The Strange Way Early Arizona Settlers Stayed Cool

Growing up, my father always told me about the early days my grandfather spent in Miami. My family moved to south Florida in the late 1940s, about a decade before widespread adoption of Air Conditioning in the state.

From what they've told me, it was awful. Hot days and even hotter nights drove people crazy.

It was so so so much worse in Arizona.

What is a Sleeping Porch?

In the early days of Phoenix, there wasn't much in the way of comfort. Besides the outlaws running wild and dust storms drowning people in the earth, the heat was a killer, literally. In order to get past the heat, settlers had to find new and creative ways to keep cool.

The primary solution were sleeping porches, which are exactly what they sound like. Folks would build porches outside of their homes, and cover them in screens to keep bugs out, before dragging their beds out to take advantage of the cooler air after the sun goes down.

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He Kept His father's Body in WHAT????

Other Weird Ways to Keep Cool

These sleeping porches were a common way to keep cool, but not the only way. Many people would bring their beds outside regardless of having a sleeping porches, and sleep on the streets to take advantage of the cool air.

Another common way was to create a DIY version of a Swamp Cooler. This essentially just involved dunking their sheets in water and sleeping under them, usually also outside. The cool air would interact with the damp cloth, thereby keeping whoever was sleeping cool.

Thank Willis Carrier for the invent of Air Conditioning, because I could not fathom having to do any of that.

[Visit Phoenix]