Sunday, Dec. 17
On this date in 1846, Lt. Col. Phillip St. George Cooke and the Mormon Battalion took possession of Tucson and raised the American flag without encountering resistance.
On this date in 1864, the town of Callville was settled on the Colorado River by the Mormons as a landing site for river steamers.
On this date in 1907, President Theodore Roosevelt established Tonto National Monument.
On this date in 1920, state leaders held a banquet in Phoenix and formed an Arizona unit of Boy Scouts.
On this date in 1923, figures showed that Arizona led the nation in effectiveness of prohibition enforcement. Convictions were estimated at 97 percent.
On this date in 1929, it was announced that the Tucson Municipal Airport had accommodated a total of 1,977 airplanes at the field from the time of its opening in October 1925.
Monday, Dec. 18
On this date in 1924, elaborate plans for a spectacular drive of 5,000 Kaibab deer across the Colorado River to new grazing lands were frustrated when the animals stampeded in a blinding snowstorm and disappeared.
On this date in 1929, seven prisoners escaped from the Maricopa County Jail by crawling through a small opening they had sawed from cell block.
On this date in 1933, the building and plant of the Arizona Daily Star in Tucson were destroyed by fire. The Star continued to publish at the Tucson Citizen plant.
Tuesday, Dec. 19
On this date in 1874, after two trials, J.T. Holmes was finally convicted of the killing of Milton B. Duffield, former U.S. marshal, in a quarrel over a mining claim. Holmes was sentenced to three years in prison.
On this date in 1909, two trainmen were killed and 40 passengers injured when the Southern Pacific jumped the tracks near Benson.
On this date in 1917, the governor of Arizona offered a $250 reward for the arsonist who set fires which destroyed hay fields in the Salt River Valley and attempted twice to burn the new Phoenix YMCA building.
On this date in 1929, a fire of undetermined origin partially disrupted the water supply and destroyed two buildings in the business district of Chloride, causing $40,000 damage.
Wednesday, Dec. 20
On this date in 1871, Theodore Swift who became Forest Service supervisor and established the road to the top of Mt. Graham which bears his name, the Swift Trail.
On this date in 1888, work was begun on a bridge across the Colorado River at Needles.
On this date in 1914, it rained in Phoenix for 72 consecutive hours, causing the reservoir behind Roosevelt Dam to gain 40,000 acre feet in one day.
On this date in 1925, 1,200 boxes of dynamite exploded at the United Verde Copper mine causing $20,000 damage to walls and window glass in Jerome.
On this date in 1929, the town of Miami discovered it would need heavier manhole covers when the Arizona Road Department’s electric magnet was put to work picking up nails and metal scraps from the city’s streets. The machine picked up all the manhole covers along its route.
Thursday, Dec. 21
On this date in 1920, educational circles were horrified when only five applicants were able to pass the teacher’s examination in Maricopa County and none could pass at all in Pima County.
On this date in 1929, two miners were killed when an explosion was set off prematurely in the Blue Bird Mine, 12 miles east of Mammoth.
On this date in 1929, Dr. O.A. Turney, a Phoenix resident for 42 years and a prominent archaeologist who traced the prehistoric canals in the Salt River Valley, died.
Friday, Dec. 22
On this date in 1902, certain parts of the Fort Apache Indian Reservation were restored to public domain by executive order.
On this date in 1929, several boys broke into a railroad car belonging to the Arizona Packing Co. in the Southern Pacific yards in Tucson and stole several whole hogs and assorted packages of pork. For most of the night, the Tucson Police Station resembled a packing house storage room as officers recovered and brought in loads of meat.
On this date in 1936, the announcement was made that The Associated Press trunk line would establish a mainline office in Phoenix.
Saturday, Dec. 23
On this date in 1854, Albert Steinfeld, who became one of Tucson’s most prominent businessmen and civic leaders, was born in Hanover, Germany.
On this date in 1883, the Salt River rose 14 feet after a prolonged rain. The dam and headgate of the Grand Canal were torn out as a result.
On this date in 1883, Felix G. Hardwick claimed a $500 reward offered by the Arizona Territorial Legislature for the first bale of cotton to be produced in Arizona.
On this date in 1914, swollen by a week of rain, the Santa Cruz River flooded its valley and flowed a mile and a half wide at Amado.
On this date in 1929, Bishop Daniel Gercke dedicated the bells of the little chapel at St. Mary’s Hospital in Tucson.
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