An 1871 Journey to Prescott was Long, Difficult, Dangerous and Expensive

It was November of 1871.  For W.H. Meacham, "the destination was Prescott, Arizona" where he was "bent on the pursuit of health, wealth and happiness--to grasp a goodly portion of Arizona gold dust, which (he) had been led to believe could be scooped readily for the pains."

Meacham had high hopes, but he couldn't have foreseen going through truly hostile, lawless Indian country where killings were common; in a stagecoach that had sun shining through recent, deadly bullet-holes; and with no promised soldier escort!

Describing himself as a "tenderfoot,"  Meacham's knuckles must have grown white as he tightly clutched his borrowed Colt revolver during the harrowing trip.

Prescott was Hollywood for Silent Westerns

(Tom Mix with an unknown starlet in an unknown film.)

What do these movies : "Creepshow 2;" "Universal Soldier;" "Arizona Summer;" "Transamerica;" "Jolene;" "How the West Was Won;" and "Billy Jack;" have in common?

They are part of 16 modern movies that were all filmed, at least in part, in Prescott, Arizona. (*1)

But when it came to silent western movies, Prescott was a real "Hollywood."  Incredibly, in the three years of 1913-15, over a hundred silent westerns were filmed in Prescott and the surrounding area.

The first movie ever made in Prescott was The Cringer.