By Stuart Rosebrook

Arizona’s first territorial capital became a commercial transportation hub soon after its founding in 1864.

On December 31, 1886, the first Prescott and Arizona Central Railway locomotive pulling freight and passenger cars arrived in Prescott from Seligman, where it connected to the Atlantic & Pacific Railroad, a subsidiary of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway. The hastily built rail line wasn’t successful or dependable, leading to the construction of the Santa Fe, Prescott and Phoenix Railway between Ash Fork and Prescott, which began operations in 1893.