# @downinnadesert on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/DeFOrBUG3Lb
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/71151443-downinnadesert-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/3fe1e4d653.jpg
- **Posted:** 2026-10-04T18:00:01.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** Down In The Desert🌵 (@downinnadesert) — https://gondola.cc/downinnadesert

## Caption

In 1934, landlocked Arizona basically created its own Navy during a fight with California over Colorado River water.

The federal government had begun work on Parker Dam, a project tied to delivering Colorado River water to Southern California. Arizona Gov. Benjamin Moeur objected to construction extending onto Arizona territory and feared California was securing too much control over the river. 

After initially sending a small group of National Guardsmen to investigate, Moeur escalated things on November 10, declaring martial law and sending about 100 armed troops from the 158th Infantry Regiment to the dam site. 

There was just one problem when troops needed to inspect the construction from the water: Arizona had no Navy.

So two local ferryboats, the Nellie Jo and Julia B., were brought into service. Their owner, Nellie T. Bush, was a licensed steamboat captain and Arizona legislator who became known as the “admiral” of what newspapers dubbed the Arizona Navy. 

The story got even better when the boats reportedly became tangled in construction cables and workers at the dam had to help free them. No shots were fired, but the bizarre standoff became national news. 

And somehow, it worked in the short term. Federal officials temporarily halted construction. Work later resumed after Congress authorized the project, and Parker Dam was completed in 1938. 

The dam created Lake Havasu, where the Central Arizona Project now draws Colorado River water that travels across the state toward Phoenix and Tucson. 

So yes, Arizona once deployed troops and a two-boat “Navy” during a dispute over the same river the state still depends on today. 😭

Did you know Arizona once had a Navy?

#Arizona #ArizonaHistory #ColoradoRiver #ParkerDam #LakeHavasu

## Stats

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## Credits

No public credits are recorded here. This does not identify who made the post.

## Tags

coloradoriver, arizonahistory, arizona, parkerdam, lakehavasu

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