Weekly Arizonian
| Type | Weekly newspaper |
|---|---|
| Founder(s) | Edward Ephraim Cross |
| Founded | 1859 |
| Language | English |
| Ceased publication | 1871 |
| Headquarters | Tucson, Arizona |
The Weekly Arizonian was a newspaper published in Arizona Territory with a checkered existence from 1859 to 1871. It holds a special place in Arizona history as its first printed work, first newspaper and first political organ.
After the Mexican war which resulted in much of northern Mexico being ceded to the United States, New Mexico Territory – encompassing what later became the States of Arizona and New Mexico – was organized in 1850 with the capital at Santa Fe. In 1853 the Gadsden Purchase added a major strip to the southwest corner of the Territory, including two of the northernmost presidios of the re poor, and the Santa Fe government had little impact on this part of the territory. Arizonans wanted rule of law and better protection from the Apaches.
It was in this setting that the Weekly Arizonian made its debut at Tubac on 3 March 1859. From its first issue, the Arizonian’s avowed policy was to promote the resources of the area, and secure a separate government for Arizona. It was a four-page tabloid printed on a Washington hand press. The press had been shipped from Ohio by William Wrightson of the Santa Rita Mining Company. It had traveled by ship down the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers, across the Gulf to Panama, through the Sea of Cortez to Guaymas, and thence by ox-cart to Tubac. It took about two months to set up shop for the newspaper. Edward Ephraim Cross, who had journalistic experience in Cincinnati, assumed the mantel of editor. He had been in Tubac since November 1858, and had been sending dispatches to Eastern newspapers. He was virtually the sole source of information about Arizona to the outside world.
Cross soon ran afoul of Sylvester Mowry, the most prominent citizen in Tubac, the bone of contention being Mowry’s allegedly exaggerated population estimates of Arizona and the territory’s presumed agricultural potential. Mowry had recently retired from the Army at Fort Yuma, and was twice elected as delegate to Washington for the proposed territory of Arizona, but Congress, not recognizing Arizona as an organized territory, refused to seat him. Cross and Mowry, who agreed on their aspirations for the development of Arizona, but represented rival mining interests, settled their differences in a bloodless duel on 8 July 1859.
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