by John Mason Glen, Ph.D., for Western Heritage Foundation
Photo courtesy of Western Heritage Foundation
This was the theme song of the TV show 26 MEN, which aired from October 1957 to June 1959, during the heyday of Westerns on TV, recounting the adventures of the Arizona Rangers.
Much of the series was filmed at Cudia City at the corner of Camelback Rd. and 40th St. in Phoenix.
Arizona has a long and storied history with law enforcement. The first attempted constabulary occurred in 1860 but was disbanded and the men entered the Confederate army in 1861. The second, in 1882, only lasted for one month when the Legislature refused to authorize funding.
As the century turned, crime was rampant in Arizona; railroad and stagecoach robberies were commonplace, brawls and shootings frequent, and cattle rustling was a major industry. In 1901, to rid the territory of corruption and crime with the ultimate goal of statehood, Gov. Nathan Oakes Murphy established the Rangers.
In 1903 the force was increased to 26 men and modeled after the famous Texas Rangers. Arizona’s force was well-trained, well-armed and quite successful in bringing stability to the territory that had been denied statehood by the U.S. Congress due to a lack of law and order.
Over 4,000 rustlers, horse thieves and numerous notorious miscreants were arrested by the Rangers during their nine-year life span. Their well-documented success, together with political pressures, led to the Legislature disbanding the group in 1909.
After the termination, many of the Rangers remained in law enforcement; Capt. Henry Wheeler was later sheriff of Cochise County and Capt. Tom Rynning, a former member of Roosevelt’s Rough Riders, became warden of the prison in Yuma.
But the moribund Rangers refused to perish and in 1957, the Arizona Rangers were re-established and are today comprised of 22 companies from Flagstaff to the Mexican border. They are an all-volunteer civilian auxiliary assisting federal, state or local law enforcement.
Three Rangers paid the ultimate price. Carlos Tafolla died of wounds sustained in a 1901 firefight with the notorious Smith Gang, cattle rustlers in Graham County; Jeff Kidder was killed in 1908 a gunfight in Sonora, assisting Mexican officials; and John Thomas was killed during a shootout in Sierra Vista in 1992.
The Western Heritage Center at 156 S. Montezuma St. has numerous displays on Arizona’s history and admission is free.
