| 2nd Pinal County Courthouse |
| Our journey of the 2nd Pinal County Courthouse began with our tour and meeting with Ernie Feliz from Pinal County. This magnificent building is Ernie's pride & joy. And once you step inside you will understand. The 2nd Pinal County Courthouse is almost memorizing. The beautiful staircase that ascends to the main lobby & courtroom to the ornate woodwork and door knobs throughout. In it's heyday, this place was more than beautiful. EVPS would like to thank Ernie Feliz and Pinal County and the City of Florence for allowing us to spend not one,but 2 exciting nights in the Courthouse. (Investigation details and photos below.) |
| History of the Second Pinal County Courthouse • 1866 – Florence is established. The town is formed from land patented by Levi Ruggles, who later transferred the title of the land to the Town of Florence. Ruggles is also responsible for the original planned layout of Florence. • 1875 – Pinal County is established from portions of Maricopa and Pima counties. Florence becomes the county seat. • 1877 – The first Pinal County Courthouse is constructed. It is known as McFarland State Park today. • December 21, 1877 – Silver King Mine is established. The mine is operated for about thirty-five years until it was shutdown on May 5, 1912. The prosperity of the mine causes the establishment of the Town of Pinal located 3 miles southwest of present day Superior. • 1879 – City of Casa Grande is founded. The town is originally called Terminus because it was the end of the rail line. Jere Fryer and Pauline Cashmam, a Civil War Union Spy, meet and move to Casa Grande. They later marry and operate a hotel. Jere Fryer will later become Pinal County Sheriff. Establishment of Casa Grande marks the beginning of rail transportation to the area. • 1888 – The "Duel at the Tunnel Saloon" takes place in Florence between ex-sheriff Pete Gabriel and his ex-deputy Joe Phy. It is the most notorious gunfight in Florence history. Both Gabriel and Phy are shot. Gabriel recovers and lives 10 more years. Phy dies from his wounds. The shooting reportedly stemmed from jealousy over a woman. • March 1, 1890 – Pinal County Board of Supervisors (W.C Smith, G.W. Campbell, and E.W. Childs) hire architect J.M. Creighton to design a second county courthouse. The supervisors seek to build a structure that represents their belief in future prosperity through mining and agriculture. Contracts to build the Second Pinal County Courthouse and jail cells are awarded to A.J. Doran and T.A. Adams. The two contracts total $34,765, an extravagant sum for the time. • 1890 – The operations at Silver King Mine are largely scaled back due to the devaluation of silver. The Town of Pinal, once 2000 residents strong, dwindles to a mere 10 people. • February 2, 1891 – The courthouse is completed. Built in American-Victorian architecture and totaling 15,000 square feet the building houses the offices of the Supervisors, the Recorder, the Treasurer, and the Assessor. The Sheriff’s Office and jail occupy the back end of the first floor. A clock tower is constructed, but there is not enough money to finance the installation of working clocks. Instead, clock facings are added, with the time set at 11:44. • June 4, 1899 – Pearl Hart is jailed in the courthouse for robbing a stage coach. • 1908 – Florence is incorporated. • 1909 –The Arizona Territorial prison is moved from Yuma to Florence. Florence is still recognized as being the home of the Arizona State Prison. • 1912 – Arizona officially becomes a state on Valentine’s Day. • 1917 – The first and only two story additions are made to the northwest and southwest corners of the courthouse transforming the cruciform shaped building to a “T” shape. • 1925 – Ernest W. McFarland is elected Pinal County Attorney. He will serve in that capacity until 1930. • 1926 – Coolidge Dam is dedicated, increasing agricultural opportunities in Pinal County. Humorist Will Rogers attends the dedication, takes one look as the Gila River is filling the storage dam and says, “If that was my lake, I’d mow it. • 1930 – Eva Dugan receives a sanity hearing in the court house after a conviction of murder. She is deemed sane and put to death by hanging. Her head comes off during the execution and death by hanging is immediately discontinued. She remains the only woman executed in Arizona. Ernest McFarland served as the attorney for the prosecution. • 1933 – Winnie Ruth Judd receives a sanity hearing in the courthouse after a double murder conviction. She is represented by McFarland. She is deemed insane and is not executed. Her trials and tribulations become a footnote in Arizona political history. WPA labor helped with the first of three single story additions to the courthouse; this addition expands the northeast edge of the building. • 1934 – McFarland is elected Pinal County Superior Court Justice. He serves until 1940. • 1940 – McFarland is elected to the U.S. Senate, where he authors the “G.I. Bill”. • 1943 – Prisoners are moved out of the jail of the courthouse into a new county jail. • 1952 – The Pinal County Board of Supervisors vote to tear down the cupola, as its weight was causing the building to sag. County residents protest this action and the cupola is saved. • 1955 – McFarland is elected Governor of Arizona. • 1961 – Third Pinal County Courthouse is opened, consisting of some 30,000 square feet. • 1964 – McFarland is chosen Associate Justice of Arizona Supreme Court. He is elevated to Chief Justice in 1968. • 1975 – The third addition to the second courthouse is constructed and spans the entire length of the north side of the building. • 1982 – The fourth addition is completed on the southeast side of the courthouse. The building, which had 15,000 square feet when first constructed, is now 24,000 square feet. • Late 1990s the Pinal County Board of Supervisors researches the cost of restoring the courthouse. A building assessment report concludes the cost of fully repairing the courthouse would be $3 million. • 2002 – First construction grant to repair the court house is secured from the