Prescott's Airport is Dedicated to Ernest Love (1928)

It was a far-sighted Dan Fain who offered a square mile of land north of Prescott for use as an airport under a ten-year lease. Previously, “aeroplanes” would have to search for a suitable, level place to land, sometimes using Prescott’s target range. But in its earliest days, Prescott’s airport was little more than a cow range littered with prairie dog holes.

So when an Army airplane circled Prescott unable to locate the airport, it was obvious that improvements were needed. This prompted the Kiwanis club to appoint an aviation committee for this purpose, which the Chamber of Commerce adopted as its aviation committee as well, and improvements started quickly.

1921: A Christmas Season Bright

Christmas 1921 in Prescott would see several dances, children’s events, charitable acts, and a new set of street lights for downtown. It would prove a season bright in every way.

Obligatory Clean-Up Days Heralded Tourist Season

“Prescott has a splendid record with respect to cleanliness of the city and its environs,” the Weekly Journal-Miner noted in 1922, “but in order to keep that reputation, clean-up will be observed to the letter. Those not complying with the orders of the city health officer will, of necessity, report to the chief of police.”

Prescott's 50th and 100th Anniversary Celebrations

Ironically, Prescott’s 50th anniversary was largely celebrated... elsewhere. It was the Phoenix Board of Trade that had the idea of celebrating the 50th anniversary of the founding of the territory, and they would make sure they hosted the event.

The Intriguing Story of Cathedral Cave

Dud Clark had been contracted to build a road from Prescott to Ash Fork when Lee Burhans called out to him. “Burhans was a member of a picnic party and was going through a large cave that had been well known for years, when he found a small opening that he had never before perceived,” the paper described. Peering through the hole with a match, he noticed that this opening was just below the roof of a large cavity. Lee got Dud, who then lowered a rope and descended to the cave floor with an “automobile lamp.” When he turned it on, his jaw went slack.

The Heartwarming Christmas of 1920

The Christmas of 1920 was both old-fashioned and heartwarming.

The Hassayampa Inn Was a Community Project

Particularly during big events, Prescott perennially has suffered a shortage of hotel space. Even today, people attending the World’s Oldest Rodeo often have to stay in Cottonwood.

After the Congress Hotel burned down, the situation became especially acute. No one interested in building a hotel in Prescott could be found. As a result, the community decided to solve the problem and finance it by the sale of stock. So in December 1924, the Hassayampa Hotel Company was incorporated. “The Chamber of Commerce and business leaders had decided that a grand hotel would attract tourists and opportunities for enterprise in Prescott.”

The community was optimistic that a replacement for the Congress Hotel would be constructed quickly, but it would be nearly 3 years before the doors of the “modern, beautiful, and fireproof hotel” would be open.

1919: Growth Causes Prescott to Run Out of Water

Old City Dam, 1920s

By the time summer came along, water pressure had consistently fallen so low that everyone was required to boil it. Unfortunately, that did nothing to relieve its foul smell.

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.

The Stay-at-Home Christmas of 1918

Above all other Christmases, 1918 was the biggest “stay-at-home” Christmas in the 20th century. This was due to the practicalities of dealing with the lethal Spanish influenza pandemic. Yet 1918 would also provide the world with one of the best Christmas gifts imaginable.

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."

1933-41: Army of Young Men Save & Improve the Prescott National Forest

One of Franklin Roosevelt's most popular Depression programs was the Civilian Conservation Corps.

The CCC enrolled unskilled and unemployed men between the ages of 18 and 25. The men primarily came from families on government assistance.

Each worker received $30 per month (that's $600 today) plus room and board at a work camp. However, the men were only allowed to keep $5 of their pay. They were required to send the rest back home to help support their needy families.

The Prescott National Forest had many of these work camps, and the legacy of their work is still with us today.

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.

Downtown Store Windows in the 1800s

A trip to downtown Prescott in the 19th century often included a gander into the store windows. Generally, merchants would display the very latest arrivals to their stock, but this wasn't always the case.

