The Old West: Cowboys riding the range, cattle ranchers, six-shooters and dream-chasers on the new frontier. Some 150 years ago, that was the life you would find in the area now called North Phoenix.

When Phoenix began to grow from the downtown area out, just before the start of the 20th century, North Phoenix was merely grazing land for cattle and sheep.

Most of North Phoenix remained unsettled land in the early 1900’s. A system of canals was planned in the late 1920’s to make the area an irrigated agricultural paradise. A major portion was named "Paradise Valley" as a result. It wasn’t until after World War II and the development of air conditioning that the area started to stand up and be noticed. The City of Phoenix was growing rapidly and the canal projects were abandoned. Fueled by mild winters, high environmental quality, low cost of living and available, relatively inexpensive land, rapid growth developed.

Today, North Phoenix is a perfect mix of the Old West and modern lifestyles.

Just about wherever you turn, there is a reminder of some sort of how life used to be. In North Phoenix, it isn’t uncommon to see something straight out of the Old West the way it was 1 1/2 centuries ago next to a recently constructed building or home.

With the Valley owning one of the fastest growth rates in the country, it’s certain North Phoenix will continue to grow. It always will maintain a very special link to its roots – roots that have made North Phoenix a good place to live, work and play.

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