Globe, Arizona: The Curse of Room 18—Two Miners, One Deadly Room

Globe, Arizona. Saturday night, November 16th, 1907. Approaching midnight in Globe, Arizona's red-light district, two Globe police officers found him lying in the dirt. A 25-year-old Finnish miner named Richard Veklund. He'd been drugged and robbed. His pockets were empty. Over a hundred dollars, gone. The officers tried to rouse him, asked where he lived. Veklund managed to open his eyes. In a voice so weak they could barely hear him, he whispered, Room 18, International. The officers froze.

TIMELINE
1820: the well-known British writer Sidney Smith mocked the United States for its lack of culture and sophistication.
1900: to somewhere between 5,000 and 10,000 by 1906.
1906: a little over a year before Veclund's death.
1907: Approaching midnight in Globe, Arizona's red-light district, two Globe police officers found him lying in the dirt.

WHY THIS MATTERS
The story of Globe is a reminder that the events that shaped America didn't always happen in the biggest cities. What unfolded here left marks on the community that are still visible today. The full story is more complicated, and more human, than the version most people know.

Episode 187 | Hometown History | Hosted by Shane Waters

If you liked this: Episode 80 (Grand Canyon, Arizona)

Hometown History explores forgotten stories from small-town America. The overlooked events, hidden triumphs, and buried tragedies that shaped the country we live in. New episodes every Tuesday. Find every episode at mythsandmalice.com/hometown-history

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