Pleasant Valley lies in central Arizona beneath the Mogollon Rim. Its name contradicts its heritage of cattle rustling, ambush and murder. It was where the Pleasant Valley war began. “[T]he Pleasant Valley War was between the Grahams and the Tewkesburys [sic] over cattle and sheep grazin and stealin stock from each other.” “By the time it was over, about twenty had been killed.” [1] The violence and lawlessness spilled over into the peaceful environs of Tempe where the war ended in ambush and murder.
The war began soon after rancher James Stinson moved into Pleasant Valley with a large herd of cattle. Wanting to use the whole valley for his livestock, he offered to buy out the holdings of the Graham and Tewksbury families who had preceded him into the valley. The two families did not sell to Stinson, but, instead went to work on his ranch.[2] There were allegations that they were employed mainly to keep sheep out of Pleasant Valley.[3] However, they had other ideas. “The Grahams and Tewkesburys registered a brand in Graham’s name in Prescott and a system was started to rob Stinson on every side.” [4] They began to systematically steal Stinson’s stock. When the Tewksburys wanted to divide the stock, they did not get their share since the cattle were recorded in Graham’s name.[5]
To retaliate, the Tewksburys obtained a herd of sheep from the Daggs Brothers near Flagstaff and drove them into Pleasant Valley.[6] This was the beginning of one of the bloodiest feuds of the American west, featuring terror, murder and deadly revenge.
One of the grizzly events that signaled the outbreak of the war was the ambush of John Tewksbury and Bill Jacobs. While seeking some lost cattle, they were shot in the back from long range, then finished off at close range. They were left there and when, Mary, John’s pregnant wife tried to retrieve the bodies, she came under attack. While the bodies lay where they had been killed, half wild hogs began to devour them. Mary Ann pleaded with Tom Graham and the other gunmen to let her bury her husband and Jacobs, but Tom refused.[7] Finally, eleven days later a coroner’s jury arrived and buried the bodies.[8] Although this account was probably greatly embellished, it shows the depth of the animosity that existed in the area.
Although many cattle men with “bad reputations” joined them, and others were coerced into supporting their side,[9] most of the losses occurred on the Graham side. Law enforcement officials accounted for many of the losses. In Holbrook, Apache County Sheriff C. P. Owens single handily killed 3 Graham partisans and severely wounded a fourth in a shootout.[10] Yavapai County Sheriff Mulvenon and a posse ambushed and killed two of the Graham faction at the store in Pleasant Valley. Three probably innocent men, who were reputed to be part of the Graham faction were lynched south of Holbrook by Apache County Deputy Sheriff James Houck.
Finally, The feud seemed to be over when only one Tewksbury, Edwin, and one Graham, Thomas was left. The end of the war was a relief to the other settlers in the area. “The war and the killing off of so many of the thieves and desperate characters caused several other characters to leave the country so that we enjoyed a season of peace.” [11]
Tom Graham moved to Tempe and became a farmer, while Ed Tewksbury went to work for George Wilson as a cowboy on the Flying V ranch in the Tonto Basin. By 1888, the feud seemed to have ended, “but the scars of that Tonto Basin feud still mark the second generation.” [12] “In killing times the infection is likely to spread.” [13] Although Zane Grey’s novel about the Pleasant Valley war was fiction, its title was prophetic, To the Last Man.[14]
In 1892, Tom Graham disposed of his property in Pleasant Valley. He moved to the Salt river Valley and married Anne Helton in 1887 at the Tempe home of her parents.[15] Shortly after, Anne had a baby girl, who died in infancy. Tom cleared land and began farming at what is today 48th Street and Southern Avenue. He and Anne had another daughter that they named Estella. Tom Graham was reputed to never have carried a gun after he had left Pleasant Valley. When asked why, he always replied that he had left Pleasant Valley to get away from gunplay and fighting and he declared that he would never carry a weapon again.[16] He wrongly believed that Tempe was a safe haven.
