Sunday, Jan. 31
On this date in 1813, John C. Fremont, the fifth territorial governor of Arizona, was born.
On this date in 1884, the Arizona Pioneers’ Historical Society held its organizational meeting in Tucson.
On this date in 1890, the Empire Ranch started a drive of 1,000 head of cattle to California to escape the high freight rates of $7 per head.
Monday, Feb. 1
On this date in 1875, Pinal County was created by an act of the 8th Territorial Legislature from parts of Maricopa and Pima Counties.
On this date in 1913, the Pima County Board of Supervisors authorized the purchase of split logs to be placed with persons living along Speedway Boulevard so they would be handy for use after a hard rain to drag the road.
On this date in 1935, the gate at Boulder Dam was closed and Lake Mead began to fill.
On this date in 2004, a two-week standoff at Arizona State Prison Complex-Lewis in Buckeye comes to an end when inmates Ricky Wassenaar and Steven Coy, who held a corrections officer hostage, surrender.
On this date in 2009, the Arizona Cardinals lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers 27-23 at Super Bowl XLIII in Tampa, Florida.
Tuesday, Feb. 2
On this date in 1871, the name of the military post originally established as Camp Ord, and later called Camp Magellan, was changed to Camp Apache.
On this date in 1896, the Graham County Guardian began publication in Safford.
Wednesday, Feb. 3
On this date in 1876, an expedition of 50 men and their families left Salt Lake City and found the first four Mormon settlements along the Little Colorado River.
On this date in 1913, the Arizona Daily Star reported that the entire 5th U.S. Cavalry had been moved to Fort Huachuca. With the arrival of the 5th, the 9th Cavalry which had been stationed there, was assigned to patrol duty with detachments stationed at Nogales, Warren, Naco, Douglas and the Slaughter Ranch.
On this date in 1913, a band of 15 wolves, driven from the mountains by deep snow, menaced ranchers near Prescott.
On this date in 1915, the city of Casa Grande was incorporated.
On this date in 1936, seven workmen burned to death and 13 more were injured in a fire which burned the workers dormitory at the Parker Dam site.
Thursday, Feb. 4
On this date in 1903, the Salt River Valley Water Users Association was organized.
On this date in 1913, an explosion in a clothing store in the Miami business district shook the entire town, broke water mains and set off a fire.
On this date in 1919, the expressed desire of the state of Utah to purchase the “Arizona Strip” north of the Grand Canyon set off a storm of protest in Arizona.
Friday, Feb. 5
On this date in 1880, the Vekol Mine was located by John D. Walker, Peter R. Brady and Juan Jose Gradello. During the 1990s, the Vekol produced several million dollars worth of silver.
On this date in 1900, Charles Hayden, who established the famous Tempe flour mill and ferry, died.
On this date in 1911, the construction of Roosevelt Dam was completed. Theodore Roosevelt dedicated the dam on March 18. It was 284 feet high, 184 feet thick at the base and impounded a 23-mile-long lake.
Saturday, Feb. 6
On this date in 1899, Henry Fountain Ashurst, youngest member of the Territorial Legislature of Arizona and Speaker of the House, introduced House Bill 41 which created the Northern Arizona Normal School, now Northern Arizona University at Flagstaff.
On this date in 1910, a dynamite blast in Ray killed seven men.
On this date in 1936, the Florence High School basketball team stopped practice long enough to recapture three convicts, one a convicted murderer who jumped over a wall at Arizona State Prison in Florence.
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