THE FRY BUILDING: A Hidden Pioneer History- Part II

PART II: Woolsey & Wentworth’s

Photograph/Collage of the members of the 8th Territorial Legislature (Woolsey Top Center). Arizona Memory Project- Arizona State Archives Historical Photograph Collection. Digital Identifier: 99-9642.jpg.

King Woolsey was doing very well for himself. He had received a contract to build a road between the new town of Phoenix and Yuma. He ensured it would run straight through Stanwix and Agua Caliente. He owned hundreds of acres of land in Maricopa County and had just purchased two lots in the growing business district of Phoenix. Fronting the main street on Washington, lots 17 and 18 in block 20 sat empty. A large town plaza, one square city block, sat across the street. Any public event was sure to draw crowds. Businesses were opening all along the Washington strip from Maricopa (2^nd St.) to Central (then Centre Street). Phoenix was blossoming from a small farming community into a full-fledged town. Here King would help establish the Democratic Party of the new County of Maricopa. Yet, he found himself drawn to Tucson. He was about to be elected for the 5^th time to the 9^th Territorial Legislature, being named Council President. In Tucson during the Assembly he likely had his first encounter with a man named Frederick G. Wentworth.

Wentworth was a grocer from Tucson and had proven to be a keen promoter. Operating as floor manager for Charaleau’s Hall and the Cosmopolitan Hotel, he hosted many skating and dancing events. No doubt this drew more patronage to the establishments he worked for. At some point he was approached by Woolsey and solicited for partnership. The idea was simple, the two would go half in on the construction of a large two-story dance hall in the fledgling town of Phoenix. Woolsey would provide the ideal location and once built, Wentworth would act as floor manager for any booked events. In 1878 construction started in earnest on lots 17 and 18 in Block 20 in the town of Phoenix. The April 13^th, 1878, Edition of the Salt River Herald gives us the following account of the soon to be christened Woolsey-Wentworth Building…

“Phoenix will soon have one of the finest halls for lodge and dance purposes in Arizona. The large hall on Washington Street, owned by Woolsey & Wentworth, is rapidly approaching completion, and will be ready for occupancy by the middle of next month. The hall will be two stories in height. 34^1/2 x 64^1/4, built of adobes, but penciled and pointed to resemble stone and brick. The first story will be fourteen feet in the clear; it is to be occupied by Ellis & Co., formerly of Prescott, as a general merchandise store. The second story will be twelve feet in the clear, and will be occupied partially by the different secret organizations and to hold dances².” 

Photo accompanying Pioneer Reunion Article in The Arizona Republican: April 13th, 1921. Page 30. Arizona Memory Project- Arizona Historical Digital Newspapers.

Further details about the building are given in the August 24^th issue. The building, furnishings, and faux brick façade was to cost roughly $5,000. The upper floor dance hall would also house two ante rooms for those of the gambling profession. The article goes on to name some of the organizations that would later meet there in secret. Of the three organizations named; the Knights of Pythias, The International Order of Odd Fellows, and the Masons, only the Masons could claim Woolsey as among its members.

A Selection of local newspaper advertisements referring to Woolsey and Wentworth’s.

Once constructed the building became a focal point for the new town. New tenants rushed to the surrounding lots. The Woolsey-Wentworth Building would host not only a 4^th of July celebration, but a New Year’s Eve Ball within its first year of operation. In June of that first year while the floor was still being built, Wentworth once again opened a hall for skating. This would be the first rink opened in Phoenix. Skates rentals would cost patrons 50 cents³. Back in Phoenix, Woolsey was enjoying his new-found success. He even devised a plan in early June of 1879 to partner with David Neahr, to whom he had previously sold half his interest in Agua Caliente, to open a new health resort on the property. Unfortunately, the partnership would not come to pass.

King S. Woolsey: Co-Founder of the Arizona Historical Society. Photo courtesy of the Sharlot Hall Museum: https://www.sharlot.org/.

The night of June 28^th Woolsey was out late into the evening tending to business at the Flour Mill. By the time he had returned to the Lyle Ranch on the outskirts of Phoenix, the hands had all gone to bed. He put away his horses and buggy himself and prepared for bed. The cook, who frequently slept outside, would later say he heard groaning from Woolsey’s room. He paid it no mind as, no doubt due to the atrocities seen and enacted by King during his life on the frontier, the old pioneer was prone to nightmares. The cook drifted off to sleep but was awoken by a loud prolonged moan. Rushing into the house he found Woolsey on the floor, partially under a table. A dispatch was sent to Dr. B. L. Conyers but upon his arrival at the estate, no aid could be rendered. King Samuel Woolsey died at three o’clock in the morning on June 29^th, 1879. He was 47 years old. A wire was sent to Mary at Stanwix and she started the trek into Phoenix. The first Masonic funeral in Phoenix was held for Woolsey the following Monday⁴.

Woolsey Grave. Mary Johnson, Frank Fry, and the Collins’ children also visible. Photo Courtesy of The Author, Captured April 12th, 2018. Additional Info Available at http://www.azhistcemeteries.org/.

