The classic Super Bowl ad posted by FutureLawyer reinforces what I've noticed while researching why Phoenix was able to thrive in a desert area.
The key element in its growth was the city was mainly started by farmers. They weren't looking for gold with the idea of making a quick fortune and then heading for San Francisco. They were settlers in the finest and most permanent meaning of the word; people with ties to and a love for the land.
Were there other factors? Certainly. The use of irrigation, the availability of water, a central location in the state, and a high caliber of leadership all played important parts but the activities and values of farmers were crucial.
A reminder from C. Northcote Parkinson:
"Without the plow, without the basis of settled cultivation, no city - and therefore no civilization - is even possible."
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