On August second, 1892, Tom Graham loaded a wagon with the grain from his first harvest to deliver to Hayden’s Mill in Tempe. “He had arrived at a spot opposite the school house of the Double Buttes, District.[17] when hearing a noise of horses feet just behind him he turned to see his mortal foes, Ed Tewksbury and John Rhodes,[18] in the act of leveling their rifles upon him. Two shots rang out & and he fell from his wagon into the road with a mortal wound in his body.” [19] Actually, he fell back on his wagon, and the team raced to the house of W. T. Cummins.[20] Graham’s spinal cord had been pierced by the bullet and he was paralyzed. As his wife Anne, and friends congregated at the Cummins house, Graham stated that his assailants were Ed Tewksbury and John Rhodes. Ed Cummins, young son of W. T. Cummins also stated that he had seen John Rhodes fire the fatal shot and that he was accompanied by Ed. Tewksbury.[21] Tom died at about four P.M. that day.
John Rhodes was arrested at mid morning in Tempe. He claimed to have no knowledge of the shooting. On August eighth, his preliminary hearing began in Phoenix. The most stirring moment of the hearing occurred on August tenth. Anne Graham, Tom’s widow, suddenly drew a Colt 45 pistol she had concealed in her clothing, pressed it against Rhodes and pulled the trigger. The pistol misfired, probably because the hammer became caught in a part of her clothing. The weapon was wrestled from Anne and she was removed from the court and order restored.[22] The evidence in the hearing seemed to indicate that John Rhodes was the murderer, in spite of witnesses giving him an alibi. At the end of the hearing, immediately after the District Attorney’s closing argument, Justice W. O.
After the murder, people feared that Ed Tewksbury would flee. But, when told of a warrant for his arrest, he surrendered on August fifth at a ranch in Pleasant Valley. Tewksbury was taken to Tucson because of the bad feelings against him in Phoenix. Two weeks later, he was secretly transferred to Phoenix. He rode the train to about 6 miles south of Kyrene,[24] then continued on horseback and on foot to the Phoenix jail. From August 29th to September 9th a preliminary hearing was heard in the court of Justice H. L Wharton. After hearing the evidence Justice Wharton indicted Ed Tewksbury for murder and he was held without bail.[25]
On December 14th, Tewksbury’s trial began in Tucson in the court of Richard E. Sloan.” [T]he evidence upon which the prosecution chiefly relied was the dying declaration of Graham that Tuckesberry [sic] had shot him.”[26] The evidence of one who has received a mortal injury may be introduced into evidence to show the cause of his injury.” However, Tewksbury had a powerful and expensive defense team. “At 3 o’clock this afternoon in the Tewksbury case argument was far underway. Judge Campbel [sic][27] had taken off his neck tie and collar and in thunderous tones, began a heavyweight argument for the defense.” “The courtroom was full almost to standing all day . This afternoon many ladies heard the speeches.” [28] “Tuckesberry [sic] was [also] represented by Tom Fitch, a lawyer celebrated all over the Pacific coast as an orator. He was indeed a remarkable speaker, one of the most entertaining I have ever listened to.” “The jury hung upon the words of the speaker and before he concluded I had grave fears of the result, as I was convinced that the defendant was guilty.” Stated Judge Sloan.[29] “To my surprise the jury was out only a few minutes before returning a verdict of guilty, a striking illustration that eloquence may entrance [en-trance] and at the same time not convince.” [30]
However, the defense team had an ace up its sleeve. The defendant had never entered a plea of guilty or not guilty. That was a major and reversible error by the prosecution. Judge Sloan “was compelled to set aside the conviction” [31] Tewksbury’s trial was again moved to Tucson and was held in 1895. The people financing his defence added another attorney to his team, a future Supreme Court justice, Thomas D Satterwhite. The attorneys strengthened Tewksbury’s drfense by presenting new witnesses who corroborated Tewksbury’s alibi. The prosecution no longer had the presence or testimony of Anne Graham, as she had remarried and moved to California. After prolonged deliberations, the jury deadlocked at seven to five for acquittal. Maricopa County decided that it could not stand the expense of another trial, and Ed Tewksbury was set free after almost 3 years in jail.[32] Following the trial, Tewksbury moved to Globe, where he married Brawley Lopez. He was in failing health and died in 1904, leaving his widow penniless.[33]
