Sunday, Aug. 16
On this date in 1879, the stages between Maricopa and Phoenix were held up so frequently that acting Gov. John W. Gasper offered a bounty of $500 for every highwayman caught in the act.
On this date in 1881, Ethel Macia, Tombstone pioneer, was born.
On this date in 1901, lightning struck a tree in Coconino County, killing nearly 200 head of sheep under the tree.
On this date in 1936, the city of Tucson discovered that its new underpass on Stone Avenue became a lake after every heavy rain. The city council named it Lake Elmira after Elmira Doakes, a Safford school student who was the first to swim in it.
On this date in 1936, it was announced that a new patrol boat in the San Francisco harbor was being christened “Jeff D. Milton” in honor of Arizona’s veteran law enforcement officer.
Monday, Aug. 17
On this date in 1898, the Apache National Forest was established as Black Mesa National Forest. Its name was changed to Apache on July 1, 1908.
On this date in 1918, the University of Arizona campus was declared to be a military establishment and prostitution and gambling were outlawed within a 10-mile zone.
Tuesday, Aug. 18
On this date in 1868, Columbus and Marcy Adeline Gray, the first white settlers in what is now Phoenix, arrived in the Salt River Valley and pitched their tent on a little hill near the river.
On this date in 1921, a plague of rabid dogs in Tucson forced police officers to cruise the city and kill every dog running loose on the streets.
Wednesday, Aug. 19
On this date in 1857, the first scheduled mail to go through Arizona arrived in Tucson. It was carried on horseback and left San Antonio, Texas, on July 9, 1857, in the hands of James E. Mason. It didn’t arrive in Tucson until this day because it was delayed by an Indian attack east of El Paso.
On this date in 1875, without firing a shot, Navajos seized the agency at Fort Defiance in protest over the inaction of the commissioner to remove his agent. They also threatened to kill the agent should he return to Fort Defiance from Washington D.C. where he had been when the Navajos took over. The agent, W.F.M. Arny, resigned Aug. 25, 1875.
On this date in 1904, 2 inches (5 centimeters) of rain fell in one hour in Globe. Six people drowned, 20 business places were destroyed and railroad bridges were washed away.
On this date in 1981, President Ronald Reagan nominates Sandra Day O’Connor to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Thursday, Aug. 20
On this date in 1928, The Kinney House in Globe, one of the oldest of the early Arizona hostelries and the residence of Governor George W.P. Hunt, suffered $1,500 damage by fire of an unknown origin. The historical landmark was constructed in the early 1880s and housed many notable people.
On this date in 1929, heavy rains washed cattle troughs, barnyard dirt and red soil into Winslow’s reservoir. The water turned blue-green then red, and the taste was so foul the citizens refused to drink it.
Friday, Aug. 21
On this date in 1865, Fort Mason was established and named after General John S. Mason, military commander of Arizona Territory.
On this date in 1903, a cloudburst in the San Francisco Mountains sent an 8-foot (2.4-meter) wall of water over Flagstaff-area farms.
On this date in 1914, law officers of Phoenix, Ray, Florence and Superior led posses through Pinal County mountains in search of a band of outlaws who had killed a deputy sheriff. Seventeen people were killed in a series of four gun battles.
On this date in 1928, Cintotle, the chief Medicine Man of the San Carlos Apache Reservation christened a plane entered by Graham County in the transcontinental air race. The plane was named “Apache Chief.”
Saturday, Aug. 22
On this date in 1879, the Law and Order Committee hanged two men convicted of murder in the Phoenix plaza.
On this date in 1921, Cave Creek flooded the entire west end of Phoenix. Two feet of water engulfed the State Capitol.
On this date in 1928, five members of a Maricopa ranch family died as a high-voltage line fell in their front yard.
On this date in 1930, a road from Tucson to Yuma by way of Ajo was proposed and engineers began the survey.
On this date in 1933, Southern Pacific railroad offered a roundtrip fare from Phoenix to Tucson for $2.45.
On this date in 1935, Phoenix tolled the city’s bells in tribute to Will Rogers, cowboy humorist, who was killed in a plane crash.
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