City to commemorate turn-of-century prominent citizen

Source: The Sun, Yuma, Ariz.自存倉Sept. 05--What's in a name? Quite a bit, at least when it comes to the proposed new name for the driveway that leads from 1st Street to Gateway Park.An ordinance introduced by the Yuma City Council during its Wednesday meeting will rename the short stretch of roadway George Downey Drive. The ordinance will be adopted when the council meets again on Sept. 18.It couldn't be more fitting.Downey's service as a public official and his active role in the community played an important part in the history of the Yuma area at the turn of the 20th century, noted Councilman Jerry Stuart. And the home where Downey was born and lived once stood just off to the side of the drive that will soon bear his name.Downey was born April 16, 1883, to Thomas Downey and Mercedes Mendoza Wilson Downey in the home built by Mercedes and her first husband, Capt. John Wilson. The three-story "Wilson House" once loomed large near what today is the entrance to Gateway Park.It served not only as the family home, but also was a hotel. And it was Yuma's first hospital, where Mecedes, an experienced midwife, provided medical care for the fledging community as well as the prisoners at the nearby Yuma Territorial Prison.The house was demolished in 1964 to make way for the new Interstate 8 br迷你倉新蒲崗dge that now spans the Colorado River. All that remains today is a grouping of boulders someone placed off to the right of the drive, Stuart said.Downey's political career began in 1910, when he was elected to the Yuma City Council at the age of 27. Ten years later, he was elected to the Yuma County Board of Supervisors. He also served as interim mayor of Yuma and was a close personal friend of Arizona's first governor, George W.P. Hunt.Downey had a part in most of the improvements in Yuma in those early days, including the highway system, the airport, the Ocean-to-Ocean Bridge and the paved streets of Yuma, Stuart said. He died in 1932 in the same house where he was born.His five children married into other prominent pioneering families and today many of his descendants still reside in Yuma."He was a big piece of Yuma's early history," Stuart said of Downey. "I'm glad to see the city do something to recognize him."Mayor Al Krieger agreed."It's nice to honor these early families, especially those who lived along the river where the city was born. It's certainly appropriate to memorialize (Downey), especially with the city's centennial coming up."Copyright: ___ (c)2013 The Sun (Yuma, Ariz.) Visit The Sun (Yuma, Ariz.) at .yumasun.com Distributed by MCT Information Services迷你倉出租