Happy Birthday Tucson!

Tucson Arizona is celebrating the BIG 232 today! Yes Tucson is officially two hundred and thirty two years old today (but we still don't look a day past 230!) and there's lots of celebrating going on.

It's hard to believe that Tucson was formally founded in 1775, about a year before the Declaration of Independence was signed! Tucson has a very long and exciting history that began with Hohokam Indians inhabiting the area at the first of the century. After suddenly vanishing, they were replaced by Pima and Tohono O'odham tribes. Then on August 20 1775 a Spanish explorer, Hugo O'Conner, established the site for San Agustin de Tucson, which is now known as Tucson. Nicknamed the "Old Pueblo" for a walled presidio that provided protection for travelers and residents, Tucson is the oldest continually inhabited settlement in the United states. And the rest is history. What began as a Native American farming community has grown and developed into a metropolis of over 1 million people.

Still today Tucson continues to grow and develop at a rapid pace. According to an analysis of 2006 US Census Bureau estimates , the city of Tucson ranked 32 in a list of the biggest cities in the nation, with a population increase of 6.5% since 2000. Affordable housing and a high quality life are just a few reasons that so many relocate to Tucson each year. Fine cultural offerings, unique restaurants, world famous resorts and golf courses and an array of outdoor recreational activities make Tucson an exciting community that earned the city a position as one of the top 50 cities in the US. Happy Birthday Tucson!