Monthly Archives: February 2013

Arizona Becomes a United States Territory, Part 1

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By Al Bates

Arizona’s path to statehood began 150 years ago today when President Abraham Lincoln signed the Organic Act that separated it from New Mexico Territory and established it as a territory of the United States in its own right.  However this was not the first recognized Arizona Territory, for a previous version existed briefly as a part of the Confederate States of America.  And even before that early residents attempted to establish a “provisional” Arizona Territory.

Most of what we now know as Arizona became a part of the federal union in 1850 when New Mexico Territory formally became part of the United States.  The area was attached to the United States in 1848 as part of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo that ended the Mexican-American War.  However, formal creation of New Mexico Territory was delayed for two years until the “Great Compromise” of 1850 established controls on the extension of slavery into newly acquired territories.

It was not until after the Gadsden Purchase added additional land below the Gila River that the concept of a separate political entity called “Arizona” emerged.  The first document to use that name came in an 1856 petition that called for separation of the Gadsden Purchase area from New Mexico Territory.

The Gadsden Purchase had been ratified in 1854, but formal takeover was delayed until the new dividing line between the two nations was surveyed and marked.  February 20, 1856, marked the date that the last Mexican troops withdrew from Tucson, and tradition has it that a tiny group of pioneers (including William Kirkland) then raised the American flag over the “Old Pueblo” for the first time.

This map shows New Mexico Territory after Completion of the Gadsden Purchase (Map is Courtesy of Author).

The opening years in the Gadsden Purchase were marked by the lack of law and order, caused in part by the distance from government in far off Santa Fe.  It was not long before the residents began to petition congress to enact separation from New Mexico Territory, only to be almost completely ignored.  In desperation they went to the extreme step of forming a provisional government for an early definition of the new territory including selection of a full slate of territorial officers, including as governor Dr. Lewis Owings.  All to no avail.

Their next move came with the creation of the Confederate States of America and the opening stages of the Civil War.  In meetings at Mesilla and Tucson, those gathered voted to withdraw from the United States and petitioned to become a part of the Confederacy.  Dr. Owings was retained as the provisional governor, and Granville Ory was assigned as territorial delegate to the Confederate Congress.

Later that year their efforts became moot when an army of Texans invaded southeastern New Mexico Territory, and their leader, Col. John R. Baylor defined the Confederate Territory of Arizona, splitting it from New Mexico Territory along a horizontal line at the 34th parallel, a move that the Confederate government soon approved.  He also declared himself the military governor of that Arizona and Dr. Owings was out of a job.

The Confederate Territory of Arizona was short-lived, ending when volunteer Union Army forces from California and Colorado drove the rebels back to Texas.  At that point, General James H. Carleton, commander of the California volunteers declared himself military governor of Arizona using the shape recently approved by the United States House of Representatives (but not yet approved by the Senate), thus becoming the third individual to hold the title Governor of the Territory of Arizona of one form or another.

Meanwhile, back in Washington D. C., Congress had continued the long debate over whether an Arizona Territory should be carved out of New Mexico Territory and if so what shape it should take.  The House and Senate finally came to the agreement that President Abraham Lincoln would sign on February 24, 1863.

Next Sunday:  How Arizona’s Organic Act came to pass and the role of lame ducks and oysters.

(Days Past is a collaborative project of the Sharlot Hall Museum and the Prescott Corral of Westerners, International. This and other Days Past articles are available at www.sharlot.org/library-archives/days-past. The public is encouraged to submit articles for Days Past consideration. Please contact Assistant Archivist, Scott Anderson, at SHM Archives 928-445-3122 or via email at archivesrequest@sharlot.org for information.)

The Cactus Derby of 1914, Part II

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By Nancy Burgess

The Cactus Derby of 1914 combined all of the drama of today’s Indy 500 along with the elements of a modern mud bog race.  The race was a great and significant event for the drivers, mechanics and machines involved.  The first prize, $2,500, hardly covered the costs of the racers, but the real prize was a highly coveted trophy inscribed “Master Driver of the World.”

The 1914 Cactus Derby was 132 miles longer than the previous year’s race, necessitating three days instead of two.  Overnight control points were at Needles, California, and Prescott, Arizona.  The nearly one mile difference in elevation between those two points would prove to be a strain for the machines and the drivers.

