Police Blotter for 1917

Professional safecrackers, burglary, found treasure, a 40-year-old murder solved, and a work-release program highlighted the police blotter in 1917.

1864: Prescott's First Christmas

Winter began early in 1864, "and by the middle of December the trails were mostly snowed under and lost--all but those often traveled which led to the placer gold mines on Lynx Creek, or to Walnut Grove and the camps on the Hassayampa."

In what would be a rare "white" Christmas, "the snow lay white over the hills; the tops of the high peaks were crystal white and cold; and the pine and cedar and juniper trees were sparkling like trees on a Christmas card."

There were roughly 200-300 anglos around the Prescott area and the few houses that did exist in the tiny burg happily opened their doors to all that arrived.

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.

1940: Prescott's Hospital Destroyed by Fire

It was built in 1890, prior to building codes, and, in retrospect, it was inevitably bound to happen. A trash chute running the height of the three-story building was built of wood, and on June 8th, 1940, someone threw a lit cigarette into it.

What resulted has been called "the second worst disaster in Prescott history," surpassed only by the Great Fire of 1900.

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!

Indians Save Lost Anglos

Thomas Ward and Alex Douglas couldn't be more relieved. They were finally on a train completing their trip from the Colorado River to Jerome Junction. They had been caught in a heavy snowstorm and had become hopelessly lost.

Both men were now eager to tell anyone who'd listen how their lives were saved by several Indians.