<P> By 1881, Phoenix' continued growth made the existing village structure with a board of trustees obsolete . The 11th Territorial Legislature passed "The Phoenix Charter Bill", incorporating Phoenix and providing for a mayor - council government . The bill was signed by Governor John C. Fremont on February 25, 1881, officially incorporating Phoenix with a population of approximately 2,500 . On May 3, 1881, Phoenix held its first city election . Judge John T. Alsap defeated James D. Monihon, 127 to 107, to become the city's first mayor . </P> <P> As the city developed, so did its infrastructure and services, usually in response to a recent crisis or event . The public health department was created in the early 1880s after several smallpox outbreaks . This was followed by the establishment of a volunteer fire department after two serious fires in the city, which in turn led to the development of a public water system, begun in 1887 . Other services which would see their beginnings in this decade were a private gas lighting company (1886), telephone company (1886), a mule - drawn streetcar system (1887), and electric power (1888). </P> <P> The coming of the railroad in the 1880s was the first of several important events that revolutionized the economy of Phoenix . A spur of the Southern Pacific Railroad, the Phoenix and Maricopa, was extended from Maricopa into Tempe in 1887 . Merchandise now flowed into the city by rail instead of wagon . Phoenix became a trade center, with its products reaching eastern and western markets . In response, the Phoenix Chamber of Commerce was organized on November 4, 1888 . Earlier in 1888 the city offices were moved into the new City Hall, at Washington and Central (later the site of the city bus terminal, until Central Station was built in the 1990s). When the territorial capital was moved from Prescott to Phoenix in 1889 the temporary territorial offices were also located in City Hall . </P> <P> The Arizona Republic became a daily paper in 1890, with Ed Gill as its editor . 1891 was marked by the greatest flood in the Valley's history, and 1892 saw the creation of the Phoenix Sewer and Drainage Department . The Phoenix Street Railway electrified its mule - drawn streetcar lines in 1893, with streetcar service continuing until a 1947 fire . Another important event which occurred in 1893 was the passage of a territorial law which allowed Phoenix to annex land surrounding the city, as long as it obtained the permission of the inhabitants of that area . This would begin a process which lasts till today, as the city annexed some surrounding terrain, growing from its original 0.5 square miles of territory to slightly over 2 square miles of territory by the turn of the century . On March 12, 1895, the Santa Fe, Prescott and Phoenix Railroad ran its first train to Phoenix, connecting it to the northern part of Arizona . The additional railroad sped the capital city's economic rise . The year 1895 also saw the establishment of Phoenix Union High School, with an enrollment of 90 . </P>

Why was phoenix chosen as the capital of arizona
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