William John Murphy (August 23, 1839 – April 17, 1923) was an American businessman, contractor, land developer and founder of the Arizona Improvement Company. He is also remembered as the "Founder of

Glendale, Arizona Glendale () is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, located approximately northwest of Downtown Phoenix. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it had a population of 248,325. History In the la ...

" and an important contributor to much of the early development in the

Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

area.

Early life

Murphy was born in

New Hartford, New York New Hartford is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in Oneida County, New York, United States. As of the United States Census, 2010, 2010 census, the town population was 22,166. The name of New Hartford was provided by a settler fam ...

, to George Alexander Murphy and Nancy Allen, both immigrants from County Antrim, Northern Ireland. His family soon moved to the state of

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

, where he received his primary education. During his youth, his family moved to

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

and later

Pontiac, Illinois Pontiac is a city in Livingston County, Illinois, United States. The population was 11,931 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Livingston County. The town is also the setting of the 1984 movie ''Grandview, U.S.A.'' Geography Location P ...

, where he continued to receive his education.Arizona Archives Online
/ref> Murphy joined the

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...

upon the outbreak of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

and participated in the

Battle of Atlanta The Battle of Atlanta was a battle of the Atlanta Campaign fought during the American Civil War on July 22, 1864, just southeast of Atlanta, Georgia. Continuing their summer campaign to seize the important rail and supply hub of Atlanta, Uni ...

on July 22, 1864, as an officer under the command of General

William T. Sherman William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

. The Union forces overwhelmed and defeated

Confederate Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...

forces defending the city under General

John Bell Hood John Bell Hood (June 1 or June 29, 1831 – August 30, 1879) was a Confederate general during the American Civil War. Although brave, Hood's impetuosity led to high losses among his troops as he moved up in rank. Bruce Catton wrote that "the dec ...

. Murphy was honorably discharged from the military on July 24, 1865. He was awarded the Army Civil War Campaign Medal for his participation in the war. After the war, Murphy met and married Mary C. Bigelow, a native of

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

. In Nashville, he lived with his wife and two children until April 1871, when his wife died. That same year he met and married Laura Jane Fulwiler and they had four children.

The Arizona Canal Co.

In 1880, Murphy moved with his family to what was then known as the

Arizona Territory The Territory of Arizona (also known as Arizona Territory) was a territory of the United States that existed from February 24, 1863, until February 14, 1912, when the remaining extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the state of ...

. During this time Murphy was contracted with railroad companies including the

Atlantic and Pacific Railroad The Atlantic and Pacific Railroad was a U.S. railroad that owned or operated two disjointed segments, one connecting St. Louis, Missouri with Tulsa, Oklahoma, and the other connecting Albuquerque, New Mexico with Needles in Southern California ...

for grading and road work services. The family first moved to Flagstaff and later to Prescott. Murphy learned about the Arizona Canal Company project, which would bring water to the arid lands of

Maricopa County Maricopa County is in the south-central part of the U.S. state of Arizona. As of the 2020 census, the population was 4,420,568, making it the state's most populous county, and the fourth-most populous in the United States. It contains about 6 ...

. In 1882, he joined three Arizona builders, M.W. Kales, William A. Hancock and Clark Churchill,Glendale History
/ref> and together they landed a $500,000 contract to build the Arizona Canal from Granite Reef to New River.Founder of Glendale
/ref> With the use of whatever machinery was available and the help of 225 mules, Murphy and his team completed the canal by 1885. Murphy soon found himself deep in debt since he had agreed to be paid in Arizona Canal Company stock, bonds, and land instead of cash.The First Five: A Brief History of the Salt River Project
/ref>

Glendale, Arizona

In 1887, Murphy founded the Arizona Improvement Company. His objective was to sell the land and water rights south of the canal; he decided to name the area "Glendale". Murphy had to raise capital from out-of-state sources in order to meet payroll and construction expenses. In order to develop and interest potential investors and settlers in the new town, Murphy decided to provide a better means of access between Phoenix, Glendale, and the neighboring town of Peoria by building an diagonal road which he named Grand Avenue. In 1891, Burgess Hadsell worked with Murphy to bring 70 Brethren and River Brethren families to Glendale to form a

temperance Temperance may refer to: Moderation *Temperance movement, movement to reduce the amount of alcohol consumed *Temperance (virtue), habitual moderation in the indulgence of a natural appetite or passion Culture *Temperance (group), Canadian danc ...

colony. Attracted by the town's ban on alcoholic beverages, other settlers continued to arrive. In 1895, Murphy platted the original town site and amended the plat to include a town park and some business lots. The construction of a railroad from Prescott to Phoenix was made possible with an exchange of the right-of-way made by Murphy along Grand Avenue. The railroad allowed Glendale settlers to transport goods to the north and easily receive building materials. Murphy and his family lived on a ranch located at 7514 N. Central Avenue, near the intersection with Orangewood Avenue, in Phoenix. He began to develop his land and experimented with the cultivation of 1,800 orange and other citrus fruit trees which he imported from

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. The success of his experimentation helped open the eastern markets to Arizona landowners and farmers. Murphy is credited with establishing the

Valley A valley is an elongated low area often running between Hill, hills or Mountain, mountains, which will typically contain a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers ...

