William J. Murphy - Glendale AZ
N 33° 32.324 W 112° 11.064
12S E 390032 N 3711641
This large marker, at the entrance to Murphy Park, tells the tale of Glendale's founder, William J. Murphy, and how he came to be the "father of the city".
Waymark Code: WMK7VP
Location: Arizona, United States
Date Posted: 02/25/2014
Views: 1
William J. Murphy
Founder of Glendale
Born August 23, 1839 – New Harford, New York
Died April 17, 1923 – Phoenix, Arizona
Buried Greenwood Cemetery
W. J. Murphy
Murphy came to Arizona from Illinois in 1880, to build a section of the Atlantic and
Pacific (Santa Fe) Railroad. In 1883, he landed a $500,000 contract to build the 40-mile
long Arizona Canal from Granite Reef to New River. Instead of cash, Murphy was paid
in Arizona Canal Company stocks and bonds. The canal was finished in 1885, but
Murphy was left deep in debt. In 1887, he saw an opportunity to sell the land and water
rights south of the canal, and he formed the Arizona Improvement Company. To
promote the land, it had to have a name. Records of Murphy's promotion of Arizona
Canal lands refers to the site as "Glendale" as early as 1885. Murphy breathed new life
into Glendale by bringing in major transportation links. In 1888, Murphy decided to
provide better access from Phoenix to this new developing settlement by building an
18-mile long diagonal road from Peoria to downtown Phoenix. He called it Grand
Avenue. Several early settlers came and homesteaded ranches, but this was still not
enough growth for the town to survive. Murphy worked with Burgess Hadsell in 1891,
to bring 70 Brethren and River Brethren families to Glendale to form a temperance
colony. Murphy and Hadsell surveyed and filed the first residential plat called Hadsell's
Addition. They completed the task on February 27, 1892, Glendale's official birthday.
The plat was nearly one section of land divided into thirty, twenty-acre lots. Murphy
platted the original town site in 1895, and amended the plat to include the town park
and business lots. He exchanged the right-of-way along Grand Avenue for the
construction of a railroad from Prescott to Phoenix. Murphy also developed an electric
trolley line from Phoenix to Glendale, which ran between 1911 and 1925. Murphy
helped industrialize Glendale and diversify its agricultural economy when he and other
entrepreneurs organized the Arizona Sugar Company in 1903, and was instrumental in
finding financing for the construction of the one-million-dollar beet sugar factory.
In 1909, Murphy donated the park in the center of downtown Glendale to the city, and made
the townspeople promise to keep the square block as a park. To this day, the citizens
of Glendale have honored Murphy's wish.
Marker Name: William J. Murphy - Founder of Glendale
Type of history commemorated: Person
County: Maricopa
Name of any agency/ agencies setting marker:
City of Glendale
Year placed: Unknown
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Visit Instructions:
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