While sports fans might immediately think of the annual territorial cup showdown between Arizona State University and the University of Arizona when discussing rivalries, Arizona’s history features an even older contest. This historic rivalry involved Tucson and Prescott in a battle to become the territorial capital of Arizona, a conflict that dates back to before Arizona achieved statehood.
Although Tucson was more established at the time, the first Territorial Legislature in 1864 selected Prescott as the capital, influenced by the city’s flourishing goldmines and concerns about Confederate sympathizers residing in southern Arizona during the Civil War.
After the Civil War, a narrow legislative vote shifted the capital to Tucson. Stuart Rosebrook, the executive director of Prescott’s Sharlot Hall Museum, notes that Tucson’s merchants wielded significant influence, stating, “They knew how to flex their muscles and they wanted to bring the territorial capital to Tucson because there’s a lot of money and a lot of contracts.”
The capital’s location continued to fluctuate, returning to Prescott a decade later before finally settling in Phoenix in 1889 to avoid further back-and-forth relocations.
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