1970: UFO Lands in Prescott

Dick Zabriski 

It all started when a 7th grader named Dick Zabriski looked up into the night sky and saw an object that, according to him, "seemed to stand still within a column of four stars and then it started to move [erratically]...It changed colors from red to blue, then to green." (*1)

This incident would be only the beginning. Soon, the town would be abuzz over a massive wave of UFO sightings, and the curtain would be raised for the most bizarre event in Prescott's history.

Chamber of Commerce Brings Excitement & City Slogan (1910)

By 1910, it seemed that Prescott was the only city of appreciable size in Arizona that did not have a Chamber of Commerce. There had been attempts before, but they ended up dissolving due to factional differences. But now the situation was becoming acute, if not embarrassing.

"Even the town of Parker had such an organization," the Journal-Miner grumbled, "and it has sufficient influence to cause the government to consider seriously throwing open the lands of the Indian reservation for settlement." (*1)

However, this time the Chamber would meet great success. For it not only included Prescott's businesses, but the involvement of her citizens as well.

"Lost" Bell's Canyon Was Infamous

Originally, the wagon trail going through Bell's Canyon was meant as an alternate route from Kirkland to Date Creek. However, the topography of rock outcroppings and the need to go slowly over the extremely rough road made it the perfect place for angry Indians to ambush weary whites.

Indeed, the area would become so notorious and so avoided that the Anglos eventually allowed it to melt back into the wilderness. Today, no roads lead to Bell's Canyon.

1911: Giant Humanoid Skeleton Unearthed in Yavapai County UPDATED

(Not the skeleton found in AZ)

The 1911 monsoon floods had cut a new wash through the farm that Peter Marx had been working since 1870. By chance, this new cut exposed some bones sticking out of its bank. Marx went to investigate and quickly unearthed a large leg bone about twice the size of a human's.

Puzzled, he wondered what animal it could have come from.

He continued to dig, finding more large bones until, about three feet in, he discovered a giant human skull!

The American Ranch: The Ritz of Stage Stops

It was in 1876 when Jefferson Harrison Lee built the large two-story hotel and stage stop. It was located at a prime intersection on the Prescott to Hardyville toll road. Named the American Ranch, it was the most elaborate stage stop on the entire 150-mile road. (*1)

Remembering the USS Yavapai

Rare photo of the USS Yavapai

When naval history is written, it's the large capital ships that get all the attention. Yet aircraft carriers and battleships require a large amount of support ships--not just destroyers and submarines, but a myriad of logistical ships that require fuel, food, and fresh water.

The USS Yavapai was a ship that provided these necessities to the smaller ships; quietly "serving with distinction" in her logistical missions in Iwo Jima and Okinawa before going to Korea and China.