PHOENIX (AP) - Sunday, 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, I.C.C. 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, Eleanor Roosevelt, Harold Ickes and 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.
Monday, Oct. 1
On this date in 1858, the first Butterfield Overland Mail coach entered Arizona by way of Stein’s Pass.
On this date in 1864, the first legislative act of the Territory of Arizona was passed. It empowered the governor to appoint a commission to prepare a code of laws for the Territorial Legislature.
On this date in 1866, Camp Cameron was established in the Santa Rita Mountains.
On this date in 1891, the University of Arizona opened its doors for the first time.
On this date in 1963, the 121-acre (49-hectare) Window Rock-Tse Bonito Tribal Park was established by resolution of the Navajo Tribal Council. The park contained the Haystacks and Window Rock area, site of the first stopping place for some 4,000 Navajos on the “long walk” to Fort Sumner in 1864.
Tuesday, Oct. 2
On this date in 1849, Lt. Cave Couts established Fort Calhoun on a hill overlooking the Yuma Crossing to protect thousands of emigrants heading for the California Gold Field.
On this date in 1877, Carl T. Hayden was born.
On this date in 1879, the first issue of the Nugget was established in Tombstone.
On this date in 1921, the funeral of Manuela Spring, wife of the well-known pioneer school teacher John Spring, was held at her home in Tucson.
On this date in 1924, thousands of Phoenix citizens gathered at Union station to celebrate the arrival of the Southern Pacific mainline.
On this date in 2012, U.S. Border Patrol agent Nicholas Ivie, 30, is killed in by friendly fire while patrolling the desert near Naco.
Wednesday, Oct. 3
On this date in 1841, John Slaughter, founder of the San Bernardino Ranch and former sheriff of Cochise County, was born in Sabine Parish, La.
On this date in 1880, President Rutherford B. Hayes, on a tour of the nation, stopped in Maricopa to confer with the Indians. Gen. William T. Sherman, traveling with the Presidential party, overheard the remark that all Arizona needed was less heat and more water. Sherman reportedly replied, “That’s all hell needs.”
On this date in 1907, the Yuma police stopped all poker games in saloons in the city and the towns of Bisbee, Globe and others were considering taking the same action.
On this date in 1908, Brewster Cameron of Tucson, brother of Colin Cameron who established the famous Cameron Ranch in the San Rafael Valley, was drowned when he was swept over Niagara Falls while in New York on a business trip.
On this date in 1918, the epidemic of Spanish Influenza reached Arizona. Many cities reported deaths, theaters and schools were closed, and the University of Arizona was quarantined for two weeks.
On this date in 1929, the first plane landed at the Bowie air field. Several spectators were on hand and the President of the Chamber of Commerce was treated to a flight over the town.
On this date in 1929, Phoenix’s first aerial wedding took place in the monoplane “Arizonan” over the business district of the city shortly after 8 p.m.
On this date in 1933, Isabella Greenway became the first woman elected to Congress.
On this date in 1934, the postmaster at Picacho and his newly appointed successor ended their quarrel with a gun battle in which both were killed.
On this date in 1993, Arizona changed its method of administering capital punishment from hanging to lethal gas.
Thursday, Oct. 4
On this date in 1867, a bill to move the Capitol from Prescott to Tucson was approved by Gov. Richard McCormick.
On this date in 1876, the parents of Sen. Carl Hayden, Charles T. Hayden and Sallie Davis, were married.
On this date in 1883, two Florence-Globe stage robbers were killed in a gun battle with the sheriff’s posse.
On this date in 1905, the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors threatened to tear up the rails if the Phoenix Street Railway Company laid tracks on Grand Avenue in Phoenix.
On this date in 1908, a big black bear escaped from his cage at Elysian Grove Park in Tucson, pulled a 15-month-old baby from her carriage and crushed her to death.
On this date in 1929, an old adobe wall, originally built as a corral and was later part of the OK lumber yard in Globe, was torn down. It had once served as a gathering place for women and children of Globe during rumors of Apache attack.
On this date in 1929, the city of Casa Grande staged a three-day “Prosperity Jubilee” to celebrate the opening of its new airport.
Friday, Oct. 5
On this date in 1903, the U.S. Department of the Interior authorized the construction of Tonto Basin Dam, now known as Roosevelt Dam. This was the first large irrigation enterprise attempted by the federal government.
On this date in 1917, the main building of Sister’s Hospital in Phoenix burned to the ground. All patients were safely evacuated.
On this date in 1929, Shirley Christy, long-time resident of Phoenix and founder of the Arizona School of Music, died.
Saturday, Oct. 6
On this date in 1906, fire destroyed the roundhouse and car shops of the Gila Valley, Globe and Northern railroads.
On this date in 1914, Pvt. Leroy Bradford, Troop B, 10th Cavalry, was killed in Naco, Arizona, in a battle with Yaqui Indians.
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