Arizona republican., 1920-08-24
OLD COURT HOUSE, AFTER 37 YEARS, MUST MAKE WAY FOR A LARGER AND BETTER ONE

first court house in Phoenix was sold
 in February, 1884.
 On March 10, 1879, the board of su- pervisors reached a decision to build a new court house and ordered speclfl-
 cations and plans drawn.
 Gardener in 1894 and Now Dave Turner, the present gardener of the court yard first accepted the position of gardener in 1894 and start ed to turn the expanse of sage brush into grass, flowers and trees. At that time, Mir Turner said, there were two double rows of ash trees along the west and east sides of the court house un der which stood double rows of benches. These benches were always filled with people during the day and the early part of the night as are the
 benches al the court house today. The first move that MT. Turner made was to secure an order from the board of supervisors permitting him to use the prisoners in the county jail for laborers on the yard. Under the Su- pervision of Mir. Turner these men spaded up the entire yard and cut the
 sage brush. According to Dave. he had plenty of help in those days as the jail was always filled with miners and cowboys. The row of stately palms at the south side of the court yard grew from very small plants which he set out in 1894 for a hedge. Where the present iron fence stands, Mir. Turner put in chicken wire fence and set out a row of umbrella trees along the fence. Only one tree is now standing and only four of the original ash trees are standing.
 Mir Turner was the first to bring Bermuda grass to Phoenix and the first to grow flowers here. The soil at the courtyard is not suitable for roses,
 he says and they refuse to grow there which explains the absence of that variety of flower. Nearly every other
 kind will grow and he makes good use of them in beautifying the courtyard which is noted throughout the state. There never has been a hanging in the Maricopa county court yard as the
 only official hanging in the county
 took place in the old graveyard in the
 southwest part of Phoenix.
 Noted Cases Tried in Building
 Among the most noted cases to be
 tried in the old court room was the
 case of a New York founding home for the possession of 15 orphan chl- dren. This case was a federal case
 but was tried in the old court room
 here several years ago.
 Several children, all white. had been
 brought from New York to Clifton and
 Morenci and given to Mexican families 1 in that region to raise The white res idents of the district arose in indigna-
 ton and took the children away from
 the Mexicans They officially adopted them and the asylum in New York brought suit to have the adoption de-
 clared void. The children were all present in court and according. to those who were there, the children presented the strangeSt exhibit" ever seen in the courthouse. John Gatty of Clifton was one of the defendants, and his adop-
 tion of child was the basis of the I-1rT TI7A
 the asylum, and the children remained in Arizona.
 One of the most sensational trials to be held in the old court house was the Tewksbury- Rhoades murder trial.
 Both men were charged with the mur-
 der of Tom Graham who had been shot from ambush near Mesa as the I windup of the famous Contro Basin war among the sheepmen and cattle men, Tewksbury was still at large when Rhoades was tried. After the trial had lasted a week, Saturday aft
 ernoon arrived with the case drawing
 to a close. Mrs. Graham, the widow
 was in court and suddenly she crossed
 the courtroom, pressed the muzzle of a large .45 calibre revolver in the pit of
 Rhoades's stomach and pulled the trig- ger. She had concealed the gun in a small black handbag and as she
 crossed the courtroom she drew the gun from the bag, but the hammer
 caught on the velvet lining of the bag | and this saved the prisoners life. He later was found not guilty and some time afterward, Tewksbury gave him |-self up for the crime.
 We'll Flows After 30 Years
 One of the biggest civil cases ever tried in the courthouse was the Cobrt Grande Copper company suit for pos | session of a mining property in Cana nea, Mexico, which had been taker
 over by force by the Green Cananes company The suit was tried in Wes Virginia, in Mexico City. and finall,