By Tom Collins

Andrew L. Moeller, a poor Pennsylvanian, moved to Arizona via the gold fields of California in 1864 with property valued at $10 (equivalent to $141 today) and dove into the saloon business, first managing and then purchasing the Quartz Rock Saloon. Within four years he acquired, for the sum of $8,500, the building at the southwest corner of Gurley and Montezuma Streets (current location of the Hotel St. Michael). It came to be known as Prescott's premier saloon, the Diana. His investments in three mines of the Big Bug District in 1871 - the Independence, the Deposit and the Dividend - made him a wealthy and influential citizen. In 1874, Moeller was elected from Yavapai County to the lower House of the 8th Territorial Legislature. The capital for the territory was at that time located in Tucson.

As a land magnate, Moeller was practically peerless. By December 1872, he owned at least 27 lots in town, acquiring two additional prime lots on South Montezuma Street in 1877. In October that year, the Miner reported a rumor that he intended to build two houses for rent on those lots.

The year 1877 was noteworthy for Moeller's generous support of the newly formed Prescott Library Association. The Miner observed that the old schoolhouse recently purchased by the association had been moved to his lot on Cortez Street. He donated the rent of the lot for a period of three years.

In 1878, Moeller represented Yavapai County in the 9th Territorial Legislature at Tucson. At the same time, he launched a two-year battle with the Southern Pacific Railroad Company of California. Moeller spearheaded a petition to Congress requesting that it have nothing to do with the railroad company, which the petition described as one of the grinding monopolies of the country. The Miner speculated that Moeller would be compelled to yield all of his land adjoining Prescott on the north for the creation of depot grounds, round houses, machine shops, etc. Moeller's motivation became suspect when, on Aug. 31, 1880, he and four business partners filed articles of incorporation for the "Maricopa, Phoenix and Prescott Railroad Company" with capital stock of over $2 million. While work on the railroad was expected to commence immediately, the project wilted and the company dissolved.

He again did a good deed for the Prescott Library Association in 1882 by purchasing the library building. Proceeds of the sale were applied to purchasing books for the public school library (possibly the Prescott Free Academy, built in 1876).

On Sept. 28, 1882, Moeller married Alice Bouyea, with whom he had cohabited since November 1876. Perhaps sensing his impending fatal illness, he wished to ensure that Alice could legally inherit his estate. (After his death three years later, since Moeller died intestate - without a will - the judge's decision in favor of Alice regarding the inheritance was challenged by Moeller's siblings. The court upheld Alice's claim, making her one of the richest widows in Prescott.)

On July 4, 1883, fire raged down Montezuma Street, destroying the Diana Saloon along with numerous other buildings. He had sold the saloon in 1876 and his two rental properties on the street were fully covered by insurance. But this loss paled in comparison with the loss of his mental health.

By September 1883, dementia had rendered Andrew Moeller incompetent. An unidentified newspaper reported, "Mr. Moeller was a man of charitable nature, good judgment and has a large number of friends, all of whom will feel extremely sad upon learning of his dreadful bereavement. He will probably be placed in some asylum." He was "so violent from the effects of said insanity that it was dangerous to himself and to the community to let him remain at liberty." He spent a year at the Pacific Insane Asylum at Stockton, Calif., returning to Prescott just three months before he died.

Moeller died in January 1885. At the meeting of the House of Representatives in Prescott on Jan. 29, it was resolved to adjourn in order to attend Moeller's funeral in respect of his participation in the 9th Territorial Legislature. The town joined in mourning the loss of one of its greatest citizens.

Tom Collins, a professor emeritus of theater, is the author of "Stage-Struck Settlers in the Sun-Kissed Land," a history of the amateur theatre in Territorial Prescott. He is a volunteer in the archives at Sharlot Hall Museum.