Chino Valley in 1870

In 1870, Chino Valley had a handful of ranches, plenty of open space, and occasional visits from fearsome Native Americans.

Two Ghost Towns You Never Heard Of

Some Yavapai County townsites were as speculative as the mineral worth of the ground they stood on. Two towns had particularly short existences: the oil town of Heslet in Chino Valley, and what could be described as a suburb of Jerome named Oxford.

The Snow-Mageddon of '67!

Consensus knows that Prescott gets snow, but it seldom lasts long—often melting away before evening. This was the reasoning behind the city selling off its “excess” snow removal equipment. But then in mid-December 1967, a below-freezing cold-snap accompanied by four waves of heavy snow eventually produced 72 inches with drifts measuring up to 10 feet. 

Ironically, it was the city of Phoenix that sent ten snowplows, at its own expense, to help with the crisis.

Tornados in Yavapai County?

Arizona is known for straight-line winds, red flag warnings, and dust devils that can be strong enough to create tornado-like destruction, but actual tornadoes? Indeed, there have been rare times when the Quad-Cities area fell victim to genuine twisters.

$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.

Earthquakes Around Prescott

Some might be surprised at the frequency of earthquakes in the “Quad-City” area,* while those who were aware might be surprised at some of the odd ways they manifest here.

Story Behind the Place Name: Poland Mine, Creek & Junction

His name was Davis Robert Poland, and he was a true frontier placer miner. He came to Yavapai County early, when one could walk down a creek bed trail and find large gold veins, embedded in quartz ledges, glittering in the sun. Indeed, this happened to Poland several times.

The Indian Uprising of 1872

The ruins of Camp Date Creek

From February through June 1872, Native Americans launched raiding attacks around and surprisingly close to Prescott. The newspapers were filled with accounts of Indian depredations during this time, and the citizenry was both frightened and filled with consternation.

Orders came from Washington to change the practice of largely shooting Indians on sight to one of feeding and educating them instead. Initially, however,  the Indians, many of whom were starving, became emboldened and started to attack.

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.

Prescott Moms Support the "Prairie Dog Boys" (First Cub Scouts)

When scouting first came to Arizona, it started in Prescott and became hugely popular. Not only were boys of the proper age being turned away for lack of space, but the younger brothers of scouts became jealous of their activities and wanted a group of their own.

“These youngsters invaded the regular meetings of the various scout troops in such numbers that something just had to be done to keep them away from the regular Scout meetings,” the paper reported.

1952 Saw Six Air Accidents

In the early 1950s, the Prescott Airport was a bustling place. Two airlines, Frontier and Bonanza, offered commercial service while many planes, including military, used Prescott Airport as a refueling stop. Of course, with increased activity comes the chance of increased mishaps and accidents.

Such was the case in 1952 when no less than six airplane accidents occurred around Prescott.

1903: First Automobile Drives Into Prescott

The first automobile to drive into Prescott was a brand new 1903 "Curved Dash" Oldsmobile, which was also the first car ever to be mass produced. It was the evening of February 26, 1903, and the welcoming of this new invention brought a surprising amount of civic pride to the city.

Popular Preacher Struck Down by Lightning

"His death [was] all the more dramatic for the reason that he held in his hand a bible which he had been reading."

Shocking, isn't it?

Story Behind the Names: Mingus Mountain; Cherry & Yeager Canyon

The first mention of the mountain that would become known as Mingus is found in the origin story of the Yavapai people. A girl named Kamalapukwia was placed in a water-tight log to survive the worldwide flood. After the waters receded, she went to Mingus Mountain before dawn and allowed the rising sun to hit "her inside" in preparation for having a child. (*1)

Story Behind the Names: Route 89: Prescott to Ash Fork

In this edition of "Stories Behind the Names," we look at: 

Prescott, Chino Valley, Paulden, Drake, Hell Canyon, Ash Fork, and other minor locations along the way.

Prescott: (Includes Early Street Name Origins)

Most students of Prescott history are aware that the town "was named in honor of Massachusetts-based historian William Hickling Prescott, who was already deceased at the time and had never set foot in the West.  (*1)

It was unusual for towns to bear the names of people who were not involved with their founding, yet the start-up community of Fort Whipple officially renamed itself Prescott in May 1864. (*1)

The Crazy, Two-Hour Jerome Junction Gold Rush

The railroad's section foreman was five or six miles out toward Jerome, doing his usual job when it was time to take his dinner break. He found a nearby rock to sit on and began eating the food from his pail.

There wasn't anything particularly new to look at, so he happened to look down at the rock he was sitting upon.

Soon, he noticed something shiny and matted within the rock that caused an instant double-take. It was shiny; it was heavy; it was gold!

The foreman stood up and examined further. Not only was there some gold in the rock, but there was a great deal of it!

Not only was there one gold-bearing rock, but an entire vein was visible!

He couldn't wait to rush back to Jerome Junction and tell of his unbelievable luck. So he broke off several pounds of the ore as a sample and took his handcar to get back to the hotel in town.

Colony of Russians Arrives to Farm *UPDATED*

No one knows exactly why they came in early 1916. It was assumed that they were avoiding one of many purges in soviet Russia. (*1) But on January 12th, fourteen railroad cars carrying over 100 Russian colonists and their possessions arrived at Jerome Junction, southeast of present-day Chino Valley. They brought with them 151 cattle, 103 horses, chickens, geese, and all their household furniture and goods. (*2), (*3) & (*4)

In order to promote the area for farming, an enthusiastic pamphlet had been published.  It praised “Little Chino Valley” as “the only adequately irrigated body of rich, productive land in this great producing mining district of Arizona,” having the “perfect soil for potatoes” and “perfect conditions for dairying.” (*5) These promises undoubtedly brought the Russians to the area in the first place.

Their journey to this point was long and hard, and there would be further challenges ahead. But the people of Prescott were excited to see these new immigrants and welcomed them openly.