A Proud Beginning . . .
The year was 1885 and the mood was mean.
The cities and counties needed money and
the territorial legislature controlled the purse strings. To make matters
worse the members of the 13th Territorial Legislature were known to make
decisions, often, for less than ethical reasons. They had earned the
nickname, "The Thieving Thirteenth".
There were two major prizes to be won from the legislature that year.
Phoenix
and Prescott came out on top. Phoenix was given the asylum for the
insane and Prescott kept the state capital. Tucson received an unwelcome
consolation prize of The University of Arizona, and with it, a measly
$25,000 appropriation, just one quarter of the amount Phoenix received to
build the insane asylum.
C.C. Stevens was the man sent to Prescott
to win the state capital for Tucson. He came home with what he hoped would
be welcomed as good news
about the University. Instead of celebrating, Tucson responded angrily.
Some reports say the people of Tucson greeted him with a shower of ripe
eggs, rotten vegetables, and a dead cat. Thus, the very beginning for The
University of Arizona wasn't all that proud.
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C.C. Stevens
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Jacob S. Mansfeld
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One condition the legislature slapped on Tucson was that the people of
Pima County had to donate 40 acres to the University. The response was
less than overwhelming. No one offered an inch.
One man decided the time had come to take matters into his own hands.
Jacob S. Mansfeld was a member of the new Board of Regents. He took a walk
into the desert about a mile east of town and picked out a site for the
new university. The land was owned by two professional gamblers, E.B.
Gifford and Ben C. Parker, and saloon keeper W.S. "Billy" Read. They
weren't all that sure their land was the perfect spot for the new
University of Arizona.
Finally, on Nov. 27, 1886, the
owners agreed and the deed was filed. A
year later, on Oct. 27, 1887, ground was broken for the building that was
to be known as Old Main.
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Reprinted from the book:
A
Photographic History of The
University of Arizona 1885-1985
by Phyllis Ball. © 1986 Available
through the UA
Foundation.
Photographs were provided by UA
Special Collections.
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