The 236 miles from Needles had been through some of the roughest country on the trip—hub-deep mud, desert sand, alkali dust, steep, muddy, boulder strewn mountain roads, jagged rocks, miserable weather, with everything from blowing dust to blowing snow.  Drivers and their mechanics had experienced all sorts of problems from balky engines, damaged wheels, blown tires, stuck radiator caps, collisions with rocks and boulders, engine fires, stolen and lost and broken parts, “Rube Goldberg” repairs and exhaustion of the drivers and mechanics.

As the eleven racers headed south from Ash Fork, through Chino Valley, Granite Dells and past Ft. Whipple, hundreds turned out to line Gurley Street in anticipation of the arrival of the Cactus Derby.  The finish line for this leg of the race was at the northeast corner of West Gurley and Montezuma streets.  Oldfield was first coming into Prescott, with a 48 minutes and 5 seconds lead over Davis in the Simplex.  Slipping and sliding in the mud, Oldfield roared into Prescott from the east end of town.

Arriving in first place in his muddy Stutz, Barney Oldfield and his mechanic slide to a stop at the scratch line in Prescott. Oldfield would go on to win the timed race. (Photo Courtesy of Author).

As reported in the Prescott Courier, “As Oldfield swooped over the hill and neared the scratch (finish line), there was a mighty cheer from all who were in line, and as himself and the mechanician stepped from the car, looking like two huge mud geysers, rather than men, they were surrounded by dozens of enquiring and enthusiastic fans, each eager for the first words from his lips, which were practically sealed by mud and muck.”

Davis in the Simplex was second at Prescott and Nikrent was third, just 8 minutes behind Davis.  Amazingly, in spite of the loss of an hour at Kingman, Beaudet was in fourth place, only 6 minutes behind Nikrent.  All of the eleven autos which made it to Prescott arrived in good condition except Beaudet’s Paige and it was still anybody’s race.  It was 138 more miles to Phoenix.

Oldfield was determined to win the Cactus Derby as he triumphantly skidded to a stop at the finish line in Prescott.  He had had a bad stretch of unfortunate luck, circumstances and bad choices of the last four years.  A win for him in the Cactus Derby would be a huge win for Oldfield.

The remaining racers took off the next morning, November 11th, on the worst leg of the trip, down Copper Basin Road to Kirkland, Congress Junction, Wickenburg and on to Phoenix.  Soon, the grade on Copper Basin Road took its toll: Davis, driving the Simplex, was out.  Oldfield took it easy starting out, but got stuck in New River, where he was passed by Nikrent and Bramlett.  Oldfield had to be pulled out by a team of mules.

As the last few miles of the long race were in sight, as reported by Motor Age, Oldfield “opened up and drove as he had not driven before in the race.”  At this point, Oldfield believed he had lost to Nikrent.  The article continued, “As he (Oldfield) came down the road, the car and crew looked like an adobe house on wheels.  The cigar in his face had turned to a clay clod and the mask on his face had holes where mouth and nose were hidden.”

The end of the race was anti-climactic, with Nikrent crossing the finish line at the Phoenix Fairgrounds first but Oldfield wining with the elapsed time of 23 hours.  Nikrent was second at 23 hours, 35 minutes; Beaudet third at 25 hours, 4 minutes and Durant fourth at 25 hours, 46 minutes.   Eight racers finished the race.  Motor Age commented “From the spectators’ standpoint, as well as that of the drivers, the 1914 Phoenix race is the greatest of them all.”

(Days Past is a collaborative project of the Sharlot Hall Museum and the Prescott Corral of Westerners, International. This and other Days Past articles are available at www.sharlot.org/library-archives/days-past. The public is encouraged to submit articles for Days Past consideration. Please contact Assistant Archivist, Scott Anderson, at SHM Archives 928-445-3122 or via email at archivesrequest@sharlot.org for information.)

The Cactus Derby of 1914, Part I

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By Nancy Burgess

As the automobile was beginning to gain popularity in the early years of the twentieth century, auto racing was evolving into a sport of national significance.  In Arizona, the annual Los Angeles-to-Phoenix Road Race, otherwise known as the “Cactus Derby,” was held each year from 1908 through 1914.  The race gave manufacturers the opportunity to promote their automobiles and related products – everything from tires to magnetos.  It also served to demonstrate the need for a good road between Los Angeles and Phoenix.

