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Richard Cunningham McCormick
Governor of the Arizona Territory 1866 - 1869

Richard Cunningham McCormick
Photo ID 96-1384 from the
Arizona History and Archives’ Historical Photograph Collection

Born May 23, 1832, in New York City, Richard Cunningham McCormick was a Republican.  In 1863, he was nominated by President Abraham Lincoln to be Secretary of the Territory of Arizona.   After being selected, he brought a printing press to Arizona and launched the Arizona Miner, the first newspaper north of the Gila River which initially appeared March 9, 1864.  He later founded the Arizona Citizen, which was an important territorial newspaper.   In 1866, President Andrew Johnson nominated McCormick to be the Governor of the Territory of Arizona.

McCormick's wife and daughter died tragically during childbirth on May 2, 1867, in Prescott.

Sources:  Arizona State Capitol Museum Interpreter's Manual and Biographical Directory of the United States Congress

See also:  The Governor's Mansion, Sharlot Hall Museum's web exhibit.

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