Prohibition Comes to Arizona, 1915

One hundred years ago today, prohibition began in Arizona. As the new year began, booze left the recently admitted State of Arizona. The voters had overwhelmingly adopted prohibition in the previous election, and the courts had upheld it only days before. The saloons were busy until midnight, when their trade came to an abrupt halt. Here, we see the headline of this Arizona paper bidding farewell to “John Barleycorn.”

The first arrest took place minutes after midnight, as L.A. Brown, proprietor of the Hermitage, was arrested on the charge of selling “two percent.” He planned to use this arrest as a test case, and he was released on his own recognizance.

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