Michael Wormser (1827-1898) - Merchant and Land Baron

Arizona Jewish Historical Society

When Michael Wormser died in 1898, he was indisputably the largest landowner in Phoenix, Arizona, with 7435 acres.  However impressive his estate, it is debatable whether it brought him much pleasure.  Possessed of a dour and argumentative personality, Wormser’s psychological profile hints of a poverty-stricken, insecure childhood. 

Wormser was a Yiddish-speaking Jew born June 27, 1827, in Mittelbronn in the Alsace-Lorraine (now Moselle) region of France.  He came to the United States in 1850 to join his cousin Benjamin Block in San Luis Obispo, California.   After Block’s livery stable failed, Wormser moved to Arizona and went into business for himself.  In 1864, he opened the first general store in Prescott in an adobe building near the corner of Goodwin and Montezuma Streets. 

In 1873, Wormser acquired a store in Phoenix. However, he lost it in 1876 when the price of grain dropped suddenly and his customers’ outstanding bills became uncollectable.  Having acquired some land along the San Francisco Canal, Wormser had to resort to farming.

From his unsold store inventory, Wormser advanced seed, tools and provisions to his Hispanic neighbors along the canal.  He also encouraged them to gain legal title to their land.  Once they owned the land, it could be used as collateral to buy more supplies from “Don Miguel”, as they called him. 

The general consensus is that Wormser took advantage of his Spanish-speaking neighbors’ ignorance to get hold of their land, as they scarcely understood the contracts they had signed.  When they fell behind on their payments and eviction notices were served, they had no legal recourse.  In this way, Wormer managed to acquire ownership or control of about 9,000 acres of irrigable farmland along the Salt River in south Phoenix.

Wormer widened the San Francisco Canal and experimented with growing sugar beets.

As a major landowner, he was elected in November 1880 to a four-year term on the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors.  He used his position to obtain favorable tax breaks on his land.

1892 was the year of the Great Flood on the Salt River.  Since Wormser’s irrigation ditches had been washed out, he became a plaintiff in a landmark Arizona water case, Michael Wormsor et al. versus the Salt River Valley Canal Company, et al.  The case resulted in the Kibbey Decision which established the principle in Arizona that water belonged to the land, and that early users of water had priority over later users.   The verdict was a victory for Wormser, as he was one of the ‘early users’. 

Wormser died on April 25, 1898, and was initially buried in one of the city cemeteries, probably Loosley.  Charles Goldman, his executor, eventually valued his estate at $221,396, a considerable sum for 1900.  Since Wormser had intended to donate land for a Jewish cemetery, Goldman set aside a parcel at 35th Avenue and Jackson for that purpose.  Beth Israel Memorial Cemetery opened in 1903, whereupon Wormser’s body was exhumed and moved there.  The cemetery is still active today.

-By Donna L. Carr