Not long after King’s passing, Mary’s mother Mrs. Johnson Armstrong came to visit from Los Angeles. She was staying with both Mary and her half-sister Ida when she too would die suddenly in the middle of the night⁵. She was buried in Phoenix next to her son-in-law. Mary had no time to grieve. Immediately upon Woolsey’s death various creditors and business partners had filed suit against his estate. Even F. G. Wentworth filed a claim. John Alsap would be Mary’s representative in court. Unfortunately King had died without naming a legal heir. His children certainly would not be considered legitimate and without willing his estate to Mary, all holdings would be put to auction. A full list of the land being sold by M.W. Kales, of the Bank of Kales and Lewis, on behalf of the Woolsey Estate appeared in the October 29^th, 1880 edition of The Phoenix Herald⁶. The entire probate process took up most of that court’s proceedings that year. Finally on February 28^th, 1881, on the steps of the Phoenix court house M. W. Kales began the auction. At noon, the next parcel up was for not only lots 17 and 18 in block 20, but also the ½ interest in the Agua Caliente Ranch. Mary Woolsey won by submitting a bid for $2,220⁷. William A Hancock, who surveyed and platted the town site notarized the sale. A day later F.G. Wentworth would sell his remaining half stake in the Woolsey-Wentworth Building to Mary for $1,200⁸. Exactly how Mary was able to procure $4,500 in cash is unknown. It is possible that her sister Elizabeth A. Rives, a recent widow herself, lent her sister the capital. Dr. Burwell E. Rives died in Los Angeles in 1880 from unspecified causes. At the time of his death he was the Los Angeles County Cororner⁹. Mary saw to it that none of King’s children he had with Lucia Martinez would receive any inheritance. It’s been theorized that members of the Catholic Church persuaded her to continue a monthly stipend to support the children, although it is more likely the Church provided for the four directly as thanks for King’s generous land grant.

A.C. Albert – Picture accompanying Obituary in the September 1, 1921 issue of the Arizona Republican. Arizona Memory Project- Arizona Historical Digital Newspapers.

Interestingly, one report from 1880 indicates a Mr. J. M. Wilkins as the new owner of the Woolsey Building, having started plans to re-purpose it as a hotel¹⁰. It is possible he was not able to front the cash for the purchase or was convinced not to proceed with the purchase by counsel. This is purely conjecture but it is highly coincidental that when jailed in 1882 for selling goods without a license, his attorney was A. C. Baker. Mr. Baker was in partnership in a law practice with Mary Woolsey’s attorney, John Alsap. Baker would serve on both the Territorial and State Supreme Courts before dying of natural causes in Los Angeles in 1921¹¹. However, an even closer link exists between Mary and Judge Baker. In book two of Misc. Records of Maricopa County, on page 233 we find that on May 31^st, 1880 Mary entered into an agreement with A. C. Baker. This was for the sale of several books in her possession, mortgaged by Baker in the amount of $300. Some of the books Mary mortgaged to Baker are listed as follows: California Supreme Court Reports: 53 Volumes, Estate Pleadings, F. Yates Mining Law, Bigelow on Fraud, Law of Damages Filed, and Washburn on Real Property. It would seem that Mary Woolsey had developed a keen interest in the practice of law, and was well read on the subject.

Presumably the use of the Woolsey Building continued as normal for the next two years and it is possible Mary returned to her duties at Stanwix. She next surfaces in the probate court records in 1883 where she sold interest in King Woolsey’s Gila Ditch for $1,000¹². Strangely she is listed in the probate court as Mary H. Sullivan – A Married Woman. She is referred to as Mary H. Sullivan again in 1884 in the October 30^th edition of the Weekly Phoenix Herald. It is noted that she is embattled in a water rights claim with Woolsey’s would be Agua Caliente partner David Neahr. This feud would continue for several years and lead to tragedy. Her marriage to and the life (or death) of her third husband Mr. Sullivan is unknown. Woolsey’s Hall, as it was called then, would continue on under Mrs. Sullivan’s ownership. In January of 1884, proprietors Kern and Luke opened a saloon on the property and in doing so, cut out room for a large set of double doors¹³. This may have been the first major cosmetic change completed since its opening. It would be the first of several major changes to the building and in Mary’s life.

Did you miss Part I of this series?

Stay tuned for more history on the Fry Building!
Part III: The Fate of the Frys
Part IV: Coaches to Coach’s

References:

1. Arizona Memory Project. Arizona Historical Digital Newspapers. The Weekly Arizona Miner. October 12, 1872. Page 4.
   

2. Arizona Memory Project. Arizona Historical Digital Newspapers. Salt River Herald. April 13, 1878. Page 3.

3. Arizona Memory Project. Arizona Historical Digital Newspapers. Salt River Herald. June 29, 1878. Page 3.
4. Arizona Memory Project. Arizona Historical Digital Newspapers. The Phoenix Herald. July 2, 1879. Page 2.
5. Arizona Memory Project. Arizona Historical Digital Newspapers. The Weekly Arizona Miner. August 26, 1881. Page 3.
6. Arizona Memory Project. Arizona Historical Digital Newspapers. The Phoenix Herald. October 29, 1880. Page 4.
7. Maricopa County Recorder’s Office. Deed Book 6. Page 607. Recording number: 18810000201.
8. Maricopa County Recorder’s Office. Deed Book 6. Page 412. Recording number: 18810000077.
9. Library of Congress. Chronicling America. Daily Los Angeles Herald. September 8, 1880. Page 3.
10. Arizona Memory Project. Arizona Historical Digital Newspapers. The Phoenix Herald. December 31, 1880. Page 2.
11. Arizona Memory Project. Arizona Historical Digital Newspapers. The Arizona Republican. September 1, 1921. Page 1.
12. Maricopa County Recorder’s Office. Deed Book 9. Page 238. Recording number: 18830000150.
13. Arizona Memory Project. Arizona Historical Digital Newspapers. The Weekly Phoenix Herald. January 17, 1884. Page 4.

Blog written by State of Arizona Research Library volunteer.