Chino Valley in 1870

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

Christmas Celebrations in Isolated Mining Camps, 1903

Iron King Mine

Despite being isolated in the wilderness of Arizona, mining camps still enjoyed wondrous and touching Christmas celebrations in 1903.

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?

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.

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.

1853: The First Christmas in Northern Arizona

"Ten years before the tents of Ft. Whipple were pitched in Chino Valley in 1864, the man for whom that post was named, with a small reconnoitering party, spent two weeks exploring the southwestern slopes of Bill Williams mountain and the basins between it and Picacho Peak [Partridge Creek and the Big Chino Wash]."

This time included December 25th, and the first Anglo Christmas ever celebrated in northern Arizona would combine with modest commemorations from cultures here previously.

Cowboy Escapades #1

In this premier edition of Cowboy Escapades (formerly titled "Crazy Cowboy Tricks,) we look at true stories of bear roping and buffalo riding!

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)

When Nature Was the Only Drug Store (Updated)

During the 19th century, every region of the country had its own home-spun remedies that depended on that area's herbage. Today, these so-called "cures" seem to span between the humorous and the ridiculous.

This article, based on oral histories, focuses on the treatments that were unique to Arizona.

The Incredible Story of the 100 Million-Year-Old Frog

The Arizona Toad

Life is tenacious. But one frog,  found deep in a Prescott area mine, showed a tenacity to stay alive that many biologists would have considered impossible.

Although described in the title as a "million-year-old frog," the depth at which it was discovered suggests that this remarkable amphibian was tens or even a hundred times older than that!

Prescott Used to Have Countless Prairie Dogs

For a rodent, they are undeniably cute. But to farmers and ranchers, they're a horrible pest. Where there are prairie dogs, agricultural output decreases 25-85%. (*1)

Yavapai County once had 1.5 million acres "infested" with prairie dogs. (*2) When Prescott's airport was first being laid out, workers "went up and down both runways with shovels leveling the mounds and filling up the holes made by the hundreds of prairie dogs that infested the field."(*3)

So, what happened to them?

9 Cryptid Monsters of Arizona (UPDATE: Bigfoot near Prescott?)

Most locals have heard of the Mogollon Monster, but descriptions of exactly what kind of creature it might be have changed over the years. A rash of sightings of a particular type of creature would make that animal a sort of "Mogollon Monster du jour."

As a result, this author will not give the title of "Mogollon Monster" to any of the following six that live in northern Arizona.  Instead, it is hoped that people who might have seen these strange creatures and are afraid of coming forward might learn that they are not alone in their experience.

Some of these monsters are truly bizarre, but every one of them has been seen in other locations on our planet. The first six have all been seen in northern Arizona.

Glassford Hill's History Included Many Names

Many Changes:

On this 1905 map, Glassford Hill is labeled as "Bald Mountain."  The east-west railroad tracks just north are the Iron King recreational trail today, while the north-south railroad is now the Pea Vine recreational trail.  "Point of Rocks" is better known to us as the Granite Dells.

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It was a day 12 million years ago.  Antelope, camels, and early horses were peacefully grazing when lava and superheated ash started thundering toward the surface.  Suddenly, the earth shook violently, and a volcanic eruption blew through a hill. "Clouds of fiery ash buried [the animals] that roamed the flanks of the hill," according to Beverly Morgan, geologist for the Prescott National Forest. (*1)

Standing at an elevation of 6177 feet, what we now know as Glassford Hill was born.  However, over the years, this mountain in the middle of the valley has had several names.

There Were Cars in the Prescott National Forest Before There Were Whitetail Deer

  

Anyone who has spent any length of time in the Prescott National Forest is well aware of the large population of whitetail deer that call it home.  It seems they've been there forever.

But few locals and sportsmen are aware that the whitetail deer did not exist in the forest until the spring of 1915--a full half-century after the city was founded!  There were automobiles in the forest before the white-tail deer ever showed up! Their arrival came in large numbers and was a complete surprise.