The man known as the “Father of Arizona” helped lobby the territory into existence, then died broke in Phoenix decades later. Charles Debrille Poston arrived in the region in the 1850s, pursued silver mining and became an early advocate for separating Arizona from New Mexico Territory. During the Civil War, Poston went to Washington and pushed Congress and President Abraham Lincoln to create Arizona Territory. It became official on February 24, 1863. Poston later became Arizona’s first territorial delegate to Congress, but his political career quickly faded. He lost multiple elections and bounced between government jobs while his finances declined. By 1899, the Arizona Legislature officially recognized him as the “Father of Arizona” and granted him a small pension. He died nearly penniless in Phoenix in 1902. Years earlier, Poston had picked a hill near Florence as the place he wanted to be buried. His remains were eventually moved there, and today it’s known as Poston Butte. Fr...