The original charter of the OLD PUEBLO was granted by the King of Spain in 1552.  In the early 1600's Spanish Jesuits came up from Mexico to establish missions and to make Christians of the peaceful Indians.  The Papago Indians who inhabited the community when it was visited in 1692 by the Spanish missionary, Father Kino, called their village St. Jukson.  Pronounced "Stook-shon", it has been variously translated to mean "Dark Spring" or "At the Foot of Black Hill".  Father Kino founded Mission San Xavier del Bac in 1692.  The Papago Indians call it "La Palomo del Desierto" which means "The White Dove of the Desert".  During this period there was constant traffic between Mexico and Tucson as the empire-building Spaniards pushed their New World boundries northward from Mexico City.

Mines and ranches came into being at this time and in 1776 the Presidio of Tucson became a walled city.  The one time existence of a wall completely surrounding the community is the origin of Tucson's present nickname, "THE OLD PUEBLO".  In 1782 Tucson was a part of the newly-created Mexico and served as a military outpost until it became part of the United States with the Gadsden Purchase in December, 1853.  Tucson mustered a total of sixty American voters in 1861 when it elected a territorial delegate to the Confederate Congress.  In 1862 Confederates from Texas marched unopposed into Tucson but were routed three months later by the California Volunteers who raised the flag of the United States over the "OLD PUEBLO".  Arizona was organized as a territory in 1863 and a year later John Goodwin, the first Governor, declared Tucson a municipality.

When the transcontinental railroad arrived in 1881, Tucson was still a sleepy Mexican appearing village of a few hundred inhabitants.  By the turn of the century, the "OLD PUEBLO" had become the business and supply center of a large territory and was rapidly gaining reknown as a health resort where easterners came to relax and soak up the desert sunshine.

By 1909, Tucson had grown to 7,351 in population and was the largest city in Arizona.  The University of Arizona had been established in Tucson in 1885. The "OLD PUEBLO" started on it's upward swing.

By the end of the first half of the Twentieth Century, accelerated by the industry and population and with greater growth in sight, new residents and business continued to move into the area.  The population more than doubled between 1950 and 1960 as greater numbers of people availed themselves of the opportunity and attractive climate to be found in our lovely city of Tucson.  Today, Tucson's metropolitan area has a population of 664,000.  All signs point to continued growth.  However, in spite of Tucson's rapid growth, it has been able to retain its southwestern charm.

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