Yuma - wedding capital of the 30's and 40's

Ansel Marshall and Martina Wilkes were married in Yuma, AZ on September 17, 1940.

Ansel was racing at Aqua Caliente and living in San Ysidro, CA. He sent for Martina and she rode the train down from Prineville, Oregon. At the time she was working in the Prineville Hotel as a waitress. Ansel met her at the train station in his car and they drove directly from San Diego to Yuma to get married. They got their license, got married and headed back to San Diego directly. He said it was stifling hot, and they didn't want to hang around Yuma at all. He said his car had air conditioning... with all four windows rolled down and pedal to the metal.

At the time, California had what was called the "Gin Law" and there was a three day waiting period from the time you could get a marriage license and when you could be married. It was called the Gin Law, so that people could sober up before they got married. Figured if they were drunk when they applied for the license, three days was plenty of time to sober up and make a wise decision. Arizona did not have a waiting period or any residency requirements for getting married. In the 30's and 40's Yuma became the wedding capital of the nation. Many celebraties traveled over from Hollywood to Yuma to tie the knot. In 1940 alone, there were 17,000 marriages performed in Yuma.

The picture below is the bridge that they would have driven across from California to get to Yuma. You can't read it in the photo, but on the side supports it says, "Ocean to Ocean Highway, Yuma".Before this bridge was built there was a ferry crossing in this location. The completion of this bridge was the last link to finish the coast to coast highway. I think it was 1921 when it was finished.

This is the Courthouse where Ansel and Martina would have purchsed their marriage license. It was built in 1921. They have moved into new facilities and this will be the Yuma Heritage Center. It is only a couple of blocks from the wedding chapel.

This was the most popular wedding chapel in it's day. It was across the street from the infamous San Carlos Hotel and the river pictured below was just behind the hotel. The Yuma bridge was just a block to the North.