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The
Baron Of Arizona - By Tom Kollenborn ©
07/07/2008
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...
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Tom
Kollenborn - is a noted author and historian of
the Superstition Wilderness. He is also one of the
leading experts on the Lost Dutchman's Gold Mine
legend and has written numerous articles and books
about the Apache Trail and related history. Tom
shares his experience with the public every week in
the