The Second Pinal County Courthouse, built in 1891, is an historic three-story redbrick courthouse located at Pinal and 12th streets in Florence, Pinal County, Arizona, United States. Designed by prominent Arizona architect James M. Creighton in the Late Victorian Revival style of architecture, it is Pinal County's second courthouse. It is topped by an ornate clock tower, but due to a lack of funds, the clockworks was never installed. Instead a clock was painted on it with the hands set at 11:44. Replaced in 1961 by another courthouse, it fell into disrepair and it was closed in 2005. In 2007 it was declared to be one of the most endangered historic buildings in Arizona. In January 2011, the county supervisors approved a plan to renovate the building and restore it to its former glory so that it could be used by the supervisors and other county entities. On August 2, 1978, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places.
History
Origins of Florence
In 1866, the town of Florence, Arizona was established. The town was formed from land patented by Levi Ruggles, who later transferred the title of the land to the Town of Florence. Ruggles was also responsible for the original planned layout of Florence. It was the fifth oldest settlement in the state. In 1868 a post office was built and in 1869 a general store.
In 1875, Pinal County was established from portions of Maricopa and Pima counties. Florence became the county seat. The first Pinal County Courthouse was constructed in 1877 and is now part of McFarland State Historic Park. It is located on the corner of Ruggles and Main streets in Florence.
On December 21, 1877, the Silver King Mine was established. The mine was operational for about 35 years and closed on May 5, 1912. The prosperity of the mine caused the establishment of the town of Pinal, located three miles southwest of present-day Superior.
In 1879 the City of Casa Grande was founded. The town, originally called Terminus, was the end of the rail line. Jere Fryer and Pauline Cushman, a Civil War Union spy, met and moved to Casa Grande. They later married and operated a hotel. Jere Fryer eventually became the Pinal County sheriff. The establishment of Casa Grande marked the beginning of rail transportation in the area.
In 1888 the “Duel at the Tunnel Saloon” took place in Florence between ex-sheriff Pete Gabriel and his ex-deputy Joe Phy. This became the most notorious gunfight in the history of Florence. Both Gabriel and Phy were shot. Gabriel recovered and lived another 10 years; however, Phy died from his wounds. The duel reportedly stemmed from jealousy over a woman.
Construction of the Second Pinal County Courthouse
On March 1 1890, the Pinal County Board of Supervisors (W.C. Smith, G.W. Campbell, and E.W. Childs) hired architect J.M. Creighton to design a second county courthouse. The supervisors wanted to build a structure that represented their belief in future prosperity through mining and agriculture. Contracts to build the Second Pinal County Courthouse and jail cells were awarded to A.J. Doran and T.A. Adams. The two contracts totaled $34,765, an extravagant sum for the time.
The Courthouse was completed on February 2 1891. Built in American-Victorian architecture and totaling 15,000 square feet, the building housed the offices of the Supervisors, the Recorder, the Treasurer and the Assessor. The Sheriff's Office and jail occupied the back end of the first floor. The clock tower was constructed but there was not enough money to finance the installation of working clocks. Instead, clock facings were added with the time set at 11:44.
One of the many who were tried at the 1891 Courthouse was Pearl Hart. On June 4 1899, Pearl was jailed in the courthouse for robbing a stagecoach.
On July 1 1905, J.M. Bernal completed the painting of the courthouse. The building was given two coats of paint and close inspection showed that the work was well done. The bright and finished appearance demonstrated that Mr. Bernal was a conscientious workman, even on a county contract and understood his business. He was assisted in the painting by Ygnacio Moreno. “It is seldom that a mistake is made when county contracts are given to local people and the Board of Supervisors have certainly not erred in this instance.”
In 1908 Florence was incorporated and in 1909 the Arizona Territorial Prison moved from Yuma to Florence. Today, Florence is still recognized as being the home of the Arizona State Prison.