A mystery surrounding the trials of Ed Tewksbury is who financed his defense. He was not a rich man, and the attorneys’ fees must have been several thousand, if not tens of thousand of dollars. Speculation is that the financiers were the Daggs brothers. The brothers had moved to Tempe and controlled the Bank of Tempe at the time of Tom Graham’s killing. The slump in wool prices and the Pleasant Valley greatly depleated their assets. They were still lamenting their losses when P. P. Daggs reported in a letter to the Arizona Pioneer Historical Society that the Pleasant Valley War cost him $90,000. This could very likely include the expense of defending Ed Tewksbury.[34]
Arizona’s reputation as being uncivilized was further reinforced by the murder of Tom Graham and the subsequent acquittal of Ed Tewksbury Even quiet agricultural communities such as Tempe were not immune to violence and lawlessness. This, added to the just ended Indian wars, Tombstone’s legacy of murder, the lynchings by vigilantes, the infamous gunfights in Holbrook and Florence, and the notion that Arizona was a safe place for wanted outlaws were major obstacles in the quest for Arizona’s statehood. This notoriety caused Arizona to wait for almost 20 more years before being accepted into the union as a state.
[1] Llison, Glenn R. Cowboys Under the Mogollon Rim. p. 14. The best figures put the number killed at 29.
[7] Dedera, Don, A Little War of Our Own, pp. 135-7.
[8] Evidence that the hog incident has been greatly embellished over the years is given in: Hanchett, Leland J. Jr. in Arizona’ s Graham-Tewksbury Feud, pp 73-6.
[10] Forrest, Earle R., Arizona’ s Dark and Bloody Ground, pp 114-20. also, Dedera, pp 145-154.
[11] Fish, Joseph, The Life and Times of Joseph Fish, Mormon Pioneer, Krenkel, John H. Ed. Pp 320-321.
[17] Today, the spot is just east of Priest Road on Broadway, in Tempe.
[18] John Rhodes married the widow of John Tewksbury, Ed’ s brother who had been killed in the feud.
[19] The Phoenix Gazette, August 4, 1892, as quoted in Hanchett.
[22] Dedera, p. 230-1, Forrest, pp 240-4, McClintock, p. 487, accounts vary, but they all agree that Anne Graham tried to shoot John Rhodes in the courtroom.
[23] Phoenix Gazette, August 30, 1892.
[24] Kyrene was at what today is the intersection of Kyrene Road and Warner in south Tempe.
[27] Joseph Campbell was a well known and effective defense attorney.
[28] The Phoenix Daily Herald, Dec. 21, 1893.
[33] The Tewksbury Genealogy, http://www.Nataliesnet.com/Tewkesbury/Arizona
Tom Graham
Ed Tewksbury
The scene of the murder
Notes
Arizona’s reputation as being wild and uncivilized was belied by many law abiding, peaceful communities. Tempe was one of these communities. The city began as a place to ford the Salt River, however, that same river supplied the water that fostered an agricultural based community leading to stable family ownership, long term planning, and law and order. The agricultural communities were in sharp contrast to the cattle and mining areas that had a more transient population and a “get rich quick” mentality. The contrast to life in agrarian Tempe was nowhere more evident than in the cattle raising area known ironically as Pleasant Valley.
1892
Today
Huson rendered his decision that Rhodes was not at the scene of the murder and released him. There was consternation in Phoenix and Tempe. There was talk of lynching Rhodes, and at the least many wanted to burn Justice Huson in effigy. Rhodes, when released, was met by a large contingent of his friends and escorted back to Pleasant Valley. [23]
[5] Lockwood, p. 286
[12] Burnham, p 26.
[13] Dedera, p xii
[15] Dedera, 180.
[16] Forrest, p 227
[20] Forrest, p. 231.
[25] Dedera, pp 242-7.
[29] Sloan, 121-2
[30] Sloan, pp122-3.
[31] Sloan, p. 124.
[32] Dedera, p. 249.
[34] Forrest, pp228-9
[6] ibid
