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When pioneers first settled in Phoenix, wild pumpkins dotted the Valley. The fleshy, orange fruit was so prolific some thought the moniker should bear reference.
Alas, Pumpkintown didn’t stick. Neither did Salinas or Stonewall (nods to the Great Salt River and American soldier Jackson, respectively).
Settler Jack Duppa recalled the Greek myth – in which an immortal bird burns and then rises from the ashes – and thought Phoenix was the right fit. Cognizant that the Hohokam once thrived in the region, he saw it as a fitting homage to a second civilization that would rise from the foundation of the first.
– Hannah Van Sickle, The Arizona 100