Governor
Ernest W. McFarland
(1955-1959)
"Only one man, Ernest W. McFarland, has been honored with the highest position in all three branches of Arizona government. He served as U.S. senator from Arizona government. He served as US senator from Arizona, governor, and justice of the Arizona Supreme Court. A specialist in water law and reclamation, he became known as one of America's most knowledgeable experts in the field.
McFarland was born near Earlsboro, in the Pottawatomie Strip of what is now Oklahama Teachers College, and later earned a master's degree in political science and a Doctor of Jurisprudence from Stanford University. After Navy service in World War I, he was admitted to the Arizona Bar in 1920 and practiced in Pinal and Maricopa Counties. He was assistant Arizona attorney general in 1923-24. In 1929-31 he was a member of the Phillips and Cox law firm, headed by Gov. John C. Phillips. McFarland practiced in Casa Grande and Florence, served six years as Pinal County attorney, and was a judge of the Pinal County Superior Court.
In the Democratic primary of 1940 he challenged an Arizona legend, Henry Fountain Ashurst, US Senator since 1912, for his Senate seat. And he won, McFarland was re-elected in 1946, and Newsweek called him "one of the most genial, friendly members of the Senate." McFarland's national stature grew, and he was named Majority Leader of the Senate in 1951. He served in that capacity until his defeat by Barry Goldwater in the Eisenhower landslide of 1952. In 1954 he ran sucessfully for governor and served two terms. A soft-spoken man with a ready smile, he made loyal friends throughout the state.His vast knowledge of water and irrigation law was a vital asset in countless clashes over Arizona water rights. Appointed to the Arizona Supreme Court in the latter part of his public carrer, McFarland served with distinction in many historic cases."
Goff, John F. Arizona
Biographical Dictionary. Black Mountain Press. Cave Creek,
Arizona 1983.
p. 270
Mac : the autobiography of Ernest W. McFarland.
E748
.M148 A35
Senator Ernest Mc Farland and the 1941 United
States Senate Investigation of the Hollywood Motion Picture Industry, N.D.
FM MSM-109
Biography of Ernest William McFarland
FB BIO-1648
Ernest W. McFarland: Arizona's All-Purpose Public
Servant.
CE EPH GS-173
