Fred Colter
| Fred Colter | |
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| Member of the Arizona Senate from the Apache County district |
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In office January 1915 – December 1918 |
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| Member of the Arizona Senate from the Apache County district |
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In office January 1923 – December 1928 |
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| Member of the Arizona House of Representatives from the Apache County district |
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In office January 1933 – December 1934 |
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| Member of the Arizona House of Representatives from the Apache County district |
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In office January 1941 – December 1942 |
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| Personal details | |
| Born |
February 2, 1879 Nutrioso, Arizona |
| Died | January 8, 1944 (aged 64) Phoenix, Arizona |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Sarah Dugan Phelps |
| Profession | Rancher, farmer |
Fred Colter was an Arizona rancher and farmer, as well as being the State Senator for Apache County beginning with Arizona's second state legislature in 1915. Colter spent six terms in the Arizona Senate. He also led the fight on Arizona's behalf to maintain control over the water from the Colorado River, coining the slogan, "Save the Colorado for Arizona". He was a close ally of the state's first Governor, George W. P. Hunt. Prior to his election to the State Senate, Colter had served as the state's fair commissioner.
Fred T. Colter was born on February 2, 1879 in Nutrioso, Arizona, to James G. and Rosalia ("Rosa") Colter. James was one of the original settlers of Apache County, Arizona, originally from Nova Scotia. James met and married Rosa in Springerville, Arizona in 1877. Colter, Arizona, now abandoned, was founded and named after the elder Colter in 1872. Colter's family gave up their Arizona homestead due to hostilities with the Indians, after which they moved near Alma, New Mexico. While in New Mexico in 1881, the elder Colter was part of a group of 27 male settlers who held off an attack of approximately 300 Apaches, while the infant Colter was held by his mother in a storeroom. The settlers were rescued when U.S. Cavalry troops arrived. As a young man, he worked as a cowboy and rancher, even becoming the champion steer roper in Apache County.
Colter worked as ranch hand and straw boss in the late 1890s and early 1900s. On November 11, 1904, at the age of 25, he married the forty year-old Sarah Dugan Phelps, known as "Duge". Duge had inherited her father's ranch, the Phelps Ranch, which was renamed after the marriage to Colter Ranch. The two left on a honeymoon trip, from which they returned in early December.
He served on the Board of Supervisors for Apache County from 1904 through 1912, along with Joseph Udall. A few months later, he purchased four lots of land on Central Avenue in Phoenix, on which he planned to build a winter home. In 1910 he was elected as a vice-president of the Arizona Cattle Growers Association, becoming the first person to hold that post. In 1910, he was nominated as the Democratic delegate to the Constitutional Convention for developing the state constitution for the soon-to-be state of Arizona. He was one of the two youngest members of the convention. While serving on the Constitutional Convention, he was made chairman of the committee on constitutional amendments. In this position he fathered a constitutional amendment for women's suffrage, which did not make it into the constitution. Governor Hunt appointed Colter to be the State Fair commissioner in February 1914, and in April 1914, Colter was one of the founding members of the Arizona Automobile Association, the first automotive group in the state. It would team up with the AAA. Later in 1914, Colter was elected to the first of six terms to the Arizona Senate. His election to the State Senate necessitated his resignation as State Fair Commissioner in January 1915, prior to beginning his term as Senator.
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Wikipedia