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Governor Robert Taylor Jones, RG 1 SG 13, 1939-1941

RG 1, SG 13

Biographical Note

Robert Taylor Jones was born on February 8, 1884, in Rutledge, Tennessee. After working on construction projects in Mexico and the Panama Canal, he came to Arizona. On December 23, 1911, he married Elon Marion Armstrong in Dudleyville, Arizona. Jones ran a drugstore in Superior prior to being elected to the Arizona Senate, serving 1931 to 1934. Jones replaced C. M. Zander, the Democratic gubernatorial candidate, after Zander's death in a plane crash. Jones served only one term as governor from 1939 to 1941. His administration was known for a decrease in the tax rate, construction of new state buildings and efficiency in government operations. Tourism, promoted by the filming of movies in Arizona, and mining flourished during Jones' term of office. Governor Jones died of complications from surgery on June 11, 1958.

Scope and Content

This collection consists of correspondence with the Arizona Governor's Office foe the administration of Robert T. Jones. The Governor's Office arranged the correspondence alphabetically by subject, government agency, personal name, and private organization. Governor Jones' files include letters, reports, newspaper clippings, statistics, petitions, speeches and telegrams. Major topics include agriculture, business, the federal government, state and local government, other states and social issues. For a more detailed inventory of what is in each subject folder, please contact the State Archives.

Agriculture files deal with growing citrus and beets and the Bard Experimental Station in Yuma. The files contain correspondence, newspaper clippings and reports.

Business files contain information on building airports and the growth of aviation, labor relations and mining conditions, and the movie making industry. A majority of these documents are correspondence.

Federal government folders document state and federal government relations on topics such as a food stamp plan, surplus commodities and foreign relations. Reports, correspondence, telegrams and proposals can be found in these files.

State and local government files include all levels of government from state to municipal. Most contain routine correspondence, but several contain information relating to international events and preparation for possible war. A second important concern during Jones' administration was continued unemployment and economic strife, and a third issue was government jobs and favoritism in civil service and merit systems.

The files relating to other states contain letters from the governors of other states and the Interstate Commission on Crime.

Materials in the social issues folders focus on the creation of national monuments, the New York and San Francisco World fairs, and organizations and associations.

Restrictions

Conditions Governing Access

All photocopies of original materials are made by staff. We reserve the right to refuse copy services based on physical condition and possible damage to the materials.

For preservation purposes, if microfilm copies are available, patrons will use the microfilm first.

Under Arizona Revised Statute 39-141, public records used for commercial purposes have additional requirements. Please contact the Arizona State Archives for further information.

Conditions Governing Use

It is the researcher’s responsibility to determine the copyright status of materials he or she uses. The Arizona State Library, Archives and Public Records is not legally or financially responsible for any copyright infringement by researchers.

Many documents held by the Arizona State Archives come under the Public Record law (ARS 41-1350). Documents created by the government are not copyrighted. The United States of America Copyright Law (P.L. 94-553, effective Jan. 1, 1978) extends statutory rights of authority to unpublished works which were previously protected by literary property rights under common law. Such works do not have to be registered with the Copyright Office to receive protection under the law.

Related Material

For related material see the Arizona Governor's Office Subject Files.

Controlled Access Terms

Accession Number

The State Archives received these materials from the Governor's Office prior to the creation of an accessioning system.

Administrative Information

Custodial History

The State Archives received these materials from the Govnernor's Office prior to the creation of an accessioning system.

Preferred Citation

Bibliographic citations must cite the title of the record group(s), the box or volume number, the History and Archives Division and the name of the Arizona State Library, Archives and Public Records in full. Please use the following example:

Governor George W.P. Hunt to Ely Sims, November 21, 1919, Box 14, Office of the Governor, RG 1, History and Archives Division, Arizona State Library, Archives and Public Records.

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