Pioneer Surveyor / Miner Robert W. Groom

Originally, Robert W. Groom came to the area to mine. However, Groom was also a surveyor, which was a rarity in Yavapai County in the mid-19th century. Soon, he would be pressed into service to plot the streets and blocks for both Prescott and Wickenburg.

Groom Creek was named in his honor.

He was also involved in one of the most bizarre duels in the history of the Southwest.

The Indian Raid That Gave Fort Rock Its Name

Fort Rock stage stop.

It was Saturday, November 19, 1866 when a force of 50-100 brave Hualapai warriors descended upon a stage stop near Mt. Hope on the road between Prescott and Hardyville (now Bullhead City). The epic battle would be remembered for generations and the name of the locale would change forever.

The Battle of the "Pinole Treaty"

PINOLE: A food made of maize, cacao beans, and spices that originated with the Aztecs.

It was January 4th, 1864. A.H. Peeples had just given his friend, William Kirkland, a watchdog with a new litter of puppies.

It was a decision that Peeples would regret the following night.

Arizona's First Carnegie Library

One cannot tell the story of Arizona's first Carnegie library without telling of the organization that birthed it. It was a group of Prescott pioneer women who became known as The Monday Club.

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.