Disaster! Four Yavapai County Banks Fail on 11/25/1925

November 25, 1925, was a disastrous day in Yavapai County. Four banks suddenly and permanently closed their doors, and people’s deposits were frozen and unavailable—a mere month before Christmas!

The Forgotten Mining Town of White Horse City

The genesis of White Horse City was the locating of three mines in the Walker district in the Spring of 1899. The original owners, GM Wright, CW VonWolfe, and R Horsecroft, founded the Lone Pine, Hammer, and White Horse mines. “The property is located only seven miles from [Prescott] in the mountains just east of Lynx creek and to the right of the McCabe road,” the Weekly Journal Miner described. These mines were located between the highly successful McCabe and Mudhole mines in the Walker district. 

The Terribly Scandalous Pioneers Home Superintendent

A Journal-Miner editorial described the second Pioneers Home supervisor, Percy V Coldwell, as “a malodorous individual, infecting this city, [whose] loyalty long ago ceased to be a virtue and degenerated into a vice, the stench of which has caused people here to hold their hands on their noses.” 

$7 Million in Gold Awaits to be Found

Initially, one might dismiss an account of over 230 pounds of placer gold just waiting to be found, but the Catholic Church had enough faith in the story that they employed fifteen men to try to locate it. Still, it remains hidden to this day.

1934: Christmas Spirits Prevail!

Pioneers' Home, Christmas Dinner

As Christmas 1934 approached, the Great Depression was hanging on doggedly. Yet by this time, people were anxious to begin to get back to normal. Although money and (due to prohibition,) whiskey were scarce, people adapted and determined to make the season bright.

Harrison Yarnell and the Mystery of Rich Hill

“It was a piteous scene and remarkable in the extreme,” the Journal-Miner observed. Harrison Yarnell (for whom Yarnell, Arizona, is named) stood before Judge Frank O Smith, a broken man. He was applying for admission to the Pioneers’ Home in Prescott—something reserved only for the destitute. “I’ve tried hard to keep from this,” he told the judge, “but I’ve fought my battle, and I’m through.”

At the very least, it was bitterly ironic. His namesake mine, which he founded, had yielded $12,000,000 worth of gold at that point. "All the money, however, went back into the ground in an attempt to find the big deposit of gold which he believed was to be found within a space of five miles square around the Yarnell mine,” the Hassayampa Miner described, but it was his attempt to solve one burning mystery that took his last dollars.

Tom Mix Helps Start the Northern Arizona Fair

In 1913, the Arizona State Legislature allowed for counties to use a certain amount of property tax dollars “for the support and furtherance of county fairs and exhibitions.” For the northern counties, it was felt that more money could be raised and result in a better fair if they could pool their resources and stage the event together. “This was agreed upon, and the Northern Arizona Fair Association came into being (with) bylaws formally adopted on August 7.”

However, the prime mover in helping to bring the fair together was the western silent movie star Tom Mix. Prescott was a second hometown for Mix, who produced scores of films around the Granite Dells area. He was named “Program Chairman and, through his efforts, raised $6000 (over $150,000 today) to put on the fair. He planned and staged a Wild West show using local cowboys” to help raise the money.

The effort turned out to be more popular and successful than the planners could have dreamed.

1919: Murder Plot at the Pioneers' Home

For attorney AG Baker, it was a routine chore. He left his office with a will in hand to be signed by a paralytic Pioneers’ Home resident, William Debus. Debus asked Baker to come down to the car for the formal signature that would leave nurse Clarance Dyer Debus’ worldly possessions upon his death.

“Two copies of the will were made for him. The name William E Debus was written in the proper space and with his left-hand, (the man) executed a cross. The document was witnessed by Baker and…the legal work (was paid for) with two $5 bills.” 

It was at that moment that undersheriff Ed Bowers suddenly appeared and leveled a large six-shooter directly at the aged man’s chest.

“Throw up your hands!” He shouted…

Famous Novelist & Statesman Falls In Love With Prescott

Sir Gilbert Parker, M.P. (1862-1932)

Member of the British Parliament, novelist, and Knight, Sir Gilbert Parker landed in Lakewood, New Jersey in December 1911 in hopes of restoring his health from a bout of malaria. Upon hearing this news, the Prescott Chamber of Commerce sent him an invitation to come to "the balmy shades of the pines." Although Sir Gilbert received many invitations, he decided to accept Prescott's.

When Sir Gilbert returned to London, he was armed with many photographs of the area. He would hold lectures about Prescott and Yavapai County to crowds of thousands. "If I had 20 sons," he would tell them, "I would send them to this new world."

Prescott's Forgotten Railroad Developer & Philanthropist

Frank Morrell Murphy first arrived in Prescott in 1877. "During the next 40 years, he changed almost every aspect of life in Yavapai County. A financier, promoter, philanthropist, and empire builder, it was said that he brought more money into the Territory than any other one man."

Today, few people are familiar with him. "This is probably because of the emphasis that Frank Murphy placed on his life. He promoted Prescott and Yavapai county; he promoted railroads [and] mines, but he did not promote [himself]."

The "Graces" Who Got Things Done in Prescott

It was inevitable that Grace Sparks and Grace Chapman would join together. They both had a deep love for serving civically. Even in their own day, "they were known as the 'Graces' who helped get things done in Prescott."

Each served Prescott and Yavapai County dutifully in their own ways, but when their good friend, Sharlot Hall, passed away, they came together to make sure that the Sharlot Hall Museum would not only stay open but would begin to grow into the facility it is today.

1911: Buffalo Bill Cody Comes to Prescott to Invest & Reminisce

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, William "Buffalo Bill" Cody was a superstar recognized by nearly everyone. So when the people of Prescott noticed him walking their streets, they were both surprised and excited.

However, Buffalo Bill did not come with his "Wild West Show." Instead, he came with his mining engineer, and they meant business.

Arizona Pioneers' Home: A Gibraltar of Civic Pride

Whatever happened to the pioneer miners when they got too old to work?

As Prescott began to mature at the beginning of the 20th century, this was hardly a theoretical question. The old pioneer miners were becoming aged, infirm, and could no longer toil after years of back-breaking work.

They worked in extraordinarily tough and dangerous conditions, bringing wealth and the very founding of the community and the state. Now, in their sunset years, they needed Arizona to help them.