's citrus industry in the northern extension of Central Avenue in 1895. The roadway, which he developed, was first paved in 1920, and cut through the Orangewood subdivision. Known as the "Murphy Bridle Path", it begins at Bethany Home Road and ends north at the Arizona Canal. The earliest known reference to the Murphy Bridle Path, discovered by the city's historic preservation office, dates to 1948, when the bridle path was dedicated by the "Arizona Horse Lover's Club". The North Central Avenue streetscape is now on the

Phoenix Historic Property Register The Phoenix Historic Property Register is the official listing of the historic and prehistoric properties in the city of Phoenix, the capital and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona. History The register was established on 1986 with the ai ...

and has been nominated to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

. Murphy's successes in the cultivation of citrus fruit trees also inspired him to consider the development of a

sugar beet A sugar beet is a plant whose root contains a high concentration of sucrose and which is grown commercially for sugar production. In plant breeding, it is known as the Altissima cultivar group of the common beet (''Beta vulgaris''). Together wi ...

industry for Glendale. Together with other entrepreneurs, he founded the Arizona Sugar Company in 1903 and construction of a $1 million sugar beet factory began that same year. The Eastern Sugar Co., which was responsible for selling bonds for the construction of the factory, failed in their mission and the venture went into receivership. However, in 1905, Murphy was able to secure new investors from

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

and

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

. Murphy built the Ingleside Club, complete with a golf course, near the Arizona Canal and the town of Scottsdale with the intention of attracting investors and potential landowners to what became known as the

Salt River Valley The Salt River Valley is an extensive valley on the Salt River in central Arizona, which contains the Phoenix Metropolitan Area. Although this geographic term still identifies the area, the name "Valley of the Sun" popularly replaced the usage ...

. Murphy donated the town park to the city of Glendale in 1909. In 1911, he developed an electric trolley line from Phoenix to Glendale, which ran between 1911 and 1925.

Legacy

On April 17, 1923, Murphy died in Phoenix, Arizona of

heart disease Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a class of diseases that involve the heart or blood vessels. CVD includes coronary artery diseases (CAD) such as angina and myocardial infarction (commonly known as a heart attack). Other CVDs include stroke, hea ...

. He is buried in section 5; block 4; lot 2; space 8 in

Greenwood/Memory Lawn Mortuary & Cemetery Greenwood Memory Lawn Mortuary & Cemetery is the official name given to a cemetery located at 2300 West Van Buren Street in Phoenix, Arizona owned by Dignity Memorial. The cemetery, which resulted as a merger of two historical cemeteries, Greenwoo ...

, located at 2300 West Van Buren Street in Phoenix. Glendale sustains a population of just over 225,000 residents, making it the fourth-largest city in Arizona. According to the Glendale Chamber of Commerce, "The number of households in the Arrowhead Ranch area of Glendale (ZIP code 85308) with at least $1 million in worth increased by 214.4 percent between 1996 and 2001." In 1912, the park which Murphy donated was renamed Murphy Park in his honor. It is located at 58th and Glendale Avenues and has a public library. Murphy's family home at 7514 N. Central Avenue is preserved as the William J. Murphy House. The Murphy Bridle Path also exists today; the trail runs along Central Avenue between Bethany Home Road and Northern Avenue.Murphy Bridle Path
/ref> File:G-Sugar Beet.jpg, The Sugar Beet Factory Building is listed in the

File:Phoenix-Murphy Bridle Path-1895-1.JPG, The Murphy Bridle Path File:Glendale-Murphy Park.JPG, Murphy Park in Glendale File:Glendale-William J. Murphy tombstone marker.jpg, Gravesite marker of William John Murphy

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Murphy, William John 1839 births 1923 deaths People from New Hartford, New York People from Flagstaff, Arizona Arizona pioneers American people of Irish descent People from Prescott, Arizona People from Glendale, Arizona People from Pontiac, Illinois People of the American Old West People of Illinois in the American Civil War

Early life

The Arizona Canal Co.

Glendale, Arizona

Legacy

See also

Arizona pioneers

References