The Hohokam Village Under the Cordes Junction Interchange

Each day, over 40,000 vehicles pass through the Cordes Junction interchange connecting I-17 with Arizona Highway 69. Few are aware that they are passing over an ancient, northern village of the Hohokam people.

Anytime the Arizona Department of Transportation prepares to build, they are required to investigate the area “for the potential to encounter cultural resources (including) prehistoric archeological sites.” When ADOT looked to expand the Cordes Junction interchange in the later portions of the first decade of the 2000s, they found an ancient Hohokam village surprisingly full of artifacts.

Congress Hotel Fire Changed Prescott

The Congress Hotel was located on Gurley St.
on the western lot of today's Hassayampa Inn.

It was just before 3 am, July 12, 1923. EA Chase, a guest at the Congress Hotel, was awakened by a woman screaming, “Fire!” As soon as he raised up, he noticed his room was quickly filling with smoke. When he placed his feet on the floor, his heart filled with trepidation as it had already grown sizzling hot...

A nursemaid caring for the grandson of US Senator Henry Ashurst panicked when she saw the flames and left the building without the 1-year-old child...

Unfortunately, the city’s fire siren was out of order. Someone fired three pistol shots into the air to try to attract attention, but it would be 10 minutes before the fire department finally arrived at the scene...

1932: Franklin Delano Roosevelt Visits Prescott

It was late September 1932, and in a little more than a month, the United States would be choosing a new President. That man would be Gov. Franklin D. Roosevelt. 

At this time, he was traveling to Arizona to get a little rest and relaxation at the Greenway Ranch in Williams. Yet his popularity and his position would mix some work with his pleasure. The Arizona Democrats were meeting in Phoenix, and FDR was compelled to attend.

From there, on his way to Williams, Roosevelt’s train would stop in Prescott to meet an exceptionally large, well-wishing crowd.

Gillette, AZ: Boom To Bust in 35 Years

Daniel B Gillette needed a mill for his Tip-Top mines, and the mill needed water. He found a spot 6 miles away on the Aqua Fria River. In a matter of months, not only was the mill in full operation, but a whole town, complete with stores, saloons, and hotels, had sprung up out of the wilderness. 

Just nine years later, the town, which some thought would rival Prescott, would be dealt a mortal wound.

Ice Cream in Early Prescott

Prescott's first ice cream ad.

It took 10 years after Prescott’s founding before ice cream appeared at a social function, and then it was an exotic luxury.

Castle Creek Hot Springs in the 19th Century

The first Anglo to dwell at the Castle Creek Hot Springs was a miner by the name of George Monroe, who discovered it in the 1870s. “At that time, he was engaged as a government scout, employed in the numerous campaigns against the Apaches,” the paper recalled. “One evening, just as the sun was sinking, Monroe was traveling down the banks of Castle Creek. As night [fell], he began a search for a place to sleep, [avoiding] the Indians. His search brought him to the mouth of a canyon, through which a small stream wound its way to Castle Creek. Following it a few yards, he came upon the bodies of 12 Maricopas who had, from all indications, been slain (recently) by Apaches.”