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September 2020
By Tom Foster
www.GlobeMiamiTimes.com
YOUR HISTORY IS SAFE WITH US
Last month, as the 133rd anniversary of the Pleasant Valley War approached, I decided to travel out to the place where it happened and commemorate the anniversary with an on-site visit. You may have heard stories of the Pleasant Valley War and how two families, once friends, engaged in the bloodiest feud ever to find its way into Arizona. It’s one of the darkest stories from the history of the Southwest. That history spans vast amounts of time, from the earliest inhabitants, to the Spanish incursions into Mexico and north in search of the Cities of Gold, and to more recent history. Some of its stories are pictures painted in words between the covers of a book; others are painted in blood and surrounded in mystery. The Pleasant Valley War is one of those: a tale of violence and tragedy that has echoed down the years. The Graham Tewksbury Feud took in many square miles in the far northern stretches of Gila County – from Globe to Young, and on to Holbrook, Payson, Prescott, and all the area in between. The beginnings of the feud were found in the elements of sheep, cattle, betrayal of friendships, power, control, and land. All these elements mixed with day-to-day life in the harsh environment of the Arizona Territory. Murder and death finally brought things to an end.
The Pleasant Valley War
Sitting on top of the plaque memorializing the death of Hampton Blevins and John Payne is an 1886 Winchester rifle in 45/70 caliber and .45 caliber Colt single action in a holster and belt. Both models represent firearms used on Aug. 9, 1887.
As a catalyst, add a bad group of Texas cowboys into the mix. When they arrived, all hell broke loose. Countless men died, or simply disappeared, never to be seen again. The estimated numbers vary from 20 to 50 lost, shot, or lynched. In the end, Edwin Tewksbury took the fight all the way to Tempe and pulled the trigger on the last Graham in Arizona. When the smoke cleared, Tom Graham was dead, and there
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were no more Grahams to carry on the fight. It is said that Col. Jesse Ellison cleaned up on any further violence … and it was quiet once again in Pleasant Valley. The opening shots of this war came on August 9, 1887. These gunshots, and the smoke and death they brought, would echo through the valley for decades. The incident took place at the Middleton cabin (then owned by George Newton), located about three miles south of the Q Ranch (home of Arizona’s first First Lady, Duette Ellison Hunt). As the story goes, one hot summer day, before the afternoon rains, six or seven riders approached the cabin. These men were Hashknife cowboys headed up by Hampton Blevins and John Payne, down from Holbrook. They were on a rescue mission for their father, but also in search of “a little war of their own.” They found their war at the cabin that day, and more. It was about 11:00 a.m. when they rode up to the cabin, which should have been deserted. The mounted group was aligned with the Grahams, and the heavily armed group holed up in the cabin were Tewksbury men. Words were exchanged, and as the cowboys turned to ride away, a shot was fired. No one knows who pulled the trigger
first, but the men in the cabin opened up on the riders from a point of cover against men 40 yards to point blank range, with no cover. Winchester rifles began to speak from the cabin, possibly an 1886 Winchester in 45/70 or 45/90. Hampton Blevins fell first, shot through the head. His horse fell with him. Second, John Payne’s horse was shot. It fell with the rider, who was killed shortly after Hamp. Two other men, badly wounded, would escape and survive. A minute later, as the smoke cleared, the carnage became evident in the extreme. An Apache war party come on the scene at that point. After a narrow escape from further violence, the men in the cabin rode off. The next day, the cabin was burned, and the two dead were buried in shallow graves. The war lasted from about 1884 through 1887, and hostilities continued into 1892. The war remained a significant blemish on Arizona and slowed our prospects of statehood for nearly two decades. In 1921, Arizona author Zane Grey wrote the story “To the Last Man” based on the feud. There were also two movies made, which incorporated elements of the story into celluloid for the silver screen: a 1923 silent Western, and in 1933, a version with Randolph Scott. The latter version is available for purchase on Amazon. The remnants of the Middleton cabin, and the memorial to the Pleasant Valley War, are located on private property in a very remote area, and not easily found. Not much remains except a stone fireplace, some foundation stones, and bits and pieces of fence. A plaque has been placed near the cabin commemorating the deaths of Blevins and Payne: “Killed by Gunshot.” It’s a quiet place now … just the wind, some cows, a few birds, and rattlesnakes. It’s hard to believe such a violent event took place here 133 years ago. Take a look at the Bullion Plaza Cultural Center & Museum Facebook post for further history, filmed on location on the 9th of August, 2020. There are many books written on this feud, and if you like the history that made Gila County, you may want to read a couple of them. Some of these are on sale at the Gila County Museum in Globe and Bullion Plaza Museum in Miami. u
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This is an exhibit in progress in the Ranch Room at Bullion Plaza museum, portraying photographs from the Middleton cabin. The top middle photograph is courtesy Kathy Gines Hunt of Young, Ariz. (author of a new book, “Photographs of the Jesse Washington Ellison Family”).
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Due to COVID-19, the Museum is closed until further notice.
Please look forward to our re-opening!
Slavic History Exhibit • Mexican Heritage Room Rose Mofford Room • Mining & Mineral Display • Military Exhibit Ranching History • The McKusick Tile Exhibit Native American Heritage Exhibit Open Thurs-Sat 11am-3pm; Sundays Noon-3pm 928-473-3700 • bullionplazamuseum.org
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