Sunday, Sept. 17
On this date in 1927, the contract was awarded to Sumner-Sollitt Co. of Chicago for the construction of the U.S. Veterans Hospital in Tucson.
On this date in 1929, the final game of the Arizona League baseball race between Bisbee and Miami ended in a riot on the diamond after the umpire refused to call the game on account of darkness.
Monday, Sept. 18
On this date in 1925, Gov. George W.P. Hunt warned the federal government that Arizona owned all the game within its borders and that included all national forest lands.
On this date in 1925, the federal government withdrew two sections of Tucson land and designated them as the site of an airfield for the city.
On this date in 1929, the first case of bubonic plague ever found in Arizona was reported in Yuma.
Tuesday, Sept. 19
On this date in 1873, the Globe Ledge was recorded.
On this date in 1880, the Fort Mohave Indian Reservation was established by executive order.
On this date in 1923, the U.S. Biological Survey reported that 100 mountain lions had been killed in one year in a drive to wipe out predatory animals.
On this date, the town of Hayden suffered heavy damage from hail and wind. Ten houses were washed away.
On this date in 1925, Tucson was hit by a tornado and an inch of rain fell in 10 minutes. A total of 2 1/2 inches of rain fell in three days.
On this date in 1929, well-known Santa Cruz County rancher, Roy Sorrels, was killed by lightening as he rode an inspection tour around his ranch 12 miles northeast of Nogales on the Patagonia Road.
On this date in 1929, Tom A. Bullock, Arizona pioneer rancher and horseman, died at age 93. With his brother, Ed, Bullock had owned the Lexington Stables in Tucson and had raced a string of horses at mining camps throughout southern Arizona.
On this date in 1985, medical reporter Charles Thornton of The Arizona Republic was killed while on assignment with an Afghanistan freedom fighter group that was ambushed by Soviet-supported troops.
Wednesday, Sept. 20
On this date in 1927, Leo, the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer lion, was being flown from San Diego to New York when the Ryan monoplane with its specially constructed cage of glass over steel bars, crashed in the Mogollon Rim, 60 miles north of Roosevelt Lake. Pilot Martin Jenson found his way to the Apache Lodge and cowboys located the wreckage and rescued Leo.
On this date in 1929, for the first time the waters of the Coolidge Dam produced electric power when Supervisor Theodore Rose opened the gates into the turbine which started the generators.
On this date in 1929, newspapers announced the loss by fire of several valuable paintings by Mrs. A.Y. Smith, noted Arizona artist, when her home at Pearce burned to the ground.
Thursday, Sept. 21
On this date in 1870, Gov. Anson P.K. Safford came out of the mountains with the Territorial Militia after a 26-day campaign between the San Pedro and Santa Cruz rivers without having seen a single Apache.
On this date in 1920, many residents of Tucson found themselves stuck with thousands of dollars worth of worthless stock in an airless tire company.
On this date in 1921, there were 963 students enrolled at the University of Arizona.
On this date in 1923, four people were killed and many more injured when the Santa Fe’s California Limited derailed.
On this date in 1929, Valentine Perez, pioneer Yuma resident and one of the first employees of the Colorado River steamers, died.
Friday, Sept. 22
On this date in 1554, Francisco Vasquez de Coronado, his fortune lost in the vain search for the fabled Seven Cities of Cibola, died.
On this date in 1917, the Nogales jail overflowed with prisoners as draft dodgers from many states were trapped in that border city.
On this date in 1921, the Ajo Road was designated by the U.S. government as a transcontinental military highway.
Saturday, Sept. 23
On this date in 1829, Gen. George Crook was born in Dayton, Ohio.
On this date in 1879, the Public Shower Bath House opened in Tucson.
On this date in 1921, an early morning fire at the Arizona Egyptian Cotton Co. caused damage estimated by company officials to cost between $25,000 and $30,000.
On this date in 1921, a total of 963 students were enrolled at University of Arizona.
On this date in 1927, Col. Charles A. Lindbergh arrived in Tucson in his plane, “The Spirit of St. Louis,” to dedicate Tucson’s new airport. Officials of three Mexican states joined more than 20,000 enthusiastic Arizonans to welcome him.
On this date in 1929, 225 wild and stray horses and burros were rounded up and held at Bonita Creek northeast of Safford by the Graham County assessor’s office. The owner did not surface to pay the taxes owed on them and the animals were sold.
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