James Addison Peralta-Reavis, Baron of Arizona
From Kook Science
| James Addison Peralta-Reavis, Baron of Arizona | |
|---|---|
| Born | 10 May 1843 Henry Co., Missouri |
| Died | 27 November 1914 (71) Denver, Colorado |
James Addison Reavis (May 10, 1843 - November 27, 1914) was an American real estate agent and convicted forger who took up the mantle of James Peralta-Reavis in his attempt to use an apparently fabricated Spanish baronial land tenure, referred to as the Peralta land grant, to press ownership claims to over 12 million acres (approx. 48,200 km2, or 18,600 sq. miles) of land in central Arizona Territory and western New Mexico Territory, then recently acquired by the United States of America from Mexico at the conclusion of the Mexican-American War. Reavis promoted his claims for nearly a quarter of a century, drawing some prominent supporters along the way, before being ultimately prosecuted and convicted of fraud, spending 21 months in prison for his trouble.
Reading
Government Documents
- Johnson, Royal A., ed. (1890), Adverse Report of the Surveyor General of Arizona, Royal A. Johnson, Upon the Alleged Peralta Grant: A Complete Expose of Its Fraudulent Character, Phoenix, Ariz.: Arizona Gazette Book and Job Office, https://archive.org/details/adversereportofs00arizrich
Later Analysis
- Powell, Donald M. (1960), The Peralta Grant: James Addison Reavis and the Barony of Arizona, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, https://www.amazon.com/Peralta-Addison-Reavis-barony-Arizona/dp/B00005WLKX/?tag=apopheniacs-20
Press Coverage
- "THE PERALTA CLAIM. A Famous Case Before the Land Court Involving Over 12,000,000 Acres in Arizona and New Mexico. $32,000 Worth of Court Records -- Lands Affected -- A Talk with Mr. J. A. Peralta-Reavis.", Santa Fe New Mexican (Santa Fe, NM): 4, 3 Nov. 1893, https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-santa-fe-new-mexican-the-peralta-cla/139247709/
Viewing
- The Baron of Arizona (1950), an American film directed by Samuel Fuller and starring Vincent Price as Reavis.