Anecdotes of Prescott History Brought to Life From the Pages of Old Newspapers and Other Sources.
This article was inspired by the hard work of Tom Slaback, whose comprehensive list of the movies made in Prescott lives on the Sharlot Hall Museum website. (CLICK HERE)
1912 was the year the Lubin Manufacturing Company set up shop in Prescott to produce western motion pictures. In a mere four-month span, they produced nine one-reel western shorts.
“Prescott has a splendid record with respect to cleanliness of the city and its environs,” the Weekly Journal-Miner noted in 1922, “but in order to keep that reputation, clean-up will be observed to the letter. Those not complying with the orders of the city health officer will, of necessity, report to the chief of police.”
After a thorough search, lasting twenty years, this author and observer found a treasure that many have been missing for some time: Small-Town Prescott.
Where is it located, you may ask? I found it in the reflection of an equally small cup of coffee!
William Zadoc “Zeb” Wilson was proud of the brand-new boiler at his sawmill. He travelled to the Ohio manufacturer to deliver the desired specifications himself. According to the Journal-Miner, he “paid an extra price to have certain portions of it built extra strong.” When the boiler first arrived, it was examined by an engineer at Whipple, and he testified that “he considered it the best boiler in the county.” Wilson’s pride was only equalled by the meticulous care he gave his new boiler.
However, at 7:30 in the morning of November 19, 1887, this brand-new, prized boiler would blast Wilson and five other workers straight into the afterlife. Worst of all, it was found to be a premeditated act.
For those back east, it meant troubling news stories, but for residents of the southwest, the Cold War was much more tangible. It was a time when Prescott residents would occasionally be awakened to the ground shaking and an orange glow in the western sky from nuclear testing at Nevada’s Yucca Flat Proving Ground.
Before becoming a subdivision, Deep Well was a working ranch. It was also the site for Yavapai County’s cowboy camp meeting starting in 1945 and stretching into three decades.
