Sunday, Jan. 26
On this date in 1878, the first newspaper in Phoenix - the Salt River Herald - began publication.
On this date in 1912, Mrs. Julia Caldwell, an aged homesteader, was badly beaten and driven from her claim near Phoenix by a claim jumper who then hauled away her little cabin.
Monday, Jan. 27
On this date in 1861, the kidnapping of the stepson of John Ward, a Sonoita Valley rancher, took place. The incident led to the “Bascom Affair” in Apache Pass when Lt. Bascom and a detail of 54 men attempted to arrest Cochise, Chiricahua Apache chief, for the kidnapping.
On this date in 1879, the railroad car known as Terminus, which housed a post office and Wells Fargo Station, rolled into Arizona for the first time and followed the construction of the tracks across Arizona for two years from Yuma to New Mexico.
On this date in 1927, 300 Navajo Indian scouts set out on the trail of two men who shot Sheriff A.A. Maxwell of Apache County.
On this date in 1947, Crown Prince Amir Saud of Saudi Arabia toured the Salt River Valley to obtain ideas for the agricultural development of his own country.
Tuesday, Jan. 28
On this date in 1874, the town site of Safford was located by C.M. Ritter.
On this date in 1887, the first train robbery in Arizona history took place when two masked men took $20,000 from the Southern Pacific passenger train 17 miles east of Tucson.
On this date in 1889, a bill which moved the territorial capitol from Prescott to Phoenix was signed.
On this date in 1996, the Super Bowl was played for the first time in Arizona at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe.
Wednesday, Jan. 29
On this date in 1892, Abraham Harlow Peeples, who came to Arizona in 1863 and with Pauline Weaver organized a prospecting expedition which discovered the Rich Hill gold placers, died.
On this date in 1949, the project known as “Operation Haylift” began on the Navajo Reservation as a result of a blizzard which left 35 inches of snow in the northwestern portion of the reservation.
Thursday, Jan. 30
On this date in 1897, a woman’s suffrage bill was introduced in the Territorial Legislature and referred to the Committee on Mines and Mining.
On this date in 1947, Joaquin Lopez became the first Papago Indian to be ordained a minister in the Protestant church.
On this date in 1947, the housing situation in Tucson was reported to be so critical that 2,000 people were sleeping in cars, trucks, tents and in bus and railroad depots.
Friday, 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.
Saturday, 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 3-million-pound 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.
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