By Kelly Cordes

Most people familiar with the Prescott area and Goldwater lakes assume those lakes are named after Barry Goldwater, who was a longtime U.S. senator from Arizona and the 1964 Republican presidential candidate. However, the lakes are actually named after Barry’s Uncle Morris.

In 1923 a dam was constructed, and the resulting lake was named “Lake Goldwater” by a vote of the city council to honor Mayor Goldwater’s leadership throughout the years.  This would become Lower Goldwater Lake in 1932 when another dam was built, creating Upper Goldwater Lake, which people today are most familiar with. 

In 1964 Prescott celebrated its centennial. The Prescott Chamber of Commerce and Centennial Commission decided to choose a “Man of the Century.” Their choice was Morris Goldwater. When examining his record of civic service, it’s hard to imagine anyone of the next century could come close to what he accomplished in helping make Prescott a viable community.

Morris Goldwater was born on January 16, 1852, in London, England. His parents were Michel and Sarah Goldwater, who emigrated to the United States in 1854. They had eight children, Morris being the eldest son. Their youngest child, a son named Baron, would become Barry Goldwater’s father. 

The Goldwater family opened a store in Phoenix in 1872 and another store in Prescott in 1876. Morris ran the Prescott store. In addition to operating one of the most important stores in town, he served as the city’s mayor for a total of 22 years over a 48-year period, from 1879 to 1927. 

Morris was involved in numerous civic endeavors. He was a member of the Mechanics Hook and Ladder Team and the Dudes hose cart team. He helped organize the Prescott Rifles, a volunteer vigilante-like group. He personally steered passage of laws to help address Prescott’s water needs. After serving in the legislature, he returned to Prescott, serving as mayor and leading the construction of Prescott’s first water system.

Morris served as vice-president of Arizona’s 1910 Constitutional Convention,  city councilman, member of the 12^th Territorial Council of Yavapai County, chairman of the Territorial Democratic Central Committee, supervisor of Yavapai County and president of the 20^th Arizona Territorial Legislature. The man was everywhere.

Morris was vice-president of Prescott National Bank, an active Mason of the thirty-second degree and past Grand Master of the Order of Arizona. Morris was also on the commission that had the Roughrider Monument, sometimes referred to as the Buckey O'Neill Monument or Statue, placed on the Courthouse Plaza in 1907.

Morris and his wife, Sarah (Sallie), were married in September 1906. There was pressure on them to marry, since Sarah was living in the same house as Morris before the marriage.   They had no children. In the 1920s, there was a recall movement against Morris as mayor, since the Prescott State Bank failed while he was vice president. Nothing came of the movement, and he continued to serve as mayor until 1927. 

Morris helped found the Arizona Democratic Party, which is ironic, since his nephew, Barry Goldwater, was the Republican presidential nominee the same year Morris was named Prescott’s Man of the Century in 1964. Senator Barry Goldwater later admitted he learned politics at the knee of his Uncle Morris. Because of his family’s association with Prescott and the time he spent there as a youth, Barry Goldwater always started his campaigns on the Yavapai County Courthouse steps.

Morris’s wife, Sarah, passed away on August 19, 1934, and he died of natural causes on April 11, 1939, in his home, which today is the Hampton Funeral Home on south Cortez Street. Both are buried in the Masonic Cemetery next to the Sacred Heart Church in Prescott.

“Days Past” is a collaborative project of the Sharlot Hall Museum and the Prescott Corral of Westerners International (www.prescottcorral.org). This and other Days Past articles are also available at www.archives.sharlothallmuseum.org/articles/days-past-articles/1. The public is encouraged to submit proposed articles and inquiries to dayspast@sharlothallmuseum.org Please contact SHM Research Center reference desk at 928-277-2003, or via email at archivesrequest@sharlothallmuseum.org for information or assistance with photo requests.