John Brackett Allen
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John Brackett "Pie" Allen (October 22, 1818 – June 13, 1899) was an American prospector, businessman, and politician. Unsuccessful in his efforts as a prospector, he earned his nickname baking pies for settlers and soldiers in
Arizona Territory The Territory of Arizona (also known as Arizona Territory) was a territory of the United States that existed from February 24, 1863, until February 14, 1912, when the remaining extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the state of ...
. His business success made him a prominent territorial citizen and he served three terms in the Arizona Territorial Legislature, two terms as Mayor of Tucson, Arizona Territory, and was appointed Arizona Territorial Treasurer for six years.


Biography

Allen was born in
Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...
on October 22, 1818, and educated in Boston, Massachusetts. He moved to the
American West The Western United States (also called the American West, the Far West, and the West) is the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. As American settlement in the U.S. expanded westward, the meaning of the term ''the Wes ...
as part of the
California Gold Rush The California Gold Rush (1848–1855) was a gold rush that began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The news of gold brought approximately 300,000 people to California fro ...
, arriving in Colorado City, Arizona Territory (now Yuma) in 1857. From there he moved to Gila City to work in the placer fields before arriving in Tucson in 1858. Upon his arrival in Tucson, Allen gave up his ambition of striking it rich by finding gold. Instead, he began baking pies with dried apples and selling them to the local townsfolk and soldiers for a dollar a pie. His pies proved to be quite popular and profits from the endeavor allowed him to open a general store. His skill as a baker also earned him the nickname "Pie". Following his initial success, Allen opened stores in
Tubac Tubac is a census-designated place (CDP) in Santa Cruz County, Arizona, United States. The population was 1,191 at the 2010 census. The place name "Tubac" is an English borrowing from a Hispanicized form of the O'odham name ''Cuwak'', which tr ...
and
Maricopa Wells Maricopa Wells is a former place ( locale) situated in Pinal County, Arizona. It has an estimated elevation of above sea level. Historically, it was an oasis around a series of watering holes in the Sierra Estrella, eight miles north of present- ...
. Additionally, he branched out into farming and ranching activities. On July 27, 1864, he became the first person in Arizona Territory to file a homestead application and is credited with constructing the first buildings in Tucson's new "American" section. Later activities include operating one of Arizona's first
dairy farm Dairy farming is a class of agriculture for long-term production of milk, which is processed (either on the farm or at a dairy plant, either of which may be called a dairy) for eventual sale of a dairy product. Dairy farming has a history that ...
s and he is thought to have been the first to introduce honey bees to the territory. During the reign of
Maximilian I Maximilian I may refer to: *Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor, reigned 1486/93–1519 *Maximilian I, Elector of Bavaria, reigned 1597–1651 *Maximilian I, Prince of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen (1636-1689) *Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria, reigned 1795†...
in
Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
, Allen supplied arms to the anti-royalist forces. In addition to his business interests, Allen also became involved in territorial politics. As a member of the
4th Arizona Territorial Legislature The 4th Arizona Territorial Legislative Assembly was a session of the Arizona Territorial Legislature which ran from September 4, 1867, till October 7, 1867, in Prescott, Arizona. Among the sessions accomplishments were establishment of the terri ...
, he led the effort to move the territorial capital from Prescott to Tucson. On November 18, 1867 Allen was appointed one of three superintendents to Arizona's first school district. Governor Richard C. McCormick then appointed him Territorial Treasurer on December 31, 1867. Under his management the territorial deficit was quickly erased. In 1873, Allen resigned as Treasurer after being elected a member of the
7th Arizona Territorial Legislature The 7th Arizona Territorial Legislative Assembly was a session of the Arizona Territorial Legislature which convened on January 6, 1873, in Tucson, Arizona Territory. Background The Indian Wars continued within Arizona Territory. Dissatisfied wi ...
. He was reappointed at the close of the session and continued to serve until 1875. Following his time as Treasurer he was appointed Adjunct General for the territory and became known as "General Pie". Allen ascended Tucson's mayoral office on April 15, 1876, serving a partial term. In January 1877 he won election to a full term as mayor. While in office, he used broom wielding prison inmates to implement the city's first street sweeping program. With the founding of Tombstone, Allen opened another store out of the town's first major building. During much of his life Allen was something of a wanderer, moving from place to place throughout southern Arizona. In addition to Tubac, Tucson, Tombstone, and Maricopa Wells he operated businesses in
Casa Grande , settlement_type = City , image_skyline = Casa Grande-Casa Grande Union High School-1920-2.jpg , imagesize = 250px , image_caption = Historic Casa Grande Union High School which now serves as the ...
, Quijotoa,
Mammoth A mammoth is any species of the extinct elephantid genus ''Mammuthus'', one of the many genera that make up the order of trunked mammals called proboscideans. The various species of mammoth were commonly equipped with long, curved tusks and, ...
,
Gunsight A sight is an aiming device used to assist in visually aligning ranged weapons, surveying instruments or optical illumination equipments with the intended target. Sights can be a simple set or system of physical markers that have to be aligne ...
, and Willcox. In 1891, when he was elected to represent Pinal County in the
16th Arizona Territorial Legislature The 16th Arizona Territorial Legislative Assembly was a session of the Arizona Territorial Legislature which convened in Phoenix, Arizona. The session began on January 19, 1891. Background John N. Irwin had been appointed to replace Lewis Wolfl ...
, he was living in
Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...
.Wagoner, ''Arizona Territory 1863-1912: A Political history'', p. 520 In 1881 the 63-year-old Allen proposed marriage to a teenaged girl named Lola Tapia. The girl's mother agreed to the union on the condition she stayed in a convent. The marriage took place and Lola remained at the convent till the next year when she gave birth to a daughter. The marriage lasted until 1891 when Allen was granted a divorce on grounds of his wife's infidelity. In April 1899, Allen was suffering through the final stages of terminal cancer when his friends in Tucson decided to hold a dinner in his honor. During the ceremony he was presented with a tombstone by Zeckendorf & Company. In addition to his name and dates of birth and death the tombstone bore the epitaph "Territorial Treasurer Six Years, 1865 to 1871. Mayor of Tucson two terms. A man without an enemy." Allen died in Tucson on June 13, 1899. He was buried in the paupers section of Tucson's Court Street cemetery. His tombstone was later moved to Pima County Cemetery without his remains to clear land for a building project. Records to determine the location and disposition of his remains have been subsequently lost. The Pie Allen Historic District in Tucson was named a
National Register Historic District The U.S. National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) classifies its listings by various types of properties. Listed properties generally fall into one of five categories, though there are special considerations for other types of properties whi ...
in 1996.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Allen, Pie 1812 births 1899 deaths Members of the Arizona Territorial Legislature Arizona Territory officials Mayors of Tucson, Arizona American merchants Businesspeople from Maine Businesspeople from Boston Arizona pioneers Politicians from Boston 19th-century American politicians 19th-century American businesspeople