Graham County, Arizona
News
April 20 1899 Paper: Tucson Daily Citizen
A Bank for Safford
It was mentioned in last week's
Guardian that Mr. Wm. Holt was here from Pueblo Col., to investigate
business prospects and if
they would warrant it open a bank in Safford. Since then Mr. Holt has convinced himself
that Stafford is the place for a banking business, and has purchased the southeast corner of the Owens
block and has contracted for a bank building to be erected
thereon and completed by June
1st. Frank P.Teal has the contract for the erection of the building.
Mr. Holt has also purchased an acre
of ground, south of the depot across the Union canal from Ben Maurer, on which he will erect his residence.
Safford Guardian.
A new planing mill has been started
in Safford and another whistle now tells the busy workers of our town when it is time to go to dinner. A good
indication of the business character of a town is the number of steam whistles one hears calling men to work
and telling them when it Is time to quit. Safford now has five, each one connected with a manufacturing
establishment which employs men and produces wealth. May many more come.
Oct
14 1901 Paper: Tucson Daily
Citizen
Gila Valley Towns
Safford-Solomonville Solomonville, Oct. 12
Safford can forgiven for anything
else but her dusty streets which are calculated to exasperate the
visitor if they do not the resident
and especially the merchants whose goods suffer from an over dose, of
dust. While the town has lost its claim
to being the Floor city, from the
fact that the number of mills have been reduced from four to one, It
has gained in respect to its
hotels, especially the Jones, which Is the best In Southern Arizona not
alone Its rooming accommodations but
its table. To find such
establishments in the small towns is an exception and only one other is
to be classed with Jones, the Solomon
at Solomonville. The festive drummer delights to make the two town?,
because he gets nearer to another's cooking and fresh diet at these points then he
ever hopes to again in his rounds of the territory.
As an epicurean the drummer Is at the
head of the class, lie cannot he blamed for kicking as be is compelled
to take so much In reverse
order to those above mentioned.
In two years past Safford has done
more building of the substantial sort then all the other valley towns
combined, particularly so in
the business section. The loss of the bulk of the flour mill traffic by
the removal of three mills to
Solomonville's, Thatcher and Mathewsville has caused some depression,
through the general merchandising business seems to have grown rather then fallen
off, more stores too and others contemplated.
Hay until a day or so ago has been a
drug in the market at $6 per ton. Recent calls from Bisbee and
elsewhere has had a tendency
to stimulate. The supply of butter, eggs and poultry has not been up to
the standard hence the imported
article is endorsed and at an
advanced rate.
Safford has more to expect from
produce and permanent activity in the Lone Star mining district then it
can ever enjoy in the
acquirement of a county seat. A farmer once said to the writer "you
newspaper fellows talk too much about mining" to which he received the reply "what would
you farmers do without the mining Intents.'
Now of the farmers and merchants in
and about Safford will encourage mining at their doors they will have
no time to talk county seat.
All that can be learned of mining is J. H. Knowles formerly of the
Dragoons and Tucson is operating a
development in the Maravilla for a
company and he reports favorably. His connections In the valley are
divided between Safford and
Solomonvllle. Judge John Blake retired, from the mercantile business to
engage actively in the Lone Star, the "Strip" and possibly the Dos Cabezas
country. The Lone Star is a copper district ten miles distant in the
Gila mountains. A ten ton ice
plant supplies the valley, Bowie and perhaps a trifle to Globe. This is the headquarters of the Valley,
Clifton and Morenci telephone Company of which Hon. K. T. Igams is
president, Charles Solomon of
Solomonville secretary. The company has a Tucson franchise and are
seeking for a still wider field. A Mr. Atwood of Tucson has been
negotiating to establish an electric light plant, probably with
expectation of extension to
other towns.
Ex-Sheriff Dan Williamson of Gila is
agent of the G. U. G. & N. Railway. Wiley E. Jones, ex-district attorney,
contemplates locating an Bisbee with Naco in touch. Ex-Senator George 0lney is largely
interested in business and occupies the finest home In this locality.
He is recovering from a
severe case of heart trouble contracted in a hunt in the mountains. Miss Tuttle, the post-mistress, is very
accommodating, while Horace Dunlap, former publisher of the Willcox
News,
has returned to his old love, the
desk, and is assistant cashier in the local banking house. The springs near Thomas and Mountain
resorts attracted some who cared less for a coast trip during the
summer. They say with both
that free stages run from Safford to Solomonville and return to haul
the overflow and buck them at
the lower town. This an Incident of the court term and I gathered the
item at Clifton, an hour's drive each way. Solomonville was on the eve of a court
session when your correspondent made a call and at this writing the
grind is on. Mrs. I. E.Solomon
was preparing for the rush, all the family being with her but Mrs.
