Jedidiah Grant Peterson was an American politician from Arizona. He served a single term in the

Arizona State Senate The Arizona State Senate is part of the Arizona Legislature, the state legislature of the US state of Arizona. The Senate consists of 30 members each representing an average of 219,859 constituents (2009 figures). Members serve two-year terms w ...

during the

9th Arizona State Legislature The 9th Arizona State Legislature, consisting of the Arizona State Senate and the Arizona House of Representatives, was constituted from January 1, 1929, to December 31, 1930, during the first and second years of John Calhoun Phillips's tenure ...

, holding one of the two seats from

Maricopa County Maricopa County is in the south-central part of the U.S. state of Arizona. As of the 2020 census, the population was 4,420,568, making it the state's most populous county, and the fourth-most populous in the United States. It contains about 6 ...

. He served several terms as the Mayor of

Mesa, Arizona Mesa ( ) is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, Maricopa County, in the U.S. state of Arizona. It is the most populous city in the East Valley (Phoenix metropolitan area), East Valley section of the Phoenix Metropolitan Area. It is bordered by ...

. He also held positions on the Arizona Highway Commission and the

National Irrigation Congress The National Irrigation Congress was held periodically in the Western United States beginning in 1891 and ending in 1916, by which time the organization had changed its name to International Irrigation Congress. It was a "powerful pressure group." ...

, as well as being instrumental in the creation of the

Roosevelt Dam Theodore Roosevelt Dam is a dam on the Salt River located northeast of Phoenix, Arizona. The dam is high and forms Theodore Roosevelt Lake as it impounds the Salt River. Originally built between 1905 and 1911, the dam was renovated and expanded ...

Biography

Peterson was born on September 6, 1868, in

Peterson, Utah Peterson is an unincorporated community in northwestern Morgan County, Utah, United States. Geography Peterson is located in northwest Morgan Valley, near Peterson Creek and Interstate 84, northwest of the town of Morgan. Thurston Peak, the ...

, to Charles and Ann Peterson. He married Leah Elizabeth Metz in 1889. He was a member of the

Woodsmen of the World WoodmenLife (officially Woodmen of the World Life Insurance Society) is a not-for-profit fraternal benefit society founded in 1890, based in Omaha, Nebraska, United States, that operates a large privately held insurance company for its members. ...

Knights of Pythias The Knights of Pythias is a fraternal organization and secret society founded in Washington, D.C., on . The Knights of Pythias is the first fraternal organization to receive a charter under an act of the United States Congress. It was founded ...

, and the Odd Fellows. Peterson was one of Arizona's delegates to the original

in 1891. He was mayor of

from 1900 to 1902. He was on the Roosevelt Dam Commission from 1901 to 1903, and played a principle role in getting the

constructed. From 1919 through 1923, he was a member of the Arizona Highway Commission, and was responsible for helping to build 400 miles of highway in the state. He served again as mayor of Mesa, for six consecutive terms from 1924 to 1936. From 1931 to 1946 he was employed as a livestock and land appraiser for the

Salt River Valley Water Users' Association The Salt River Project (SRP) is the umbrella name for two separate entities: the Salt River Project Agricultural Improvement and Power District, an agency of the state of Arizona that serves as an electrical utility for the Phoenix metropolitan a ...

and the Arizona Farmers Credit Association. Peterson died on February 5, 1955, in

Mesa Southside Hospital Banner Desert Medical Center, formerly Desert Samaritan Medical Center, or “Desert Sam," is a 615-bed non-profit, short-term acute care hospital located in Mesa, Arizona (southeast suburban Phoenix) adjacent to the border with Tempe, provid ...

in Mesa, after a long illness.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Peterson, J. G. Democratic Party Arizona state senators Latter Day Saints from Arizona 1868 births 1955 deaths Mayors of Mesa, Arizona Members of the Odd Fellows Knights of Pythias