Perkins Store

 museum, assassination, NRHP - National Register of Historic Places, interesting place, general store, history museum

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Historic former general store listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP).

Built: c. 1881-1883 (original single-room store)
Expanded: 1887 (very large addition, more than quintupling its size); c. 1954 (west porch); c. 1960s (east bathroom)
Areas of significance: Law
Area: 0.13 acres
Date added to NRHP: 2/5/1999
Current use: museum
Notes: This former general store was the location of an infamous shoot-out on September 21st, 1887 during the Pleasant Valley War. The war, which took place between 1882 and 1892, was a feud between the cattle ranching Graham family and the sheep herding Tewksbury family. On the aforementioned date, a posse led by Sheriff William Mulvenon was dispatched to this site in an attempt to end the feud. The posse ambushed John Graham and Charles Blevins, one of his associates, killing both. The feud would ultimately drag on for several more years, albeit in a more muted manner. This building is the only known structure remaining in Arizona with a connection to the Pleasant Valley War. The NRHP boundary for the property encompasses the store itself, as well as the small field in which Graham and Blevins were killed. The store now functions as a museum.

www.legendsofamerica.com/az-pleasantvalleywar.html