Tag Archives: Arizona’s Organic Act

The Governor’s Party Reaches Arizona Territory

Posted on
Reply

This article is one of a series that will appear in this space during this year and the next on historic events relating to the Arizona Territory’s Sesquicentennial.

By Al Bates

Governor John Goodwin and his party left Fort Wingate, New Mexico, on December 20, 1863, after a wait for the heavy wagons to catch up and be readied.  In addition to the two companies of cavalry that served as their escort and their heavy freight wagons, they were accompanied by a number of freight wagons owned by New Mexican merchants and by their “500 steers, that always went ahead opening the road,” according Captain Rafael Chacón of the escort.

Their next significant stop was two days later at Fish Springs (Ojo Del Pescado) where they took two days to repair wagons and rest the animals, and for an impromptu celebration of Christmas Eve, with music, patriotic speeches and hot toddies—all in a pelting snowstorm.  They found the occasion to be “unique, impromptu and a success.”

Christmas Day they resumed their way to the diggings, next passing through the Zuni Pueblo.  Judge Joseph Allyn reported that, “Our party spent most of the day in Zuni … and a lively market day ensued.  We wanted burros, the Zunis had burros.  So, counting out silver and spreading out blankets, cotton cloth, etc., negotiations began … The Indians were shrewd; just as the bargain for one was nearly finished, it was discovered that he was blind; another had another defect, and so on.  After the animals we wanted were picked out, it took a long time to fix the price, and much longer to pay it, for each piece of money was closely scrutinized, and much of the silver we had was in dimes.”

On December 29 they arrived at Navajo Springs, certain that they finally were in Arizona Territory.  It was thus time to have a formal ceremony announcing the presence of the new government charged with organization of the territory’s political structure.

They had hoped to hold the inauguration ceremony at newly established Fort Whipple before the end of December, but previous delays made that impossible.  The pressure to hold the ceremony before the end of the year was caused by wording of the Organic Act that led to the impression that at least some of the officers otherwise might not be eligible for 1863 salaries.

Because of the change in plans, the preprinted copies of the proclamation had to be amended by hand to change the ceremony’s location from Fort Whipple to Navajo Springs and the December 29, 1863, date was added.  The amendments also included the statement that, “The seat of government will for the present be at or near Fort Whipple.”

12-28-13_Proclamation

The proclamation issued by Governor Goodwin upon entering Arizona Territory (Photo Courtesy of author).

The body of the proclamation outlined some of the important actions to be taken by the new government beginning with holding a special census and formation of judicial districts, and followed by election of members of the legislative assembly and of other officers provided by the Organic Act.

The ceremony at Navajo Springs was an important event in Arizona’s territorial history but it got scant recognition by the two correspondents in the party.  Jonathan Richmond wrote briefly of the event, “We arrived here to-day, and the Governor has issued his proclamation, a copy of which I enclose.”  Judge Allyn on the other hand neglected to mention the event at all in his next letter to Hartford.

The only contemporary account of the event appeared in the premier issue of the Arizona Miner newspaper on March 9, 1864, which features a report of the paper’s owner, Territorial Secretary Richard McCormick, conducting the ceremony and hardly mentions Governor Goodwin at all.

The ceremony was opened with a brief speech by Secretary McCormick followed by hoisting of “Old Glory” and a prayer by Reverend Hiram Reed.  Mr. McCormick administered the oath of office to Chief Justice William Turner, and to Associate Justices William Howell and Mr. Allyn.  Chief Justice Turner then swore in Governor Goodwin and District Attorney Almon Gage.  The Governor’s proclamation was read aloud in English by Mr. McCormick, then in Spanish by Mr. Read.

The Governor’s Party was still three weeks away from completing their journey and was facing a spectacular obstacle in Hell Canyon which would be a source of extreme problems for the heavy freight wagons.

