Representative John Noble Goodwin

John Noble Goodwin (October 18, 1824 – April 29, 1887) was an American attorney and Republican politician who served as the first Governor of Arizona Territory from 1863 to 1866. He was a Congressman from Maine from 1861 to 1863 and later a delegate to the United States House of Representatives from Arizona Territory from 1866 to 1867. As a member of the Republican Party representing Arizona, he contributed to the legislative process during two terms in office, serving in Congress during a significant period in American history and participating in the democratic process on behalf of his constituents.

Goodwin was born on October 18, 1824, in South Berwick, York County, Maine, to John Goodwin and Mary (Noble) Goodwin. He received his early education at Berwick Academy, a prominent local preparatory school, and went on to attend Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, from which he graduated in 1844. After completing his collegiate studies, he read law and was admitted to the bar in 1848. He then established a law practice in his native South Berwick, building a professional reputation that would support his later political career. On October 27, 1857, Goodwin married Susan Howard Robinson of Augusta, Maine. The couple had three children: Susie Robinson, Richard Emery, and Howard Robinson, the youngest of whom was born on November 7, 1863.

Goodwin entered public life in Maine in the 1850s. His political career began in 1854 with his election to the Maine Senate, where he aligned with the emerging Republican Party. In 1860 he successfully ran for the U.S. House of Representatives from Maine, taking his seat in the 37th Congress on March 4, 1861. Serving during the opening years of the Civil War, he was regarded as hard-working, personally likable, and politically moderate. Nonetheless, his single term in the House was later described as “undistinguished,” and he narrowly lost his bid for reelection in 1862 by 127 votes. His service as a Congressman from Maine concluded on March 3, 1863.

Following his defeat for reelection, Goodwin sought another federal appointment. He was supported in this effort by Maine’s U.S. Senators William P. Fessenden and Lot M. Morrill, as well as by several former colleagues in the House of Representatives. After Congress passed the Arizona Organic Act creating Arizona Territory, President Abraham Lincoln on March 6, 1863, appointed Goodwin as Chief Justice of the newly organized territory. When John A. Gurley, Lincoln’s initial choice for Governor of Arizona Territory, died on August 19, 1863, Goodwin was selected to fill the vacant governorship, thus becoming the first Governor of Arizona Territory.

Goodwin departed Washington, D.C., with a party that included most of the newly appointed territorial officials and traveled westward to assume his duties. The group went first to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, and then followed the Santa Fe Trail, arriving in Santa Fe, New Mexico, on November 26, 1863. From there they continued into Arizona, and on December 29, 1863, at Navajo Springs, they held a formal ceremony to establish Arizona Territory and administer the oaths of office to the territorial officials. Because Congress had not designated a capital, the choice of an initial seat of government fell to Goodwin. Although Tucson, the largest settlement in the territory, was widely expected to become the capital, General James H. Carleton advised against it, characterizing Tucson as dominated by Mexicans and Confederate sympathizers. Acting on this recommendation, Goodwin selected Fort Whipple as the temporary capital, and the governor and his party arrived there on January 22, 1864.

Once established at Fort Whipple, Goodwin undertook an extensive tour of the territory with a military escort to acquaint himself with local conditions and to identify a suitable site for a permanent capital. He first visited the mining districts near Fort Whipple, then proceeded through the regions along the Verde and Salinas rivers, and in April and May 1864 traveled through southern Arizona. On the basis of this survey, he chose a site near Granite Creek, approximately twenty miles south of Fort Whipple, as the location for the new capital. The military camp was relocated, and on May 30, 1864, at a public meeting, the new capital was named Prescott. As governor, Goodwin divided the territory into judicial districts and appointed a range of officials necessary to establish civil government. After an initial census conducted under U.S. Marshal Milton B. Duffield, he proclaimed that an election for a territorial legislature and a delegate to Congress would be held on July 18, 1864. When the 1st Arizona Territorial Legislature convened, Goodwin urged the immediate abolition of peonage and imprisonment for debt, both inherited from New Mexico Territory’s legal code, and called for the creation of a commission to draft a new legal code for Arizona. He also recommended reducing the number of appointed officials by consolidating part-time offices into full-time positions where feasible, and he addressed questions of taxation and the permanent location of the capital.

Indian affairs and internal development were central concerns of Goodwin’s administration. To address conflicts with the Apache and other tribes deemed hostile, he requested increased support from the U.S. Army and authorized the creation of a volunteer force. A contingent of 350 men and 11 officers was raised and organized into five companies to conduct operations against hostile groups. For tribes considered peaceful, Goodwin advocated the establishment of reservations along the Colorado River and asked Congress to appropriate funds for irrigation systems to support them. He also promoted the development of basic territorial infrastructure, including the establishment of postal routes and the creation of schools, seeking to lay the foundations for stable civil society in the new territory.

On September 6, 1865, while still serving as governor, Goodwin was elected as Arizona Territory’s delegate to the 39th United States Congress, defeating the incumbent delegate, Charles D. Poston. After his election, he departed for Washington, D.C., leaving Secretary Richard C. McCormick as acting governor. Goodwin did not take his seat on the floor of the House until January 17, 1866. During the interim, and until McCormick received his own appointment as governor, Goodwin drew both the salary of governor and that of territorial delegate, and he did not comply with subsequent requests from the U.S. Treasury Department to return the overpayment. As a delegate, he introduced several bills seeking additional troops to protect the territory from hostile Indians and to expand postal service within Arizona. He also spoke in opposition to the transfer of Pah-Ute County from Arizona Territory to the state of Nevada. Goodwin did not seek reelection in 1866, and his service as Arizona’s delegate concluded in 1867.

After leaving territorial office and congressional service, Goodwin relocated to New York City to be nearer to his growing business interests. By the early 1880s he was serving as vice president of the Tiger Mill and Mining Company of New York, reflecting his continued involvement in western mining enterprises that had been central to Arizona’s early development. In declining health later in life, he traveled to Paraiso Springs in Monterey County, California, a resort area known for its mineral waters, in hopes of recuperation. John Noble Goodwin died there on April 29, 1887. His remains were returned to Maine, and he was buried in Forest Grove Cemetery in Augusta. The community of Goodwin in Yavapai County, Arizona, was later named in his honor, commemorating his role in the early governance and organization of Arizona Territory.