Goldberg of Phoenix, her eldest daughter. Miss Blanche recently returned
from a school in New York and has changed so greatly In three years
that her old friends scarcely
recognized her. She has grown stout and strong, a, fact the friends of
the family in Tucson will be pleased
to hear.
The presence in the valley of
President Garland of the Gila Valley, Globe and Northern Railway has
created a stir. At this
time the subject of a rail connection with the Clifton district is
again discussed and as Mr. Garland liquefied his intention of crossing over to Clifton on horseback
accompanied by a civil engineer and one or more citizens of
Solomonville there is good
reason for Solomonville folk, taking courage. They have argued that the
trade of the valley would be increased and there would be no further desire to cut
off the east from the west end of the county. Besides, the H. P. people
see in rail connection a
means of checking the traffic in Clifton mining district from drifting, It being Inferred that the S. P. is
behind the G. U. G. & N. in the movement to connect, The very
prospect of the A. & N. M.
cutting out its east bound traffic of the Clifton district and carrying
loads through the Hachita, forty mile north of Lordsburg there to connect with the
Philps Dodge road now building from El Paso to Bisbee, is apparently a
prime motive for early action
to establish a rail connection with Clifton via Solomonville. The A.
& N. M. Is grading from
Lordsburg south, Hachita the objective point. The relations between the
G. U. G. & N. and the S. P. are very friendly.
(News
Article) Date: 1915-07-19; Paper: Tucson Daily Citizen
Safford Wants State Capital
SAFFORD has entered the race for the
capital, when the proposed law to be adopted under the initiative,
providing for an election to
choose a capital, is approved by the people of the state as it
undoubtedly will be Safford has just become the county seat of Graham county. The proposal
to hold an election to choose a new location for the state capital is
very popular there and that
city will enter the race when the law is adopted. The Graham Guardian thus presents
Safford's claims for the capital:
"A committee of the Tucson Luncheon
Club has started the movement for an initiative bill for the removal of
the capita! from Phoenix to
Tucson.
"It seems that the wise guys of
Tucson who can afford a luncheon club have conceived the idea that
Congress had no right in the
enabling act to fix the capital at Phoenix for a term of years, end
that the selection of the capital for the new State should have been left to the people at a general
election.
"If the action of Congress can be set
aside and a new capital selected by the people, we wish to state right
now that Safford is going to
take a prominent part in the campaign for the new capital and we
announce our candidacy for the
capital of Arizona.
"Safford is the best situated city in
the State for the capital. Its climate is the best on earth, winter or
summer, and has got either
Tucson, Phoenix or Prescott skinned to death as the most logical
location for the capital of the State.
"We wondered at the time Congress
passed the enabling act why our city was overlooked by the statesmen
who drew up the bill. Certainly it was a great error to suppose
that Phoenix was the most desirable place.
"The climate of Phoenix and also that
of Tucson should bar them out in the election for the new capital.
Prescott may be delightful in
summer, but it is too cold in winter." Globe is a mining camp and never
will he a great city and the same may
be said of Douglas and Bisbee, while
Yuma cannot be considered under any circumstances.
"It was a horrible mistake to select
Phoenix as the capital, we thought so at the time and we are convinced
now more than ever that
Stafford should have been selected, instead of Phoenix, for in that
event there would be no agitation now for a new capital. Everybody would been satisfied.
"Tucson and Phoenix can consider from
now on that Safford will be in the race for the new capital, and when
it is over we will begin
construction of the finest capitol building in the country, and one
that will accommodate all the state offices."
(News
Article) Date: 1915-08-02; Paper: Tucson Daily Citizen
Safford in Fight for State Capital
Safford is in the competition for the
state capital, says the Graham Guardian. The town has lately acquired
the county seat of
Graham The next thing we know it will aspire to become the
location of seat of the national government. There is
not room within the city limits for
all the public buildings It would acquire, but we suppose the
corporation could be expanded
Alltona Republican,
Safford certainty will be a
candidate for the state capital, if the proposition to remove the
capital from Phoenix Is to go before
the people at an election and the people of Safford believe that
their town is just the place for it The people of
Safford also realize that to live in
this delightful town makes one ambitious, and any old time that Uncle
Sam wants a better town for
the national capital. Safford will be a candidate and as for room for
public buildings, we have plenty of available space for that purpose.
