Arizona Faces and Features Charles Poston (1825–1902) Tennessee, while studying for his bar examination. Poston’s legal background led him to Washington, D.C. His love of prospecting led him to the Sonora Exploring and Mining Company. In 1856, he went to Tubac, Arizona, where he managed several mining properties. The mines were abandoned five years later because of Apache Indian attacks. But Poston never forgot the miners and other businessmen and how much they wanted Arizona to be a territory. Back in Washington, D.C., Poston worked hard to make the Arizona people’s dream come true. In 1863, the Arizona Territory was officially formed. Poston returned to the Territory as Superintendent of Indian Affairs. He was later elected Arizona’s first delegate to Congress. Poston died in 1902 in Phoenix. Twenty-three years later, his remains were transferred to Poston’s Butte near Florence. Poston had loved this site and wanted to build a temple there for the sun. Instead, a memorial stands in its place. It was put there to pay tribute to the man who was known as “The Father of Arizona.” r r Charles Poston—“Father of Arizona” Before he was a teenager, Charles Poston began working in the county clerk’s office in Hardin County, Kentucky, to learn the basics of law. Later he clerked in the state supreme court at Nashville, Chapter 7 • Arizona Faces and Features 79