In all but the final year of its existence, the Cactus Derby was conducted over a 511-mile route that roughly tracked today’s Interstate 10.  In 1914, however, the organizers of the Derby changed the course, adopting a northern route that extended the race by 132 miles and encompassed the communities of Needles, California, and Prescott.

On November 9, 1914, at daybreak on a chilly, overcast Monday, twenty racers lined up in Los Angeles for the start of the Seventh Annual Cactus Derby.  Drivers included well known road racers Ted Baudet, Bill Bramlett, Louis Chevrolet, Olin Davis, Cliff Durant, Louis Nikrent and Berna Eli “Barney” Oldfield, the “Grand Old Man” of auto racing.  Drivers Nikrent and Davis were both previous winners of the Cactus Derby, Nikrent in 1909 and Davis in 1913.

Automobiles which would run the race included Alco, Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet (2), Cole, de Dietrich, Ford, Kincaid Special, Kisselkar, Metz (2), Maxwell, Paige (2), Simplex, Stutz and Thomas.  Most of the autos were stripped-down stock cars.  It was a very rugged array of cars that lined up for the race.

On November 11, 1914, avid racing fans line up along West Gurley Street anxiously awaiting a glimpse of the first racer into Prescott. (Photo Courtesy of Author).

Starting at 5:30 a.m., the drivers and their mechanicians (mechanics) left Los Angeles on the 696-mile route at two-minute intervals after a pouring rainstorm.  Initially, they stuck together, checking in at San Bernardino only seconds apart.   But, it wasn’t long until, according to a lengthy report published in the November 19, 1914, issue of Motor Age, “one by one the mechanical camels were conquered by the desert and mountain roads.”

One of the first “machines” out was the Alco driven by Bill Taylor, who skidded into a telephone pole.  Many of the autos had trouble in the snowy El Cajon Pass, but, with the exception of the Alco and the Metz #11, which turned over in the snow, all remaining racers arrived at Victorville in a two-hour span.  The storm cleared on the desert between Victorville and Barstow, but the new problem was mud.

Arriving in Barstow, the veteran Oldfield, with his mechanic George Hill, was in the lead in his big, white, wire-wheeled Stutz, but a youngster, Durant in the Chevrolet, was hot on his tail.  Davis in the Simplex was running a close third.  Motor Age described the leg from Barstow to Needles as follows: “Durant in the Chevrolet No. 2 and Barney (Oldfield) in the Stutz checked in and out of Barstow not a minute apart, and from that point on across the desert to Needles, one of the most spectacular road races ever witnessed took place between the veteran and the curly-headed youngster.

Two clouds of dust moved across the desert.  Then there was a third.  Four more cars were out once the race reached Needles, the first overnight night control: the de Dietrich, Ford, Kisselkar and the Thomas.  The next morning the 15 racers crossed the Colorado River into Arizona on the Santa Fe Bridge 17 miles below Needles and headed for Kingman.

With the storm following behind them, a cold wind blowing in the faces of the drivers and the dust flying, all were anxious to make the best time possible before the storm caught up and turned the desert roads to mud.  Speeds along this stretch exceeded 65 miles per hour.  Coming into Kingman, Davis was in the lead with Beaudet, Oldfield and Durant close behind.

From Kingman, the route took the race north and east through Hackberry and Seligman, where the storm caught up with the racers.  Leaving Seligman for Prescott, the drivers encountered rain, sleet, hail and snow, and, of course, more mud.

For more than forty miles through the mountains, Oldfield led Nikrent and Davis as the eleven remaining racers headed for the 558 mile point at Prescott.  According to Motor Age, the drivers said that the hail felt like rocks on their faces, and they were freezing, but they pressed on, making “fast time at that”.

As Prescottonians lined Gurley Street in anticipation of the arrival of the Cactus Derby, all were wondering who would be in the lead: Davis, Durant, Nikrent or Oldfield?  Or would it be someone else?

(Days Past is a collaborative project of the Sharlot Hall Museum and the Prescott Corral of Westerners, International. This and other Days Past articles are available at www.sharlot.org/library-archives/days-past. The public is encouraged to submit articles for Days Past consideration. Please contact Assistant Archivist, Scott Anderson, at SHM Archives 928-445-3122 or via email at archivesrequest@sharlot.com for information.)

They Came, They Saw, They Left

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By John Langellier

Prescott, named after the author of the epic Conquest of Mexico, can trace more than street names of Cortez, Montezuma and Marina to its storied past.  In fact, the Spanish also came north from Mexico.

