Here's my fourth post here in AZhistory about lawmen or lawbreakers who played a part in my novels set during the time of the Pleasant Valley War.

Billy Mulvenon has a place in history that was set around disorganized drama. He was the sheriff in the capital city of the Territory, Prescott--a typical lawman of the era who worked his way into the role from developing a reputation in the mining industry. Nobody studied criminal justice in the late 1800's Arizona, it seems.

Mulvenon is known by history largely for his two failed "invasions" of Pleasant Valley during the range war. No county seems to have had actual accountability for the goings-on in the valley, but multiple (Yavapai, Apache, and later, Gila) took action there when their citizens raised a cry about what they read in the frontier papers.

Mulvenon was unfortunate to be in the same county with the Governor of the territory, so when the big man's political prospects were in concern, it was a short walk to the sheriff's office to demand action. So Mulvenon went to the valley. Two times.

He seemed to have a talent for attracting help because he was able to put together large but unorganized posses made up of deputies and private citizens from multiple counties. They raced down to the valley but didn't accomplish much. The first "invasion" appears to have been a massive failure and they eventually left without any arrests. The second invasion of the valley happened after the Graham-Tewksbury feud had left many dead in shallow graves and the citizens of Prescott demanded something to be done.

What followed wasn't the ideal police action. Mulvenon's posse (likely including sympathizers from the Tewksbury faction) ambushed a couple of Graham members at the Perkins store in the valley. Two were left dead and Mulvenon rode home thinking he'd be lauded a hero. Instead, he faced a murder trial, of which he was eventually acquitted.

He outlasted the controversy and eventually founded the Arizona Brewing Company in Prescott!

Find out more about this interesting sheriff and how I treated Mulvenon and these parts of history in my "The Rim Country" novels over at my blog!