John Noble Goodwin was a North Berwick native who attended Berwick Academy and Dartmouth College, graduating in 1844. In the 1850s he lived on Main Street, South Berwick. Click to enlarge plaque.

The John Noble Goodwin house on Main Street, South Berwick, Maine.

Goodwin practiced law from the building known as the Oddfellows’ Block. Click to enlarge house. He served as state attorney and prosecuted important arson and murder cases in South Berwick in the early 1850s. See Rum, Murder and Arson: South Berwick’s Struggles of 1845-1855. In 1854 Goodwin was elected to the Maine State Senate. In 1860 he was elected to Congress as a Republican. Click to enlarge the Odd Fellows Block.

The Oddfellows Block, South Berwick, Maine

At the time of his appointment by President Abraham Lincoln to be the first territorial governor of Arizona, Congressman John Noble Goodwin was associated with several properties in South Berwick village, as shown here on an excerpt of a map of the early 1860s covering Portland and Main Streets. Click to enlarge the map.

1860's J N Goodwin map

When Congressman Goodwin lost his reelection bid in 1862, Lincoln appointed him, in 1863, chief justice of Arizona, then a largely unsettled new western territory where silver had just been discovered and battles with Native Americans were being fought. As the party of new officials made their way west, the governor Lincoln had appointed suddenly took ill and died. Lincoln appointed Goodwin in his place, as the Arizona territory’s first governor, based in the frontier capital of Prescott.

Scenes in and around Prescott, Arizona

Country around Prescott Click to enlarge.

Goodwin Street and the Courthouse Click to enlarge.

Gurley Street with Thumb Butte. Click to enlarge.

In Prescott, Governor John Noble Goodwin is still remembered today, and his log cabin, the first governor’s mansion, preserved at the Sharlott Hall Museum.

Governor's Mansion Click to enlarge.

Governor's Bed Click to enlarge.

Governor's Desk Click to enlarge.

Display case with Goodwin's photo. Click to enlarge.

After being succeeded as governor, Goodwin represented Arizona in Congress through 1867, then retired from politics. He died in California in 1887 and was buried in Augusta, Maine. (Source: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, /bioguide.congress.gov)

Granite Creek. Click to enlarge.

Granite Creek, where prospectors panned for gold in John Noble Goodwin’s day, still flows through Prescott. Click to enlarge.

(Photos by Wendy Pirsig)

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