Hiram Sanford Stevens - After Office

After Office

Business activities occupied Stevens' time after he left office. The early 1880s saw him purchase a ranch near Sahuarita and become part owner in the largest general store in Tucson. He additionally became a moneylender, charging the prevailing rate of 2%/month. When Tucson was considering conversion from gas to electric lighting in 1884, Stevens was a major opponent of the proposal. Following his death it was discovered he owned 100,000 shares of Tucson Gas Company stock. In other activities, Stevens was the second President of Arizona Pioneers' Historical Society. Tucson's first Protestant church was built on land he donated and he is credited with planting the area's first pepper trees.

Stevens died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound on March 22, 1893. His business interests had taken a downturn with creditors filing for attachment four days before Stevens' death. Stevens shot his wife, inflicting only a minor wound, and then turned a second gun on himself. Later investigate decided his financial troubles were insufficient to explain the suicide and could only determine the action was taken during a period of severe mental distress. Stevens was buried at Tucson's Catholic cemetery in one of the largest funerals the city had ever seen. His remains were later moved to Tucson's Evergreen Cemetery.