author
Sylvester Mowry
1830–1871
A restless and controversial figure of the American Southwest, this former Army officer became known for promoting Arizona’s future in Congress and in print. His writing captures the politics, mining hopes, and frontier ambitions of the region before it became a territory.
1 Audiobook
Memoir of the Proposed Territory of Arizona
by Sylvester Mowry
About the author
Born in Rhode Island, Sylvester Mowry attended West Point and graduated in 1852 before serving briefly in the U.S. Army. He later moved into mining and land speculation in the Southwest, where he became one of the best-known early boosters of Arizona.
Mowry wrote about the region at a time when its political future was still unsettled. His best-known works include Memoir of the Proposed Territory of Arizona and Arizona and Sonora, books that argued for the area’s importance and described its geography, resources, and promise. He was also active in territorial politics and became closely tied to the push to establish Arizona as its own territory.
His life was dramatic even by frontier standards: during the Civil War he was arrested on suspicion of Confederate sympathies, though he was later released. Remembered as a miner, promoter, politician, and writer, he remains an unusual voice from the early history of Arizona and the wider Southwest.