Scottsdale, Arizona City Guide
For over 20 years, Pamela Lanier's Scottsdale, Arizona Travel Guide has been your connection to Scottsdale's tourism community with invaluable details on local attractions, restaurants, shopping, museums, history, outdoor recreation and more.
Scottsdale History
The Hohokam Indians were the first known residents of Scottsdale, Arizona, living in the area around 800 A.D. The Hohokam were farmers and built over 200 miles of canals to bring water to their crops; many of these canals are still in use today. Known as the Founding Father of Scottsdale, Winfield Scott arrived in 1888 and purchased 600 acres outside of Phoenix through the Desert Land Act. Required by the Land Act to install an irrigation system on the land, Scott planted citrus trees that thrived in the irrigated desert soil until floods destroyed the crop in 1891. Known at the time as Orangetown, Scott encouraged settlers to come to the area and by 1897 the Post Office arrived and the town of Scottsdale was born. The early town of Scottsdale was a farming community, drawing settlers to the warmth of the sun, and today the town of Scottsdale continues to charm folks with its pleasant weather, majestic landscape, and inviting bed and breakfasts.
