Meet the first Phoenix Mayor's Office official historian - Axios PhoenixLog InLog InAxios Phoenix is an Axios company.

Meet Phoenix' s first official historian

Steve Schumacher and a city of Phoenix flag from 1921. Photo: Courtesy of Steve Schumacher Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego announced this week that Steve Schumacher would be the first Mayor's Office official historian. State of play: Because Phoenix is so much younger than major cities east of us, it's sometimes easy to forget how much fascinating history we have.Valley native Schumacher, a hobbyist turned semi-professional Phoenix historian, has spent the past 10 years trying to remind us through .Now he has a formal title and a call to continue his mission. Driving the news: You know the cliché: "Those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it." Details: Schumacher says he wants to develop a curriculum for elementary school students to learn about the key people and places in Phoenix's past.He's also working with the city's social media team to and is helping the mayor create a guide to historic places in downtown to share with Super Bowl visitors in February. Flashback: Schumacher developed an interest in Phoenix history about a decade ago when, on a particularly warm summer day, he wondered, "How did people live here before air conditioning?"That led him to a fascinating discovery about the who settled the region in the 1800s, after it was abandoned by the Hohokam people. He's been on a history kick ever since. 1 history fact to go: Central Avenue and Washington Street is generally accepted as the center of the city of Phoenix. But it was actually the pioneers' fourth choice for a townsite. The original was at 36th and Van Buren streets, Schumacher tells us. Get more local stories in your inbox with .Subscribe Support local journalism by becoming a member.

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