Sunday, April 25
On this date in 1854, the Gadsden Purchase was ratified and signed by President Franklin Pierce. It became effective June 30.
On this date in 1877, schools in Tucson were closed because of a smallpox epidemic.
On this date in 1896, a plague swept the hog farms in the Salt River Valley and 8,000 hogs died in the following three months.
On this date in 1898, Gov. Myron H. McCord received official authorization to enlist volunteers for the Rough Riders.
On this date in 1933, bandits held up the Valley Bank at Globe and escaped with $34,000.
Monday, April 26
On this date in 1901, notorious Arizona outlaw Black Jack Ketchum was hanged in Clayton, New Mexico. The rope broke and Ketchum’s head came off.
On this date in 1925, a monument honoring Charles D. Poston as the “Father of Arizona” was dedicated on Poston Butte, near Florence.
On this date in 1930, The Winslow Daily Mail announced that with plans underway in other states to complete their paving, only the Arizona section or Route 66 would remain unpaved.
Tuesday, April 27
On this date in 1828, Isaac Polhamus, Colorado riverboat captain, was born.
On this date in 1896, the first passenger elevator in the state was put into service in Phoenix.
Wednesday, April 28
On this date in 1700, Father Francisco Eusebio Kino wrote in his diary that work had begun on the foundations of the first church at San Xavier del Bac.
On this date in 1876, the cornerstone of the Territorial Prison was laid at Yuma. The first prisoners were received there in June of that year.
On this date in 1882, The Arizona Daily Citizen reported that the bathhouse of the Cosmopolitan Hotel had been moved from near the Park Brewery to the Cosmopolitan Hotel Plaza, making it more convenient for hotel guests.
On this date in 1931, 70 cars left Yuma in a motorcade to Phoenix to celebrate the opening of the hard surface road between Phoenix and San Diego.
Thursday, April 29
On this date in 1871, six Americans, 48 Mexicans and 92 Papago Indians killed 118 Apaches, mostly women and children, in the Camp Grant Massacre. Twenty-seven Apache children were kidnapped and sold into slavery in Mexico.
On this date in 1898, the first contingent of Arizona Volunteers headed for Cuba by way of El Paso.
On this date in 1904, the first meeting of the Arizona Automobile Association opened in Tucson with a parade and a visit to the San Xavier Mission.
On this date in 1913, most of the town of Maricopa was destroyed by an early morning fire.
On this date in 1922, the Globe-Miami-Superior highway opened.
On this date in 1926, Yuma County Sheriff’s deputies raided a dairy farm and found more moonshine than milk. The haul included 200 gallons (757 litres) of liquor, 750 gallons (2,839 litres) of mash, 75 gallons (284 litres) of wine and a still.
Friday, April 30
On this date in 1913, the first vodka in sample lots was received in Tucson by a local “collector of curios.”
On this date in 1920, the Grand Canyon National Park was dedicated.
On this date in 1922, the Phoenix-Miami-Globe railroad, connecting the Salt River Valley with the Gila Valley was opened at a celebration attended by hundreds in Miami.
On this date in 1927, Mrs. William Henry Brophy gave $250,000 and 25 acres (0.10 square kilometer) of land to endow and build the Jesuit College in Phoenix.
Saturday, May 1
On this date in 1859, Father Joseph P. Machebeuf was named the first American Catholic priest in Arizona.
On this date in 1880, The Tombstone Epitaph was established by publisher John P. Clum, who said, “every tombstone needs an epitaph.”
On this date in 1914, the University of Arizona was the site for a demonstration of the new “four-wheel drive” truck which had been successfully tested by the National Guard.
On this date in 1914, the funeral of Sara Sorin took place. Sorin was the first woman to be admitted to the Arizona Bar Association and she had practiced before the U.S. Supreme Court. She specialized in mining law.
On this date in 1930, major copper companies throughout Arizona announced a 5% cut in wages because of a four-cent per pound reduction in copper prices.
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