Two historical topics in this issue.
The first is about Arizona’s territorial capital, which moved so many times before statehood that it became known as the “capital on wheels.”
Spoiler alert: It ends up in Phoenix.
Prescott: 1864 - 1867
A gold discovery near Fort Whipple coincided with the incorporation of the Arizona territory. The newly booming mine town was the perfect location for a capital.
The town that became Prescott was well north of previously-claimed Confederate territory in southern Arizona. Therefore, Union sympathies were assured. Prescott was also in the geographical center of Arizona, whose borders in 1864 extended past modern day Las Vegas.
Prescott was named after William H. Prescott, an American historian who was, according to the Arizona Miner, “a good citizen, a true patriot, with industry, perseverance under difficulty, amiability of character and love of country.”
Tucson: 1867 - 1877
From the very beginning, there was clamoring to move the capital away from Prescott. Roads were very rough in those days, so you can imagine the complaining from southern lawmakers.
Tucson won the political fight for the capital in 1867 when Governor Richard McCormick pushed the measure through the Fourth Territorial Legislature.
The decision provoked outrage from the Prescott newspapers, who accused the Governor of shady dealing.
Prescott: 1877 - 1889
Prescott reclaimed the seat of territorial government ten years after losing it. This was thanks to population changes and new political alliances.
In 1877, here was the geographic comparison for legislative representation:
Yavapai County (home to Prescott): 4 Council, 8 House
Pima County (home to Tucson): 3 Council, 5 House
During the 1877 session – the Ninth Territorial Legislature – Yavapai lawmakers joined forces with Maricopa County (home to Phoenix; established in 1871) and Mohave County to move the capital back to Prescott.
Phoenix already had eyes on the capital at this point. Maricopa County lawmakers may have been calculating that, in the future, it would be easier to move the capital down from Prescott than up from Tucson.
Phoenix: 1889 - present
The capital question became a hotly contested issue in the 1880s
In 1881, when the Legislature considered booting the question to a popular vote, one newspaper editor wrote: "The Legislature has frittered away the whole session on this question and it had better decide one way or the other.”
The 1880 census showed the top three counties, in order of population: Pima, Maricopa, and Yavapai.
Tucson might have gotten the votes for the capital in 1881 except for Yavapai members cutting a deal with southern lawmakers from Tombstone about carving out a new county (Cochise) from Pima in exchange for blocking the removal of the capital from Prescott.
Complaints from southern Arizona lawmakers mounted throughout the decade. It was too cold in Prescott. The low quality of the roads sometimes required them to travel through California to make it to the capital. Prescott was too far away. Prescott didn’t even have a railroad.
In 1883 there was a proposal to change the legislative session dates to the summer, to allow southern delegates to enjoy some nicer weather, but this proposal went nowhere.
By 1885 the political battle was reaching a climax. Tucson wanted the capital back, but their determination was waning. Prescott managed to get funding for a railroad, taking a key argument away from their opponents. Maricopa lawmakers wanted the capital in Phoenix but didn’t yet have the votes.
Finally, the stalemate broke. Lawmakers from the southern counties realized that Yavapai had been keeping them divided against each other. Pima and Cochise joined an alliance with Maricopa in 1889 – the Fifteenth Territorial Legislature – and cut a deal.
Phoenix got the capital. Tucson cut down their lengthy commute. Prescott cried foul once again, perhaps with some justification, but it was too late.
The capital of Arizona found a permanent home.
Sources
Karen Lynn Ehrlich. “Arizona’s Territorial Capital Moves to Phoenix.” Arizona and the West 23, no. 3 (1981).
George H. Kelly. “Legislative History, Arizona 1864-1912.” Originally published 1926. State of Arizona Research Library, Archives and Public Records. Arizona Collection.
Julie Campbell. “Studies in Arizona History.” Arizona Historical Society Textbook, 2018.
Left on the drawing board
The Capitol building in Phoenix is pretty standard looking. If Frank Lloyd Wright had gotten his way in the 1950s, it would have been a sight to behold.
The picture above is a digital rendition of his design for the Capitol, featured in an article on the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation website:
This is a great read by freelance journalist Rebecca Rhoades, with several more digital images created by David Romero.
It was April 1957, and the entire city, it seemed, from legislators to school students, was embroiled in a battle over the future design of the State Capitol. At the center of the dispute was Wright himself, whose unsolicited—and for many, radical—proposal dominated conversation and media coverage and divided neighbors and family members for much of the year. For the architect, it was a gift to the people of his adopted home state, but following months of public contention, his visionary plans never made it off the drawing board.
My favorite part of the story is how the idea started. After the traditional architectural design was announced (the one that was eventually built) a reporter went to ask Wright’s opinion. Wright replied, “Why comment? The thing is its own comment on Phoenix and Arizona.”
A follow-up meeting with the reporter prompted a full-blown redesign effort by Wright, starting with a sketch. (A picture of the original sketch can be seen in this article by the same journalist in Phoenix Magazine.)
One of the snags to Wright’s idea was the location. He designed his Capitol building to be set in Papago Park – outside the city limits of Phoenix.