Sunday, Sept. 24
On this date in 1891, Dr. J.C. Handy, physician and former chancellor of the University of Arizona, was shot and fatally wounded by attorney Francis J. Heney during a quarrel at the corner of Pennington and Church streets in Tucson.
On this date in 1929, while the Sunshine Climate Club celebrated at a dinner in Tucson, record floods cut off all highways east and west of town.
On this date in 1929, Phelps Dodge Corp. announced plans to construct a 50-ton leaching plant and a 100-ton mill in the vicinity of Bunker Station between Clifton and Morenci.
Monday, Sept. 25
On this date in 1868, Arizona became a separate Roman Catholic Diocese under Bishop Jean Baptiste Salpointe.
On this date in 1896, the Tucson School Board decided that it could not afford to open a high school for only six students.
On this date in 1929, 4.7 inches of rain washed out bridges throughout southern Arizona, closing roads, isolating towns and stranding motorists, including a school bus which was trapped by mud and deep water northeast of Tucson with 20 children aboard. The children stayed overnight at a nearby home.
Tuesday, Sept. 26
On this date in 1864, the First Territorial Legislature convened in Prescott, adopted a code of laws, created the four original counties of Pima, Mohave, Yavapai and Yuma and established a university and a Board of Regents.
On this date in 1876, Taza, the son of Apache chief Cochise, died in Washington D.C. of pneumonia while he was visiting the Capitol with a group of Apaches. He was buried in the congressional cemetery with the Commissioner of Indian Affairs and other noted dignitaries in attendance.
On this date in 1878, a big reception was held at Prescott for Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman.
On this date in 1880, the first Congregational Church in Arizona Territory was established in Phoenix with 13 members.
On this date in 1929, a Tucson resident who had demanded, unsuccessfully, that his next-door neighbor maintain absolute silence between the hours of 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. each day erected a wall 14-feet high and 8-inches thick, extending the full length of the property line from the sidewalk to the alley.
On this date in 1986, William Rehnquist of Phoenix is appointed chief justice of the U. S. Supreme Court.
Wednesday, Sept. 27
On this date in 1858, Rafael Luna petitioned Col. Benjamin Bonneville for a military escort for protection while passing through Navajo Country along Beale Road with a flock of more than 50,000 sheep - the first flock to be driven to California along this route.
On this date in 1910, the town of Naco was destroyed by a fire which originated in a stable on the American side of the line.
On this date in 1922, The Arizona Republic reported government big-game hunter Ramsey Patterson saying that a grizzly bear and a mountain lion were traveling, hunting and denning together. Patterson tracked the animals and killed the lion.
On this date in 1929, more than 200 horned toads were entered in a race sponsored by the Tucson Lions Club to raise funds for the construction of a road to Mt. Lemmon. Residents and business establishments throughout southern Arizona sponsored entries with such colorful names as “Plumbers Friend,” entered by the Arizona Pipe and Heating Company, and “Static,” entered by radio station KVOA. The toad entered by the city of Willcox won the race and more than $2,000 was collected for the Mt. Lemmon road.
On this date in 1929, 27 federal prisoners in Maricopa County Jail went on a hunger strike, claiming they had been forced to eat food “unfit for human consumption.”
Thursday, Sept. 28
On this date in 1874, the Tucson Citizen announced the first cotton had been grown near Tucson by Steven Ochoa.
On this date in 1910, Phoenix Newspapers reported that earthquakes had been felt for several days over an area of 40 or 50 square miles north of Flagstaff toward the Grand Canyon. Adobe houses were cracking, chimneys falling and people were leaving the area.
On this date in 1929, the 10th Calvary marched out of Fort Huachuca headed for St. David for field maneuvers. The regiment planned to march to El Paso by way of Bowie, Lordsburg and Deming to Fort Bliss, Texas, expecting to arrive there on Oct. 11.
On this date in 1993, Yavapai County sheriff’s deputies searched near Congress for a survivalist they believed had killed at least seven cows and carved off 100-pound portions of meat for food.
Friday, Sept. 29
On this date in 1877, the first Southern Pacific engine on a regular run entered Arizona at 11 p.m. in Yuma.
On this date in 1927, a tornado struck the town of Ruby and wiped out half the village.
On this date in 1928, the Madonna of the Trail statue, erected at Springerville by the Daughters of the American Revolution, was dedicated to honor the women who helped pioneer the West.
Saturday, Sept. 30
On this date in 1894, the eastbound Southern Pacific express was held up by train robbers at Maricopa. The robber was unable to open the safe and took only a small amount of cash and a gold watch from the train crew.
On this date in 1924, the federal Interstate Commerce Commission approved the Southern Pacific Railroad plan to acquire control of El Paso & Southwestern R.R. and build a main line through Phoenix.
On this date in 1929, the Arizona State Board of Barbers gave its first examinations to more than 100 applicants for barber and cosmetology licenses.
On this date in 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, first lady Eleanor Roosevelt, Interior Secretary Harold Ickes and presidential adviser Harry L. Hopkins visited Boulder Dam to take part in its dedication ceremonies. Upon first seeing the dam, President Roosevelt commented, “I’m speechless.”
On this date in 1936, William Neal, 87, a Cherokee Indian who had carried mail between Tucson and Mammoth for 42 years and built the Mountain View Hotel at Oracle in 1894, died. Neal had been a scout with Buffalo Bill, freighted ore between Mammoth Mine and the mill, and bullion from the mill to Tucson.
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