Williamson Valley's Astonishing Duck Migrations

Prescott Journal-Miner, 2/9/1917 Pg. 6 Col. 5

They would usually appear in February after the harshest days of winter, and stayed until May. Reports of thousands upon thousands of ducks and other waterfowl were annually noted until the climate took a turn toward our more arid conditions today.

A report in the Prescott Journal-Miner in 1917 stated that “the sun was obscured for over five minutes” as a gigantic wave of migrating ducks was settling in for the Spring in Williamson Valley. One man who wanted to boost tourism via duck hunting proclaimed to the Weekly Journal-Miner: “It is safe to say that 80 percent of all waterfowl flying from the north to the south use Williamson Valley as their course.”

Yet despite these incredible numbers, is it really possible to bring down thirteen ducks with only two shots, as one pioneer rancher claimed?

Pleistocene Prescott Valley

It was 1984 on the Fain ranch near the headwaters of the Aqua Fria River when A. Jordan peered into a 13-foot deep arroyo and noticed a partial skeleton of a mammoth. 

Soon, paleontologists from the Arizona Archeological Society, Yavapai College, Sharlot Hall Museum, and Northern Arizona University were busy unearthing the remains. Their work would also uncover the remains of three additional large mammals: a horse, a bison, and a camel.

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. 

1890: The Dam, The Drunk, & The Disaster

Walnut Grove Dam

The Dam:

"Besides being the largest piece of solid masonry in the United States, [the Walnut Grove Dam] also drains [ed] the largest watershed in the world, being upwards of 400 miles of territory." (*1)

But in the dark, early hours of February 22, 1890, heavy rains would cause the dam to "literally explode."

"The disastrous breach of Arizona's first major dam poured 4 billion gallons of water into a canyon above Wickenburg and killed approximately 100-150 people, although no one will really ever know how many people drowned." (*2)

The Mysterious Ruins at Sullivan Lake *UPDATED*

Sullivan Lake Dam under construction

The mysterious ruins: What are those smaller stone structures?

A couple of miles south of Paulden, off Route 89, is a loop spur marked "Old Hwy. 89." This aptly named stretch of the former roadway eventually crosses a bridge where some old ruins can be seen.

The usual passer-by often wonders what these buildings were for and when they were constructed.

The Great Blizzard and Flood of 1916

If there was any question of whether the winter of 1916 would be a wet one, the answer was received on New Year's Eve of 1915. "Storm is Greatest Town Ever Experienced," the headline read. (*1)

"Depth of 32 inches of snow on the plaza establishes record," it continued. (*1)

On the surrounding mountain passes, the snow was a whopping 6 feet deep. Flagstaff received 62 inches on this single day. (*2)

Two weeks later, another hefty blanket of snow would cover the area. (*3)  But on the 18th, a warm rain started falling all over the region, and disaster was imminent.

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.

The Birth of Watson Lake

Nestled along the Granite Dells, Watson Lake makes for one of the most picturesque scenes in Prescott.  Watson is a man-made lake created in April of 1915 with the completion of the Granite Creek dam by a company from Indiana.

Needless to say, water is extremely important in the desert, and the anticipation of a new lake close to the city brought the biggest celebration Prescott saw in many years.  

There were notable speakers, a free barbecue, Prescott's band, and a special train to get to the celebration, as the four-ton steel gates would be closed to store the waters of Granite Creek.  "Acting Mayor AJ Head...issued his proclamation declaring a general holiday from 1 o'clock until 5 on that auspicious day," the newspaper noted; even the courts were closed.