The Great Flood of 1891

One year after the terrible storm that caused the Walnut Grove dam disaster, an even worse, two-part storm flooded Yavapai County.

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.

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?

Undercover Detective or Stagecoach Robber?

On May 12, 1877, the California-Arizona Stage left Prescott, ultimately headed to San Bernardino. Stage robberies were far too prevalent in the mid-1870s, and the party was relieved to arrive at Wickenburg unmolested. 

As the driver, Jesus Lujan, pulled out of the station, he couldn’t know that just a few miles down the road his stage would fall victim to a carefully crafted ambush. 

The Odd Jobs of Prescott's First Reverend

Rev. HW Read was Agent for the Duke's and Co. stage.

For Reverend William H Read, ministering in the Central Arizona wilderness in 1864 was challenging. There weren’t many anglos to begin with and even fewer were interested in religion. As a result, Read needed to to take regular employment and the jobs he worked were civic in nature.

Read was Postmaster of Tucson before coming to Prescott in 1864. The Arizona Miner reported that he had “received orders from the Post Office Department, authorizing him to establish an office at the capital wherever it may be.” He arrived in Prescott with the Governor’s party and was the first clergyman to lay eyes on the fledgling camp.