For instance, on February 23, 1540, Captain-General Francisco Vásquez de Coronado commanded an expedition of that trekked northward from what had come to be called New Spain in search of the famed City of Cibola and its reported vast riches. They crossed the Gila River, and through many parts of today’s Arizona including the Colorado Plateau. After two years, the beleaguered survivors returned without discovering the fabled kingdom.

Gold, glory and God brought Spanish explorers to the American West including Arizona. Artist Fredric Remington depicted these bold conquistadors in one of his many heroic illustrations (Photo Courtesy of author).

Four decades later, during early 1583, Antonio de Espejo took up Coronado’s mantel. Espejo boldly led nine fellow Spaniards and upwards of 150 Zunis into Arizona. They pressed on as far as today’s Jerome where they found precious minerals.  After a brief stay, they returned to New Mexico with samples of silver ore. Despite the promise of what might be a bonanza waiting for the taking, years passed before another group followed in Espejo’s footsteps.

During October 1598, Captain Marcos Farfán sought a salt spring in present day Arizona. He succeeded in this assignment, then moved westward with eight of his men looking for potential mining sites. His route remains a source of speculation, but like Espejo’s group, it is known that he located silver ore in what is now Yavapai County.  Yet once more the Spanish made no serious effort to establish mining operations in the area.

Farfán’s return, however, did prompt his superior, Juan de Oñate, to set out from New Mexico across northern Arizona. In 1604, he and his followers reached the fork of the Bill Williams River. Then they continued to where it joined the Colorado River, which they named Rio de Buena Esperanza (River of Good Hope). Afterwards they headed to the mouth of the Gila then onward to the Gulf of California before a difficult return eastward, which brought them home empty handed.

Although evidence of at least the existence of silver resulted from several of these outings by conquistadors, the far flung Spanish empire failed to exploit of the mineral resources in future Yavapai County.  The same lack of follow up continued for centuries.   Indeed, efforts by U.S. Army officers to explore, map, and record information about the geography, geology, and natural history of the Southwest during the 1840s and 1850s, ironically did little to further interest in what was destined to become the “Copper State” which was seen by many during this period as an obstacle to be surmounted in order to travel overland to California’s diggings.

Capt. Joseph Reddeford Walker, date unknown (Photo courtesy of the California History Room, California State Library, Sacramento, California – Neg. #959).

That was not to be the case with Joseph R. Walker a noted trapper, explorer and guide now leading a band of hopeful prospectors on his final adventure. In 1863, about five miles south of Prescott, their persistence paid dividends.  Some of the men struck pay dirt including one of their number who took some $350 worth of gold from a single pan during a period when gold ranged from around $25 to $30 an ounce!

Soon gold fever spread to others beyond Walker’s troop. Local Union military commander Major General of Volunteers James H. Carleton believed there were “vast gold fields” for the taking.  During September 1863, he sent samples Arizona gold to Secretary of the Treasury Salmon P. Chase, who in turn forwarded the news of a possible new source to sustain the North’s martial efforts against the South to President Abraham Lincoln.  This was encouraging news for the president, who on February 24, 1863 had signed a bill that established the Arizona as a territory separate from its former inclusion as part of New Mexico. Later that year members of the territory’s civilian government backed by troops were about to reach Arizona and establish a capital at a yet undetermined location

In the meantime, another frontiersman, Paulino Weaver, was on his way from California to the Prescott area at the head of another company of gold seekers. Not far from the place where members of Walker’s entourage succeeded in finding color, some of the Weaver party followed suit.  A.H. Peebles may have been the most fortunate when digging only with a knife during one day he scratched some $1,800 gold from the ground.  Such finds eventually helped Prescott to be selection as the seat of government.

(John Langellier is the Executive Director at the Sharlot Hall Museum)

(Days Past is a collaborative project of the Sharlot Hall Museum and the Prescott Corral of Westerners, International. This and other Days Past articles are available at www.sharlot.org/library-archives/days-past. The public is encouraged to submit articles for Days Past consideration. Please contact Assistant Archivist, Scott Anderson, at SHM Archives 928-445-3122 or via email at archivesrequest@sharlot.com for information.)

Logo for the Prescott Westerners organization, which, starting with this article, is now collaborating on with Sharlot Hall Museum to create and publish Days Past articles.