The 1914 Arizona Alcohol Ban That Predated National Prohibition

Arizona was one of the earliest states to adopt Prohibition, going dry five years before the rest of the nation. Supporters believed alcohol fueled crime, poverty, and other social problems, but the ban often had the opposite effect. Instead, it encouraged bootlegging and smuggling, and ultimately resulted in a gunfight still talked about today.

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A man destroying barrels of alcohol during Prohibition. / General Photographic Agency, Getty Images

Arizona Goes Dry

Arizona's path to Prohibition began in 1914 when voters approved Proposition 203, making the state one of the first in the country to ban alcohol. The law took effect on January 1, 1915, five years before national Prohibition began.

The movement was driven by temperance advocates, religious organizations, and social reformers who believed alcohol was responsible for crime, poverty, and family problems. While legal alcohol sales ended, demand never disappeared, creating opportunities for bootleggers and smugglers.

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Homemade Alcohol and Smuggling

Many Arizonians responded by making their own alcohol, turning basements and hidden locations into moonshine and whiskey distilleries. Illegal distilling became common enough that some communities developed warning systems to alert bootleggers when authorities were nearby.

Arizona's border with Mexico made alcohol smuggling a thriving business. Bootleggers used desert trails and other methods to avoid law enforcement, while Cochise County became a major smuggling corridor because of its location near the border.

Some people also stocked up on alcohol or turned their homes into private bars. According to former Senator Barry Goldwater, his father purchased a bar, back bar, and brass foot rail from a favorite saloon and installed them in the family's basement before the ban took full effect.

The Gleeson Gunfight

The Gleeson gunfight was one of the most famous Prohibition-era shootouts. On March 5, 1917, Cochise County Sheriff Harry C. Wheeler and Deputy Lafe Gibson were searching for bootleggers near Gleeson when they were ambushed by a group of liquor smugglers.

The two lawmen exchanged more than 100 shots with an estimated 4 to 5 smugglers during a fight that lasted over an hour. After the attackers retreated, Wheeler and Gibson recovered four burros carrying ten cases of whiskey, highlighting the scale of bootlegging in southeastern Arizona.

Prohibition was intended to reduce alcohol-related problems, but in Arizona, it often led to bootlegging, smuggling, and even more violent confrontations. National Prohibition was repealed in 1933 by the 21st Amendment.

Arizona voted to repeal it that same year, ending nearly two decades of statewide prohibition. Arizona's prohibition period raises the question: Can you ban something that is already readily available, or does it simply make it harder to regulate? What do you think?

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