Archive of over 1,200 items relating to Ralph Cameron and his seminal contributions to the political and economic growth of Arizona in the crucial period leading to its statehood, and emergence from wild and somewhat lawless territory. The archive includes numerous autographed and typed letters, signed by Cameron and others, telegrams, carbon copies, depositions and court documents with sundry ephemeral items, i.e., congressional bills, news clippings, trade cards, etc. - totaling over 3,000 pages covering Arizona including the statehood battle, Grand Canyon, state politics in the period 1903-1912.

A giant in the history of Arizona during the final years as a territory and its quest for statehood, Cameron emigrated to Arizona Territory early in the final decade of the 19th century, where he became involved in mining and ranching. A locator and developer of the Bright Angel Trail into the Grand Canyon, Cameron spent considerable time and energy defending the legality of his claim to the trail against the Santa Fe RR land department, the U.S. Forest Service and ultimately the Department of the Interior after the Grand Canyon became first a National Monument and then a National Park. The archive abounds in depositions, correspondence to and from lawyers and Cameron's resident informants as repeated attempts were made "jump his mining claims" that were the basis for his contention that the Bright Angel Trail was an appurtenance to his mining claims. Approximately one-third of the archive represents Cameron's struggles to establish clear title to his mines as well as make them profitable. During the 1890's Cameron served as Sheriff of Coconino County and was involved in County polities. A staunch Republican, Cameron also served as Chairman of the Board of Supervisors of Coconino County 1905-1907 during which time he became very active in the Territorial organization of the Republican Party. The archive includes over two hundred letters from Hoval Smith, Arizona Territorial Chairman of the Republican Party plus numerous letters to and from J.L. Hubbell of the famous Hubbell Trading Post in Ganado. Citing business requirements that demanded his presence in Arizona, Hubbell resisted party pressure to seek Arizona's congressional seat. Hubbell was the preferred candidate as he was recognized as having the greatest ability to garner votes from the Mormon and Mexican communities in Arizona Territory. One of the continuing battles in Arizona politics during the first decade of the twentieth century revolved around the infamous "education qualification" for voters in the Territorial Constitution. J.L. Hubbell was among the most eloquent of the Republican spokesman opposing this qualification that required voters to be able to read the U.S. Consititution and pass a test on it. Republican objections were that this disenfranchised most of the Mexican and recent immigrant residents. In an eloquent letter to Cameron, dated 12/17/09, John Wright wrote Cameron, "There were over two hundred Mexican citizens who desired to vote that day who were prevented from doing so by reason of this bill. Quite a number of these who were denied permission to vote because unable to read the Constitution of US, were men of property, and who pay large taxes, and who have a fair education in their own language and read and write fluently in the Spanish language." With Hubbell's refusal to seek the seat in Congress, the party nominated Ralph Cameron who was the successful candidate. Cameron dedicated himself to the difficult but successful "fight for statehood" that resulted in Arizona's qualified admission by Congress and President Taft under the Enabling Act in June, 1910. The language qualification had long been a stumbling block in the Arizona Constitution, but former lawyer and judge, William Howard Taft, took real exception to the Constitutional provision for recall of judges. About one-half of the archive consists of letters and documents from Cameron's Congressional period. These letters reveal the inner workings of the Republican party in Arizona as the "spoils" were distributed after the victory. One very striking fact about the distribution of patronage revealed by the correspondence is that political appointments might be rewards for party service, but both Cameron and Territorial party chairman Hoval Smith were equally concerned with the appointee's competence to perform the appointment. There are a number of letters from job-seekers appealing to Cameron for appointment and from disgruntled office-seekers, viz., J.V. Van Eaton who wrote, "I was promised it (appointment), I have surely earned it, and I want it." Letters from constituents reveal the myriad requests with which a congressman was respected to deal, including a plea from the Washington, D.C. Hospital for the Insane that expressed the simple request, "Get me out of here." Another constituent inquired whether one could legally file a claim for a "salt mine" on the lands of the former Apache Indian Reservation. Many of the letters are on striking early twentieth century letterheads. Among the most attractive are those of the Hubbell Trading Post at Ganado with vignettes of Navajo and Hopi Indians and also the Hubbel Trading Post at Keams Canyon with Hopi vignettes. Aside from approximately one hundred quasi-form letters that Cameron received urging him to support the "educational qualification" in the constitution, the remaining hundreds of letters, documents, etc. have remarkable content. Also apparent is the fact that Cameron didn't every "?weed" his files and there are several letters that reveal his financial problems.