On Wednesday, Feb. 14, 1912 at 10:23 in the morning, President William Howard Taft signed the official papers making Arizona the 48th state in the Union.
Behind lock and key at the Arizona Heritage Center is the original gold pen used by President Taft, and it's only brought out for special occasions.
The museum walks you through Arizona's history and shows how far we’ve come as a state, but getting statehood wasn’t easy.
Marshall Trimble is Arizona’s official state historian and he shared a few stories.
“In the 1870s, we first proposed being accepted as a state. We waited longer than any other territory to become a state," said Trimble.
In fact, it took 56 years.
“It was wild country, pretty lawless right into the 20th century," said Trimble.
In 1904, Congress wanted to combine Arizona and New Mexico and make it all one state. Territory delegate Mark Smith put an amendment on that bill.
“That was that both territories had to approve," said Trimble.
New Mexico voted for it 2 to 1. Arizona voted against it, 16,265 to 3,141.
“It was back to the drawing board," said Trimble.
Eight years later, statehood was granted and celebrations ensued.
“Pistols went flying all around," said Trimble.
Bisbee set off 48 sticks of dynamite.
“In Snowflake, they blew up the anvil," said Trimble.
A wedding in downtown Phoenix waited for the news before beginning the ceremony.
“And a little 3-year-old fella by the name of Barry Goldwater was the ring boy," said Trimble.
At the time, Arizona only had 200,000 residents. Even the roads were still primitive.
“They were not only impassable, they weren’t even 'jackass-able,'" said Trimble.
George Hunt became the first governor and many leaders followed.
“Carl Hayden, Henry Ashurst, Ernest McFarland, Barry Goldwater, the Udall brothers, Sandra Day O’Conner, John McCain," said Trimble.
Now, Arizona is home to 7 million people.
“I’m mighty proud. I was born here in 1939 and I couldn’t imagine living anywhere else," said Trimble.
And he’s ready for many more celebrations.
“I’d like to say I’d live to the 125th," said Trimble.
Happy birthday, Arizona!
