School Days in Arizona

Education was an adventure.

The Fourth Territorial Legislative Assembly passed a bill in 1867 creating school districts in Arizona. But it took four years for the first public school to open—many districts lacked the money for schools. The lifestyle for young people residing in the territory was not conducive to learning. One teacher took a pistol away from a youthful cherub and angrily tossed it into the pot-bellied stove. However, she forgot to remove the cartridges and the resounding gunfire inside the stove loudly punctuated her oversight.