|
 One
of Arizona’s most infamous characters was a man
named James Addison Reavis. This man of dubious
character and background was one of the great land
fraud schemers of the 19th Century. His claim on
18,500 square miles of Arizona and New Mexico
territory as part of an ancient Spanish land grant
led to him being dubbed the “Baron of Arizona.”
Reavis was born on May 10, 1843 in Henry County not
far from Clinton, Ark. He served as a soldier in the
Confederate Army, enlisting in Hunter’s Eighth
Division of the Missouri State Guard. While in the
army he perfected his genius as a forger.
Reavis became disillusioned with the Confederate
Army and soon recognized the fact they were losing
the war. Near the end of the Civil War he switched
sides and enlisted in a United States Army regiment.
He tried using his forging skills and was caught. He
fled to Brazil and
 South
America in late 1865.
Reavis’ mother Maria was part Spanish and probably
taught him the Spanish language. It was his speaking
and writing knowledge of Spanish that allowed him
the opportunity to effectively forge Spanish
documents in both Spain and Mexico that would later
lead to the bogus Peralta Land Grant.
James Addison Reavis was related to two other well
known Arizona pioneers. One was Federal District
Judge for Arizona, Isham Reavis, of Fall City,
Nebraska, and Elisha Marcus Reavis better known as
the “Hermit of Superstition Mountain.”
Reavis arrived in Arizona Territory about 1880,
making claim that he owned a large part of Arizona
and New Mexico territory that included Phoenix,
Tucson and Mesilla. Reavis amassed a fortune from
collecting rent and tribune from railroads, ranches,
farms, and mines for about eleven years. Many of the
Arizona pioneers preferred to pay his extortion
rather than fight him in court.
Finally, the U.S. District Court challenged Reavis’
claims to Arizona and New Mexico. The case had been
on the docket since Feb. 1, 1893, in the United
States Land Claims Court, but still had not gone to
court even by Feb. 1, 1895. Reavis had collected
money from the Southern Pacific Railroad for
right-of-way and from various mines in Arizona
Territory through out this period of time. After
losing his case in the U.S. District Land Claims
Court, Reavis was soon indicted in a criminal court.
The criminal court proceeding began on June 27,
1896. Reavis was convicted and sentenced to two
years in prison for trying to defraud the U.S.
Government. He served his time in the Santa Fe, New
Mexico Penitentiary and was released early, on April
19, 1898, for exemplary conduct during his
imprisonment.
What did James A. Reavis have to do with the Lost
Dutchman Mine located in the Superstition Mountains?
First and most important, he claimed to have won the
land the mine was located on. Also, many
storytellers believed the Lost Dutchman Mine and
Peralta Mines were one in the same. What we call the
Superstition Wilderness Area today was totally
encompassed by the boundary of Reavis’ so called
Peralta Land Grant (1880-1895). James Addison Reavis
claimed all mineral wealth within his land grant
territory, and this included the Superstition
Mountain area. Did Jacob Waltz pay tribune to Reavis
for mining rights? Sure he did, my friend.
Reavis was known for creating stone markers to
verify his claim on lands within the Peralta-Reavis
Land Grant. There are some historians who believe
the so-called Peralta Stone Maps were one of the
methods used by Reavis to help verify his claim.
Reavis’ original marking stones were never place
properly by his henchmen. The reason behind this
belief is Reavis needed proof his land was surveyed
by the Spanish Crown. Could the stone maps placed at
Black Point have belonged to the Baron of Arizona?
If so, why didn’t the Baron of Arizona use them to
prove the authenticity of his claim?
The Peralta Stone Maps are the work of a true artist
working in stone. The carved inscriptions are clear
and crisp for the most part. Everything about the
stone maps point to careful planning and
preparation. The Baron of Arizona, James Addison
Reavis and the Peralta Stone Maps are all unusually
noted in Arizona history.
Reavis was a very clever and intelligent man. He
must have taken meticulous notes and keep accurate
chronological information as he traveled the world
planning this enormous land fraud scheme.
Reavis must have been very fluent in Spanish and had
great penmanship skills to master the task of
forging documents in Spain and Mexico.
Reavis may have succeeded with his scheme if it had
not been for a newspaperman who thought there was
something fishy about the ink he was using on
documents.
Tom Weeden, owner of the Florence Blade-Tribune,
caused a small crack in Reavis’ grandiose scheme of
riches and eventually lead to his downfall according
to some historians.
Reavis was back in Arizona Territory one time after
his prison term, laying claim to the Hudson
Reservoir site at Box Canyon on the Salt River near
its confluence with Tonto Creek in 1903. Reavis’
credibility was quickly challenged and he rapidly
faded into obscurity.
Reavis died in Denver, Colo. on Nov. 20, 1914, from
bronchitis at the age of 72, but not before he
became part of the history and lore of the
Superstition Wilderness. |
