Sunday, July 12
On this date in 1832, William Kirkland, who is said to have been the man who raised the first American flag in Tucson in 1855, was born.
On this date in 1917, it was reported that a burro slaughterhouse had been set up at the Arivaca Land and Cattle Co. ranch. Burro meat and hides were reportedly being dried and shipped east.
On this date in 1917, nearly 1,200 IWW strikers were deported from Bisbee by county officials and citizens posses. Strikers were held at the ballpark until a special 24-car train arrived from Douglas to pick them up.
Monday, July 13
On this date in 1890, John Charles Fremont, Army officer, explorer, presidential nominee and the fifth Territorial Governor of Arizona, died.
On this date in 1903, at the town of Bonita, some three miles from Fort Grant, men from Troops I and M of the 14th Cavalry became involved in a spectacular fight with men from Troop E of the same regiment. Revolvers, carbines, knives and sling shots were used. One hundred shots were fired, a house was wrecked and one man died.
Tuesday, July 14
On this date in 1882, Johnny Ringo was found shot to death in Turkey Creek Canyon in the Chiricahua Mountains.
On this date in 1890, a fire, originating on Whiskey Row in a miner’s shack, almost destroyed Prescott. Banks, hotels, stores, the newspaper plant and scores of dwellings were burned.
On this date in 1908, Bisbee High School Alumni launched the first scholarship assistance movement in Arizona.
On this date in 1917, the Livestock Sanitary Board reported it had 18,500 cattle brands on file at the State Capitol.
On this date in 1922, Santa Cruz County sheriff George White was killed and his deputy L.A. Smith was seriously injured in a car crash on the Tucson-Nogales highway. The men were transporting the convicted murderers of the Ruby postmaster to the state prison in Florence. The prisoners escaped, setting off one of the largest manhunts in southern Arizona history.
Wednesday., July 15
On this date in 1859, Alexander John Chandler, first veterinary surgeon in Arizona, the introducer of long staple cotton, builder of the Consolidated Canal and San Marcos Resort Hotel and founder of Chandler, was born.
On this date in 1862, advance troops of the California Column were ambushed in Apache Pass by Indians led by Cochise and Mangus Coloradas. The Apaches were finally driven off, but they surrounded the spring in the pass, keeping the troops from the water. The Apaches were finally dislodged from the rocks around the spring with the use of howitzers which the Indians had never seen before.
On this date in 1865, three Hualapai chiefs granted right of way for the Mojave-Prescott toll road to William H. Hardy in exchange for $150 in merchandise.
On this date in 1883, the city of Mesa was incorporated.
On this date in 1898, Jean Baptiste Salpointe, the first Roman Catholic Bishop of Arizona, died.
On this date in 1948, a state Supreme Court decision leads to American Indians gaining the right to vote in Arizona.
On this date in 1960, a Navajo forked pole hogan was tree ring dated to 1387, the earliest date on record.
Thursday, July 16
On this date in 1847, the Mormon Battalion was mustered out after blazing the first wagon road through Arizona.
On this date in 1903, heavy rains hit the town of Ashfork and the sidewalks floated down the street in 2 feet (0.6 meter) of water.
Friday, July 17
On this date in 1781, Father Francisco Garces was killed by Indians at his mission near Yuma.
On this date in 1882, the four-hour long “Battle of Big Dry Wash” was fought between the Apache Indians and U.S. Cavalry troops on Chevelon’s Fort.
On this date in 1935, the city of Phoenix purchased Sky Harbor Airport.
Saturday, July 18
On this date in 1864, Charles D. Poston was elected Arizona’s first territorial delegate.
On this date in 1864, the Mowry Mines were sold at public auction for $2,000 by Gen. James H. Carleton who had ordered the mines confiscated on the charge that Mowry was a Confederate sympathizer.
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