesses, churches, schools, and homes developed around the growing community. Meanwhile, surrounding farms supported merchants and agricultural services. Mesa later incorporated as a city in 1930.
Railroad development strengthened Mesa’s economy during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Rail connections allowed farmers to move crops and other products more efficiently. Therefore, Mesa gained stronger commercial ties with Phoenix and markets outside the Salt River Valley.
The completion of Theodore Roosevelt Dam in 1911 changed agriculture throughout the Salt River Valley. The federal project stored water and improved irrigation reliability. Because of that, Mesa farmers gained greater protection against unpredictable river conditions.
World War II brought major aviation development to Mesa. Falcon Field opened in 1941 as a training facility for British Royal Air Force pilots. Thousands of pilots trained in Arizona’s favorable flying conditions. Later, the airfield became an important municipal airport.
Another major military airfield developed southeast of Mesa during World War II. Williams Field became a significant pilot-training base for the U.S. military. Later known as Williams Air Force Base, it remained active until 1993. Its former property became part of the Phoenix-Mesa Gateway area.
Mesa expanded rapidly after World War II as the Phoenix metropolitan area grew. Air conditioning, automobiles, highways, and new housing made suburban development easier. Meanwhile, farmland gradually gave way to neighborhoods, businesses, schools, and commercial centers.
Historic downtown Mesa contains buildings and sites connected with the city’s early development. Museums and preservation programs document agriculture, education, transportation, and community life. Additionally, historic neighborhoods preserve examples of Mesa’s changing architecture.
Mesa Grande Cultural Park protects a major archaeological site built by ancestral Hohokam people. The site includes a large platform mound and other archaeological remains. Today, it provides important evidence of the sophisticated communities that occupied the Salt River Valley long before modern Mesa.
Mesa grew from an ancient irrigated landscape into an agricultural settlement and major Arizona city. Hohokam canals, Mormon pioneers, farming, water projects, aviation, and suburban expansion shaped its development. Today, archaeological sites and historic districts preserve important chapters of Mesa’s long history.