Rattlesnake Stories of Yavapai County

An Arizona Black Diamond Rattlesnake

Where there are rattlesnakes, there are bound to be some interesting and amazing stories, and Yavapai County is no exception.

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.

Gun Fight at the Independence Mine

James S McClure, age 36, arrived home unexpectedly from a month-long business trip to Colorado. When he came upon his surprised wife, who was on her way to the post office, he was “out of sorts,” the Prescott Evening Courier reported. When she returned to their ranch that surrounded Tussock Springs, her husband was still in a sour mood. She was on her way to take the mule out to pasture when “he asked her to wait a minute,” which she did.

What would transpire in the next few minutes would decide whether Mrs. McClure would live or die.

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.

Yavapai County's Wild Fruits & Their Medicinal Uses

 

What did the first pioneers eat? Basically, whatever they could get their hands on! Fortunately, Yavapai County’s diverse ecosystem includes many fruits that grow in the wild. Here is a listing with pictures and the lore surrounding their medicinal uses:

The Senator Highway

There was a time when Senator Highway was being considered as a part of the north-south territorial highway, connecting Prescott to Phoenix, but it would never make it.

The Mysterious Figurine-Making Forest People

Were these 1000-year-old artifacts tokens of black magic?

Much mystery surrounds the small, clay figurines found in the forest south of Prescott, as well as the people who made them.

Remembering the Mingus Mountain Inn

Mingus Mountain Inn, 1949.

In the 1920s, cars were far less dependable and, as a result, service stations were more numerous and spaced closer together. Particularly, the tops and bottoms of mountains were excellent locales for a motorist to take the necessary precautions of checking his water and brakes before traversing the steep grade.

It was from this need that the Mingus Mountain Inn was born on Forest Service land in 1925. Yet the Inn was far more than just a gas station; it also provided light groceries, camping and hunting supplies, and a sit-down restaurant.

Gigantic Cinnamon Bears Used to Roam These Parts

“A continuation of our present practice will result in the absolute extermination of all bears in Arizona within less than five years,” the 1926 editorial declared. “Get in touch with some of Arizona's old timers and have them tell you of the former, very plentiful, supply of bear. The only ones of this class of game considered as dangerous are the Silver Tip and the Grizzly bear—both of which are practically entirely exterminated in Arizona.” 

The editorial cried out for these bears to be protected from hunting, but for the Silver Tip, the Grizzly, and the Cinnamon bear, the warning went unheeded, and these creatures no longer exist here. 

The Heartwarming Christmas of 1920

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

Horsethief Basin: Heart of a Rustlin' Racket

The first use of the name “Horsethief Basin” in an Arizona newspaper was on November 1st, 1911, but its history as the heart of a criminal syndicate stretched back 30 years prior.

In the end, the illegal activities there would continue for decades until a road to the site was finally built. 

The Mysterious, Phantom Fort Misery Near Oro

Many are familiar with the first building in Prescott, and the oldest surviving log cabin in Arizona, “Fort Misery.” 

Then there was a second Fort Misery near Oro—or maybe there wasn’t. The mystery and controversy about the military presence near the banks of Humbug Creek during the Indian conflicts has flared up in recent years.

The History of Palace Station

Palace Station, located 17 miles south of Prescott, is one of the most famous stage stops in Yavapai County. Having been built in 1875, its history is long, and its future is bright. 

“Palace Station is one of the few remaining stagecoach stations dating from the settlement of the Arizona Territory. The station played an important role in the social and economic development of the new territory and is now…on the National Register of Historic Places.”

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.

Early Descriptions of Prescott: 1864-'71

Several early visitors to Prescott were well impressed with the young settlement. For these sojourners, the buildings were secondary compared to the inspiration they felt from the spirit of her citizens and the wonderment the area bestowed.

Their accounts in the years 1864, 1867, and 1871 offer insight into how Prescott grew from little more than a mining camp to an all-American community.

Road Crew Finds Giant Skeleton on Sycamore Creek

In February 1913, a road crew started digging "where the grade of the Verde railway passes" over Sycamore Creek in order to facilitate improvements. Soon, they uncovered evidence that they had found a prehistoric gravesite. What shocked them further was the enormous size of the bones located within it.

It was later calculated that this humanoid skeleton must have stood at least 8 feet tall.

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)

Cleator: The Ghost Town That Was Sold Twice

The area in which Cleator, Arizona, stands today was the scene of one of the earliest settlements of Anglos in Yavapai County. At first, the area was known as "Turkey" with nearby "Turkey Creek." (*1)

The selection of this name was obvious enough. Even to this day, one can happen upon wild turkeys in this area of the Prescott National Forest.

Mystery Man Entombed in Thumb Butte

It was Sunday, January 22, 1911. Two young men had made the risky climb to the summit of Thumb Butte. While enjoying the view and carefully moving about the top, one looked down into a deep crevice and was shocked to see a person!

"So stupefied and astounded were they, that after a few minutes observation...and satisfying themselves that life was extinct; [they] hurriedly left the scene and gave alarm in this city."

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)