- King Woolsey
King S. Woolsey (ca. 1832 - June 30, 1879) was an
American pioneer rancher, Indian-fighter, prospector and politician in 19th centuryArizona . Woolsey, born inAlabama , moved to Arizona fromCalifornia in 1860, first atYuma, Arizona andFort Yuma , where he sold supplies to theU.S. Army .In 1862, Woolsey and a partner bought the Agua Caliente ranch, near the
Gila River in what is now westernMaricopa County, Arizona . They dugirrigation ditches from the river and planted crops. Woolsey operated Arizona's firstflour mill at Agua Caliente, and brought the firstthreshing machine into the territory [ [http://www.yumasun.com/articles/caliente_36788___article.html/agua_springs.html "Yuma Sun", September 28, 2007] ] . Woolsey Peak, a prominent landmark near his ranch, in theGila Bend Mountains and theWoolsey Peak Wilderness Area , was later named to honor him.In 1863, Woolsey joined the
Walker Party to explore theHassayampa River for gold. Soon after, he homesteaded and established the Agua Fria ranch, near present-dayDewey, Arizona . Woolsey is most famous (or notorious) for his forays against the native Indians in central Arizona. During theAmerican Civil War , after 1863, practically all troops were withdrawn from Arizona, and Indian attacks on white settlers and their property increased. In 1864, after a series of livestock thefts, Woolsey lead a group ofsettlers to the vicinity of present-dayMiami, Arizona , where they encountered a large party ofTonto Apache s. In the ensuing Battle of Bloody Tanks, the settlers killed (and later scalped) at least 24 Indians, with the loss of one settler. It appears that the settlers opened fire first, during a parley [ Kate Ruland-Thorne, "op. cit.", pp. 46-47 ] . After this fight, Woolsey was appointedLieutenant-Colonel of the Arizona territorialmilitia by GovernorJohn N. Goodwin .Later in 1864, Woolsey and several other men were working their
mining claim s in theBradshaw Mountains . They were apparently confronted by a large party of Indians, probably Yavapais. Woolsey called for a parley, after first hiding a sack ofpinole poisoned withstrychnine nearby. As he had hoped, the Indians found the poisoned meal and ate it while he talked to their chiefs. As the poison took effect, and the others fled, his men opened fire on them. This encounter was later called the Pinole Massacre [ Kate Ruland-Thorne, "op. cit.", pp. 48-49 ] .The first Territorial Legislature voted a commendation to King Woolsey and his volunteers for,
inter alia , "taking the lives of numbers of Apaches, and destroying the property and crops in their country." [ [http://southwest.library.arizona.edu/hav3/body.1_div.11.html Thomas Edwin Farish, "op. cit."] ]In 1864 Woolsey was elected to the first
Legislature of theTerritory of Arizona , and was re-elected to several subsequent legislatures. The creation of the Democratic Party in Arizona Territory was largely due to Woolsey's efforts. Since its creation by a Republican-dominated Congress in 1863, the Republicans had controlled Arizona politics. Woolsey called a meeting of like-minded Democrats in February of 1873 in Tucson. Presiding at the meeting, he introduced a series of resolutions which led to organization of the Democratic Party in the Arizona Territory. He was the Democratic candidate for Territorial Delegate to theU.S. Congress in the 1878 election, but was defeated.Woolsey died of a
heart attack at his Agua Fria ranch in 1879. He was 47 years old. He is buried in Pioneer Memorial Park in Phoenix.cquote|King S. Woolsey, was, in all respects, a big man. He was a typical Westerner, bold, resolute and energetic. A natural leader of men, he was successful, not only in his Indian expeditions, but also in his business enterprises. His activities were known and felt in all parts of the Territory up to the time of his untimely death. Among the early pioneers of Arizona he stands out the most conspicuous figure of them all. [ [http://southwest.library.arizona.edu/hav3/body.1_div.11.html Thomas Edwin Farish, "op.cit."] ]
ee also
*
Bradshaw Mountains
*History of Arizona References
Kate Ruland-Thorne, 2007, "Gold, Greed and Glory: the Territorial history of Prescott and the Verde Valley, 1864-1912." Baltimore, Publish America, ISBN 1413793223.
Thomas Edwin Farish, 1915-1918, "History of Arizona", available online at http://southwest.library.arizona.edu/projects.html
External links
* [http://www.blm.gov/az/st/en/prog/blm_special_areas/wildareas/woolsey.html Woolsey Peak Wilderness Area] at
BLM
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