Phoenix Police (Maricopa County)

The location of Arizona's Capitol had been moved
several times since 1864. It was first established at
Navajo Springs, then Prescott, then Tucson after an
attempt to move it to La Paz failed, then back to
Prescott, and finally to Phoenix.

By 1868, a small colony had formed approximately
four miles east of the present city. Swilling's Mill
became the new name of the area. It was then changed
to Helling Mill, after which it became Mill City, and
years later, East Phoenix. Swilling, having been a
confederate soldier, wanted to name the new settlement
Stonewall after Stonewall Jackson. Others suggested
the name Salina, but neither name suited the inhabitants.
It was Darrell Duppa who suggested the name Phoenix,
inasmuch as the new town would spring from the ruins
of a former civilization. That is the accepted
derivation of our name.

Phoenix officially was recognized on May 4, 1868, when
the Yavapai County Board of Supervisors, the county
of which we were then a part, formed an election
precinct here.

A post office was established in Phoenix on June 15,
1868, with Jack Swilling as postmaster. The sharp
whistle of the first steam mill in the Valley added a
brisk note to the sound of emerging industry. It
advertised the Richard Flour Mills, built in 1869,
where the Luhrs Tower now stands.