Laura Long Cochran (1871-1899) - Matron at Phoenix Indian School

 

Arizona Memory Project - Main Building Behind School, 1900

Laura Long was born on September 11, 1871, in Kansas.  She was the daughter of Isaac Zane Long, a prominent member of the Wyandotte Nation, and Catherine McConnell.  Her father Isaac is thought to have been a descendant of the famous frontiersman Isaac Zane and his wife of the Wyandotte Nation, Myeerah. Born in Zanesfield, Ohio, Isaac went west when the remnants of the Wyandotte tribe were removed to reservations in Kansas around 1843.

Even though school records list Laura as being only one-sixteenth Wyandotte, she seems to have been regarded as Native American throughout her life.  In 1891, she was working and going to school at the Quapaw-Wyandotte Indian School in Seneca, Kansas.  Thereafter, she attended Carlisle Indian School in Pennsylvania, from which she graduated in 1895.  By 1896, she was employed as a matron at the Phoenix Indian School.

Opened in 1891, the Phoenix Indian School was intended to function as a residential industrial school, training Native American teens and young adults in useful occupations such as carpentry, animal husbandry and the domestic art, such as sewing, cooking, nursing.  In time, its dormitories housed a total of about 700 pupils from 35 different tribes, including advanced students from other Western states.  Like Laura, many of the teachers were themselves Native Americans from tribes elsewhere in the United States, on the theory that they would serve as relatable teachers. 

On February 22, 1897, Laura Long married John Piper Cochran, a blacksmith at the Phoenix Indian School. Laura and John had one son, John D. Cochran, born March 30, 1898, in Phoenix.

Laura died on January 8, 1899, of inflammation of the bowels and peritonitis (possibly a ruptured appendix).  After a Methodist funeral service attended by almost all the Indian School students, she was laid to rest in Rosedale North, Lot 43. 

Weeks later, her husband’s parents, William C. and Mary Cochran, came to Phoenix to take nine-month-old John back to Kansas with them.  Following John P. Cochran’s remarriage in 1901, young John went to live with his father and his new stepmother.

- by Donna Carr

The Indigenous Architects of Phoenix

Maricopa Woman, 1907

Library of Congress

Several Indigenous peoples were directly connected to the early establishment of what is now Phoenix.  They were central to the development of the region.  They contributed knowledge, irrigation infrastructure, and agricultural expertise that helped sustain the early settler communities in the Salt River Valley.  Here are a few examples of their amazing contributions:

Hohokam
The ancient Hohokam civilization developed the extensive irrigation canals in the Salt River Valley between 300 and 1450 AD, which made the region viable for large-scale agriculture. These canals were later restored and used by settlers in the Phoenix area, directly influencing the city’s foundation and agricultural base.

Akimel O'odham (River People)
Descendants of the Hohokam, the Akimel O'odham continued to live in the region near the Salt and Gila Rivers. They maintained and adapted some of the Hohokam’s canal systems and practiced agriculture. The Akimel O'odham were instrumental in helping early settlers with knowledge of farming techniques and the local environment.

Piipaash
The Maricopa, or Piipaash, migrated to the area and allied with the Akimel O'odham along the Gila River. They contributed to the agricultural practices and trade network in the region, forming a mutually beneficial relationship with the Akimel O'odham. They brought unique traditions, such as pottery styles and cultural practices that have enriched the broader landscape of the area. 

We honor and are thankful for all that they did for the city of Phoenix in making it what it is today.

First Organized Fire Company - 1736

Firefighter in Uniform, 1860

Library of Congress

According to John Bigelow's 1869 edition of the Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, the Union Fire Company was established on December 7, 1736. Initially, its primary purpose was to protect the property of its members; however, the company extended its services beyond its membership when others were in need. The Union Fire Company remained active until at least 1791. At that time, it comprised thirty members and was equipped with one engine, 250 buckets, thirteen ladders, two hooks, no bags, and an eighty-foot rope.