William John Murphy (August 23, 1839 – April 17, 1923) was an American businessman, contractor, land developer and founder of the Arizona Improvement Company.

[1] Murphy joined the Union Army upon the outbreak of the American Civil War and participated in the Battle of Atlanta on July 22, 1864, as an officer under the command of General William T. Sherman.

[1] Murphy learned about the Arizona Canal Company project, which would bring water to the arid lands of Maricopa County.

Kales, William A. Hancock and Clark Churchill,[2] and together they landed a $500,000 contract to build the 40-mile-long (64 km) Arizona Canal from Granite Reef to New River.

[2] Murphy soon found himself deep in debt since he had agreed to be paid in Arizona Canal Company stock, bonds, and land instead of cash.

His objective was to sell the land and water rights south of the canal; he decided to name the area "Glendale".

Known as the "Murphy Bridle Path", it begins at Bethany Home Road and ends 2.5 miles (4.0 km) north at the Arizona Canal.

Murphy's successes in the cultivation of citrus fruit trees also inspired him to consider the development of a sugar beet industry for Glendale.

[6] Murphy built the Ingleside Club, complete with a golf course, near the Arizona Canal and the town of Scottsdale with the intention of attracting investors and potential landowners to what became known as the Salt River Valley.

He is buried in section 5; block 4; lot 2; space 8 in Greenwood/Memory Lawn Mortuary & Cemetery, located at 2300 West Van Buren Street in Phoenix.