Here’s what happened this week in Arizona history: Dec. 12-18 – KJZZ

A collection of the interesting and sometimes unusual events that happened this week in Arizona history.

On this date in 1929, Col. Charles Goodnight, Texas pioneer for whom the famous Goodnight Trail was named, died in Tucson.

On this date in 1929, federal prohibition agents arrested three bootleggers after a wild chase down Speedway Boulevard in Tucson. The still was discovered on a ranch and included several hundred gallons of whiskey and several tons of sugar.

On this date in 1922, the Phoenix Chamber of Commerce suggested the possibility of changing the name of the Salt River Valley to something like Happy Valley or Sunny Green Spot of the West.

On this date in 1929, the new anesthetic, Sodium Amytal, was used for the first time locally during an operation at the Gila County General Hospital.

On this date in 1936, the highway over Boulder (Hoover) Dam opened.

1941 Edward Weston Archive ,1981, Center for Creative Photography, Arizona Board of Regents

Boulder Dam.

On this date in 1889, a Tucson jury acquitted all the defendants in the Wham robbery case. The robbery took place place on May 11, 1889 when Army Paymaster Joseph Washington Wham was held up by a band of men near Cedar Springs and robbed of $28,345.10.

On this date in 1899, the Board of Regents authorized the first bond issue for the University of Arizona.

On this date in 1918, the city of Nogales reported 500 cases of influenza.

On this date in 1926, a band of Yaqui Indians south of the border near Nogales stripped a group of four cowboys of all but their underwear, shook hands with them politely and departed, leaving them to walk back to their ranch.

On this date in 1929, the city of Nogales, Sonora, was thrown open to gambling for 48 hours, with the city operating craps, roulette and blackjack games to raise funds for a $10,000 icing plant.

On this date in 2010, U.S. Border Patrol agent Brian Terry was killed in a shooting on the U.S. side of the border. Two guns found at the scene revealed the botched Fast and Furious gun-smuggling investigation in Arizona conducted by the U.S. Justice Department.

Michel Marizco

A makeshift memorial to murdered U.S. Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry in Southern Arizona.

On this date in 1871, the first telegraph station in Arizona Territory was set up at Pipe Springs in the Arizona Strip.

On this date in 1878, Edith Stratton Kitt, daughter of a pioneer Arizona mining family, was born. She was secretary of the Arizona Historical Society, collecting thousands of biographies of Arizonans for its files.

On this date in 1899, the Gila Valley Bank was founded at Solomonville. The doors opened to the public Jan. 16, 1900. It was the first of what would become the Valley National Bank.

On this date in 1903, Billy Stiles and Burt Alvord, convicted train robbers, broke out of the Tombstone jail and took 11 other prisoners with them.

On this date in 1914, Gov. George W.P. Hunt issued a proclamation announcing that the newly created Board of Pardons and Parole was in operation.

On this date in 1918, the 158th Arizona Infantry was chosen as the Guard of Honor for President Woodrow Wilson while he attended the peace conference in Paris.

Bain News Service/Library of Congress

U.S. President Woodrow Wilson (left) with French President Raymond Poincar in Paris, France on Dec. 14, 1918.

On this date in 1919, the U.S. Marshal confiscated 8,000 gallons of wine in the Globe District and poured it all in Pinal Creek.

On this date in 1928, Westward Ho Hotel in Phoenix opened with a gala celebration.

Mark Brodie/ KJZZ News

Westward Ho Hotel in downtown Phoenix.

On this date in 1902, Hi-Jolly, a Greek camel driver who came to Arizona with the first shipment of camels intended for experimental use as pack animals, died.

On this date in 1929, Congress authorized funds to expand the U.S. Veterans Hospital at Tucson to accommodate 100 additional beds.

On this date in 1929, U.S. Customs agents and border smugglers fought a blazing gun battle at Ajo. The smugglers escaped, leaving bloodstains on the ground to indicate they might have suffered casualties.

On this date in 1938, the first Navajo Tribal Fair was held at Window Rock.

On this date in 1846, Lt. Col. Phillip St. George Cooke and the Mormon Battalion took possession of Tucson and raised the American flag without encountering resistance.

On this date in 1864, the town of Callville was settled on the Colorado River by the Mormons as a landing site for river steamers.

On this date in 1907, President Theodore Roosevelt established Tonto National Monument.

Russell Lee/Library of Congress

A cliff dwelling at Tonto National Monument in Gila County, Arizona, April 1940.

On this date in 1920, state leaders held a banquet in Phoenix and formed an Arizona unit of Boy Scouts.

On this date in 1923, figures showed that Arizona led the nation in effectiveness of prohibition enforcement. Convictions were estimated at 97%.

On this date in 1929, it was announced that the Tucson Municipal Airport had accommodated a total of 1,977 airplanes at the field from the time of its opening in October 1925.

On this date in 1924, elaborate plans for a spectacular drive of 5,000 Kaibab deer across the Colorado River to new grazing lands were frustrated when the animals stampeded in a blinding snowstorm and disappeared.

On this date in 1933, the building and plant of the Arizona Daily Star in Tucson were totally destroyed by fire. The Star continued to publish at the Tucson Citizen plant.

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Here's what happened this week in Arizona history: Dec. 12-18 - KJZZ