8 Shocking Things You Had No Idea Happened In Arizona

The reasons for secession are many but here are a couple. Arizona business men had connections to the South at the time, so keeping the area slave states was beneficial to their wallets. The area was also neglected by the Union and American residents felt they didn’t receive enough support during the Apache Wars, who opposed settler encroachment into their homelands.

As it typically goes with these kinds of events, it all started with name-calling.

Although most likely a false story, it’s still strange enough that I couldn’t find a reason not to include the story.

The story goes that supporters of moving the capital to Phoenix approached "Kissin’ Jenny" to ensure the move passed since one of her regulars was a delegate who opposed. The man had a glass eye and, after spending a night with Jenny, he placed his glass eye into a jar of water and fell asleep. Jenny then drank from the jar, glass eye and all. (Can one really swallow a glass eye? I’m doubtful.) When the delegate woke in the morning, he realized his eye was missing and was too embarrassed to leave, let alone cast a vote in session.

Annual fiestas which originally focused heavily on religious feasts and celebrations around Saint Days soon became hotbeds for drinking, gambling, and general partying among southern Arizonans. In 1889, then acting governor N. O. Murphy called for the end of fiestas and the legislature passed a decree two years later outlawing them and imposing a monthly tax on gambling tables. Interestingly, local gamblers and dealers supported this decree as it would prevent competition from taking their business.

Okay, "went to war" is probably a bit of an exaggeration, but Arizona did heavily protest California’s diversion of river water, which included establishing a "navy" to patrol the waters for a few short days. State National Guard troops, infantry, and even a handful of machine-gunners blocked the construction of Parker Dam while a couple of steamboats were led by a member of the state legislature, Nellie T. Bush.

Three things made this event even crazier. The suspect’s neighbors were so shocked at seeing the spectacle, they called 911. This arrest also happened to coincide with the filming of Seagal’s reality show at the time, who admitted to participating because of his stance against animal abuse. However, the tank driving also led to the family dog dying in the process and Seagal getting sued by the suspect.

I can’t make this stuff up.