State Park Heritage Fund. This grant of nearly $100,000 and matching funds from Pinal County will be used to repair the clock tower. • May 19, 2004 – The fourth and current Pinal County Courthouse is dedicated. The five story building cost $26 million and provides the county with 145,000 square feet of space. While the Second Pinal County Court House had one courtroom for the one county judge the new court house consists of seven courtrooms for nine judges. This increase in judgeships alone shows the growth of the county over the last 130 years as does the increase of the number of county employees. Starting with less than 20 employees Pinal County currently employs about 2,400 people in offices through out the county. • After all these years, the Second Pinal County Courthouse is still the most significant architectural landmark in Florence, Arizona. The clock tower has been repaired and the roof is under repair. Unfortunately, the building became vacant October 2005 when the last two offices were moved to building ‘E’ directly east of the courthouse. Future plans are for the building to house the Pinal County Visitor Center and possibly to serve as meeting and conference space. |
| History is disappearing Please help EVPS and others save the 2nd Pinal County Courthouse by purchasing a brick for $50.00. The funds for this go directly to saving and renovating the Courthouse. It's a beautiful building and it deserves to be returned to it's glory. This form is part of the effort to help with repairs to the building. The Second Pinal County Courthouse Brick Paver Project allows private citizens to buy an engraved brick that will be placed on the sidewalk in front of the courthouse. The tax deductible donation to the project will be used to help pay for repairs to the building. We would very much appreciate it if you would purchase a brick ($50 each) and write a message to be engraved on it, following the guidelines on the form. If you have any questions regarding this project, please call Ernie Feliz, Pinal County Grants Coordinator at (520) 866-7221 or write to ernie.feliz@pinalcountyaz.gov. Thank you very much for your help in saving the 1891 Second Pinal County Courthouse. |
| Our Investigation |
| Our investigation began as most do. We met on at the front of the courthouse at 6:00 pm for a quick briefing of the reported hauntings, group photos and on this occasion we also met with reporter Mark Cowling of the Tri Valley Dispatch papers. The 2 stories Mark did on our investigation can be found here: http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?brd=1817&Nav_Sec=32411 AND http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=19649352&BRD=1817&PAG=461&dept_id=222087&rfi=6 |
| We also met with our chaperones that volunteered for the night. A few more than we had expected, but we were able to pair them up with a team. The folks from Pinal County were very eager & excited for what laid ahead that night---they were a great group too! Very inquisitive and full of questions. We decided to place "base camp" upstairs in the lobby between the stair cases. Which was a great spot! We placed 4 IR Cameras in various locations. One was in the courtroom, one placed at the top of the stairs looking down, one was in a room just to the left of base and the other was in the basement. Our first investigation we obtained a rather large assortment of EVP's, and strange occurrences on video. There were things in the courtroom and in the room where the one camera had been locked off....we can't say they were bats--as bats would appear white in IR and not black. What ever these were, they were black even in the IR. We did capture 7 different EVP's which I will post on here a bit later. And hopefully some video as well. The one major "happening" that everyone heard, sounded like it came from the main floor just in front of the entry door---whatever it was it sounded as though something very heavy and metallic was thrown on the floor. Our second investigation was to "debunk" a few things, including the shadow that was captured on video. It was proved to be a person walking in front of the door and then closing the door. It was not an apparition as first thought. We captured no EVP on this trip either. Much different than the first. There were probably more personal experiences this time, but personal experiences do not equal scientific proof of anything---they are experiences. Thanks again to Ernie & Pinal County for allowing us a 2nd trip. Photos are below. |
| Group Shots....EVPS to the left and Pinal County Employee Volunteers to the right. (These photos are from Denise Sowers and Marie Cundiff.) |
| Heading inside to set up for the night. |
| Gathering equipment and getting ready. |
| Kim talking with Mark Cowling from the Tri City Dispatch paper for his article. |
| Kim Mann giving Ernie Feliz the donation EVPS made towards restoration of the Courthouse. |
| Doug Davis, Denise Sowers and Adam Kadrmas |
| Joanne & Mark Fullbright |
| Our Teams for the evening! |
| Sean Mann, Amanda Kallam and Nikki |
| Here 2 Pinal County employees listen to some EVP's. |
| Russ Mann & Doug Davis setting up some of the IR Cameras. |
| Here's Adam & Doug doing some work in the clock tower. |
| Coming back for batteries! |
| Break time! |
| Sean looking at the monitor for movement. |
| Adam & Doug in the Cupola.....heading further up the tower! And their little friend heading down the stairs from the attic. |
| Base Camp....watching the monitor and grabbing some munchies and a drink. |
| Gathering down stairs after hearing the noise. |
| The town of Florence in 1882. Shows the cemetery, which is now where the Pinal County Courthouse sits. Could this be the reason for paranormal activity? |
| Florence in 1901. Notice the Courthouse is now in place. The cemetery was moved to the edge of town. Some say that not everyone was moved. This plus some of the happenings inside the courthouse could be the reason for activity. |
| More photos and info to be added. Stay tuned!! Back To Investigations |
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