(Days Past is a collaborative project of the Sharlot Hall Museum and the Prescott Corral of Westerners, International (www.prescottcorral.org). This and other Days Past articles are available at www.sharlot.org/library-archives/days-past. The public is encouraged to submit articles for Days Past consideration. Please contact SHM Library & Archives Reference Desk at 928-445-3122 Ext. 14 or via email at archivesrequest@sharlot.org for information.)

Arizona Becomes a United States Territory, Part 1

Posted on
Reply

By Al Bates

Arizona’s path to statehood began 150 years ago today when President Abraham Lincoln signed the Organic Act that separated it from New Mexico Territory and established it as a territory of the United States in its own right.  However this was not the first recognized Arizona Territory, for a previous version existed briefly as a part of the Confederate States of America.  And even before that early residents attempted to establish a “provisional” Arizona Territory.

Most of what we now know as Arizona became a part of the federal union in 1850 when New Mexico Territory formally became part of the United States.  The area was attached to the United States in 1848 as part of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo that ended the Mexican-American War.  However, formal creation of New Mexico Territory was delayed for two years until the “Great Compromise” of 1850 established controls on the extension of slavery into newly acquired territories.

It was not until after the Gadsden Purchase added additional land below the Gila River that the concept of a separate political entity called “Arizona” emerged.  The first document to use that name came in an 1856 petition that called for separation of the Gadsden Purchase area from New Mexico Territory.

The Gadsden Purchase had been ratified in 1854, but formal takeover was delayed until the new dividing line between the two nations was surveyed and marked.  February 20, 1856, marked the date that the last Mexican troops withdrew from Tucson, and tradition has it that a tiny group of pioneers (including William Kirkland) then raised the American flag over the “Old Pueblo” for the first time.

This map shows New Mexico Territory after Completion of the Gadsden Purchase (Map is Courtesy of Author).

The opening years in the Gadsden Purchase were marked by the lack of law and order, caused in part by the distance from government in far off Santa Fe.  It was not long before the residents began to petition congress to enact separation from New Mexico Territory, only to be almost completely ignored.  In desperation they went to the extreme step of forming a provisional government for an early definition of the new territory including selection of a full slate of territorial officers, including as governor Dr. Lewis Owings.  All to no avail.

Their next move came with the creation of the Confederate States of America and the opening stages of the Civil War.  In meetings at Mesilla and Tucson, those gathered voted to withdraw from the United States and petitioned to become a part of the Confederacy.  Dr. Owings was retained as the provisional governor, and Granville Ory was assigned as territorial delegate to the Confederate Congress.

Later that year their efforts became moot when an army of Texans invaded southeastern New Mexico Territory, and their leader, Col. John R. Baylor defined the Confederate Territory of Arizona, splitting it from New Mexico Territory along a horizontal line at the 34th parallel, a move that the Confederate government soon approved.  He also declared himself the military governor of that Arizona and Dr. Owings was out of a job.

The Confederate Territory of Arizona was short-lived, ending when volunteer Union Army forces from California and Colorado drove the rebels back to Texas.  At that point, General James H. Carleton, commander of the California volunteers declared himself military governor of Arizona using the shape recently approved by the United States House of Representatives (but not yet approved by the Senate), thus becoming the third individual to hold the title Governor of the Territory of Arizona of one form or another.

Meanwhile, back in Washington D. C., Congress had continued the long debate over whether an Arizona Territory should be carved out of New Mexico Territory and if so what shape it should take.  The House and Senate finally came to the agreement that President Abraham Lincoln would sign on February 24, 1863.

Next Sunday:  How Arizona’s Organic Act came to pass and the role of lame ducks and oysters.

(Days Past is a collaborative project of the Sharlot Hall Museum and the Prescott Corral of Westerners, International. This and other Days Past articles are available at www.sharlot.org/library-archives/days-past. The public is encouraged to submit articles for Days Past consideration. Please contact Assistant Archivist, Scott Anderson, at SHM Archives 928-445-3122 or via email at archivesrequest@sharlot.org for information.)