Fortunately, the newspaper was keen to mention what was being displayed at stores--particularly when those same stores were regular advertisers. These mentions offer insight into what a 19th-century visitor to Prescott would see as he walked around the square.

1917-1940: Twig Blight Threatens the Prescott National Forest

By 1935, the slow-moving disaster had become genuinely alarming. "The possibility of the absolute destruction of the Prescott National forest through Twig Blight disease is foreseen by officials of the Bureau of Pathology, unless intensive, energetic work is conducted immediately to stifle this deadly disease," the newspaper reported. (*1)

The Bureau reported that: "Since the discovery of the disease on the Prescott Forest in 1917, it has spread from the 400 acres affected to about 38,000 acres on the Prescott National Forest.'" (*2)

1912: Come to Prescott's First Chautauqua!

Teddy Roosevelt once said: "Chautauqua is the most American thing in America!" (*1)

"Chautauqua is an institution that began in the late 19th century to provide higher education opportunities through the combination of lectures, concerts, and public events." (*1)

It was also a grand celebration of the freedom of speech, and in 1912, Prescott would climb aboard.

Mayer Onyx Was Unique, Beautiful, World Famous (Updated)

As Professor Price sat on the train, he looked again at the sample of onyx sent to him from Mayer, Arizona. So impressed was he by the beautiful sample and the accounts of its source that he was now on his way from San Francisco to see the deposit for himself.

When the train pulled into the station at Mayer, he looked out the window and was astonished at what he saw. Previously, all known deposits of onyx had come in the form of boulders and smaller rocks and were mined. However, this Mayer onyx was part of the natural strata of the earth! It could be cut into blocks of nearly any size, like sandstone or granite! (*1)

Indeed, this was no boulder of onyx. This single deposit covered nearly two-thirds of a square mile and ran from 10 to 20 feet deep! It was more factual to call Mayer an onyx quarry. Nothing like this had ever been found before.

Before departing, Prof. Price found an onyx-rich tract of land that had not yet been claimed and quickly procured it for himself.

Chamber of Commerce Brings Excitement & City Slogan (1910)

By 1910, it seemed that Prescott was the only city of appreciable size in Arizona that did not have a Chamber of Commerce. There had been attempts before, but they ended up dissolving due to factional differences. But now the situation was becoming acute, if not embarrassing.

"Even the town of Parker had such an organization," the Journal-Miner grumbled, "and it has sufficient influence to cause the government to consider seriously throwing open the lands of the Indian reservation for settlement." (*1)

However, this time the Chamber would meet great success. For it not only included Prescott's businesses, but the involvement of her citizens as well.

Bill Fain: The Father of Prescott Valley

According to Lew Rees, former Fain Signature Group executive director and former CEO of the Prescott Valley Chamber of Commerce, Bill Fain was the most important man in Prescott Valley's history. (*1)

“'He had the brains, the fortitude, the work ethic and the strength to put together a community. His handprint is on every aspect of Prescott Valley and, indeed, the entire quad-city area,' Rees said." (*1)

"Known as a man of his word – and for his generosity, work ethic, and foresight – Bill Fain’s handshake was all anyone needed to seal a business deal." (*1)

Highway 79 (89A): the Prescott to Jerome "Shortline"

When it first opened on August 1st, 1920, it was declared "Yavapai's Greatest Attraction." (*1)

"Members of the National Geographic Society...proclaimed [Highway 79] as 'the most beautiful drive in America.'" (*2)

To cynics (and the carsick), the curvy, mountain road might seem to have been designed by a carnival-ride engineer, a drunk, or both. In fact, Highway 79 would be considered an engineering marvel even by today's standards. It cut the travel time and distance between the two cities nearly in half.

While some history is buried under the sands of time, Highway 79 was eventually buried under a ribbon of asphalt and given a new number: 89A. Still, the twists and turns of this roadway only mirror the odyssey taken to construct it.