Sunday, May 7
On this date in 1872, the first lawyers were admitted to practice law in Maricopa County.
On this date in 1913, Fred Maish, once a mayor of Tucson and wealthy cattleman of the Maish and Driscoll Cattle Co., died alone in an old adobe shack in Tucson at nearly 80 years of age.
On this date in 1916, the Yuma Game Warden reported that civil war in Mexico was scaring big game across the international line into the Yuma and Mohave Mountains.
Monday, May 8
On this date in 1913, U.S. deputy marshals captured a Curtiss biplane which was being shipped from Tucson to Nogales in five wooden crates loaded on a flatbed wagon. The owners of the plane claimed they intended to use it for experimental purposes, but U.S. officials suspected it was being smuggled into Mexico to aid Sonoran troops in the revolution against the Mexican government.
On this date in 1920, a huge supply of machine gun ammunition intended for Mexican revolutionists was shipped from Tucson to Nogales in coffins, but the shipment was tracked to an undertaking parlor and seized by the U.S. Marshals Service.
On this date in 1929, the town of Buckeye was incorporated. It had originally been called Sidney, but the name was changed to Buckeye because most of the early settlers came from Ohio.
On this date in 1929, Constable Pickens of Mesa demonstrated a high degree of civic pride when he testified in a court case that Mesa moonshine whiskey was of much better quality than that of Gilbert.
On this date in 1950, Alexander John Chandler, the first veterinary surgeon for the territory of Arizona and the man for whom the city of Chandler is named, died.
On this date in 2013, a jury finds Jodi Arias guilty of first degree-murder in the 2008 killing of Travis Alexander at his suburban Phoenix home.
Tuesday, May 9
On this date in 1540, Capt. Juan Hernando de Alarcon left Acapulco, Mexico, to sail north until he reached the headwaters of the Gulf of California, becoming the first white man to explore beyond the mouth of the Colorado River.
On this date in 1869, Camp Hualapai was established as Camp Toll Gate. The camp was established in the Aztec Mountains overlooking Walnut Creek. The name was changed to Camp Hualapai on October 4, 1870. The post was abandoned on July 31, 1873.
On this date in 1884, a powder magazine on the outskirts of Phoenix exploded, shattering windows throughout the town.
On this date in 1922, the last federal troops left Fort Apache just as the first Lutheran mission was dedicated there with the baptism of 100 Apaches.
Wednesday, May 10
On this date in 1863, the Pioneer Mining District on Lynx Creek was formed after five members of the party led by Capt. Joseph Walker discovered gold along Lynx Creek.
On this date in 1872, the Tully-Ochoa wagon train was attacked in Canyon del Oro by 300 Indians. Five men were killed and many more wounded, mules were stolen and the wagons burned.
On this date in 1913, the town of Miami was barely saved from total disaster when a fire - started in the Arizona Eastern freight depot - destroyed the A.E. station, a warehouse and several freight cars, and damaged hotels and residences in the area.
On this date in 1928, the University of Arizona dean of women decided that women must wear stockings, and could not appear on campus in abbreviated costumes.
Thursday, May 11
On this date in 1889, a band of masked men ambushed Maj. J.W. Wham and his military escort carrying a $26,000 army payroll to Fort Thomas. The payroll was stolen and eight soldiers were wounded.
On this date in 1910, the Maricopa-Phoenix train was held up about eight miles from Maricopa. Two bandits relieved all the passengers of their valuables and one passenger was struck over the head with a revolver.
On this date in 1910, work began on the north-south territorial highway out of Prescott.
On this date in 1934, Tucson’s first city hall building, which was built in 1881, was destroyed by fire.
Friday, May 12
On this date in 1886, fire destroyed the Grand Central pump house in Tombstone, causing the mines to flood and shutting down all mining operations.
On this date in 1887, the Tombstone Epitaph reported that a volcano had erupted in the Dragoon Mountains following an earthquake.
On this date in 1897, Ed Schiefflin, discoverer of the Tombstone silver mines, died.
On this date in 1913, Herbert Brown, who had come to Arizona in 1873 and engaged in lumbering in the Santa Rita Mountains and in the mercantile business in Tucson, died. Brown was the owner of the Tucson Citizen and the Tucson Post newspapers and in 1902 was appointed warden of the Yuma Prison, and operated the Gondolfo Hotel there.
On this date in 1924, Evan Mecham, the first governor in Arizona to be impeached, was born in Duchesne, Utah.
Saturday, May 13
On this date in 1846, President James K. Polk declared that a state of war existed between the United States and Mexico.
On this date in 1905, the dams at Greer and St. John gave way and the St. Johns Valley suffered heavy flood damage.
On this date in 1920, the city of Tucson charged that Phoenix was holding up its census figures until it could learn Tucson’s population - and then boost Phoenix’s own numbers to put it ahead.
On this date in 1929, a forest fire which had burned for days in the Patagonia Mountains was finally put out, just in time to save the town of Harshaw.
On this date in 1929, Barney Oldfield, famous racing driver, narrowly escaped death when his car overturned on a highway near Winslow after hitting a road scraper.
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