By Richard Gorby
On July 4th, 1864, Prescott held its first Fourth of July Celebration. Like all celebrations should be, it was happy and exciting, and like all Prescott celebrations should be, it was held in Prescott's Plaza. Prescott was only thirty-five days old, born at the May 30th meeting of Governor Goodwin and his staff just down the street (Montezuma Street) in a log building (now moved to the grounds of Prescott's Sharlot Hall Museum). In the southeast corner (across from the present downtown post office) of a Plaza covered with pines and junipers, a tall pine staff was erected for the Stars and Stripes.
On a platform between two large pine trees, Governor John Goodwin and Secretary Richard McCormick and their staff, took their seats. At nine-thirty the Fort Whipple Garrison, commanded by Major E. B. Willis, was reviewed by the Governor. After a prayer by Rev. H. W. Read, there was music by Lucien Bonaparte Jewell, later founder of the Prescott Brass Band, but now with only two violins and a banjo, who played: "The Star Spangled Banner" "The Grave of Washington" "The Battle Cry of Freedom" The "Oration" by the Honorable Richard McCormick, which was, of course, quite long, was listened to quietly by the Celebrants sitting or lying under the trees. The Celebrants: about four hundred young men, mostly miners from Lynx Creek, Walker and the lower Hassayampa, and almost all under thirty years old. And no women!
It was not that women had not been invited; it was just that Prescott had no women! There were a few living near the thirty-five-day-old town, but no record of their attendance at the celebration. Dr. Leib had brought his wife to Fort Whipple in December, Celia and Mary Sanders had arrived with their family in March and worked as laundresses at the Fort. The Ehle family, with their five daughters, came seven days too late for the celebration. But the Celebrants celebrated! Daniel Ellis Conner, who was there, noted: "...the citizens, miners, or adventurers, whichever would be their proper name. for the most part were dressed most any way. None of them had coats. Some had moccasins on, while others wore old shoe-tops alternately half-soled and worn out probably a dozen times previously. The wearers had patched trousers, and one, I remember in particular, wore only his under pantaloons of white cotton, because he had no trousers to put on. All of them had the remains of a check shirt and what was once a felt hat that had been mended so often that it was of 'many colors'.
This happy family laid all around there on the ground with pistols and butcher knives buckled around them, quite indifferent about the Fourth of July." Food was provided by George Bernard's Juniper House, Prescott's first "restaurant': Juniper House Bill of Fare, July 4, 1864 BREAKFAST until 9 o'clock. Beef Steak Fried Liver Venison Steak Mutton Chop Tea and Coffee, with Milk. DINNER from 12 to 3. Mutton Broth Bean Soup Beef Soup Beef Barbecued Beef Potpie Venison Barbecued Venison Pot pie Beans Mutton Barbecued Mutton Potpie. Apple Roll, with Sauce Tea and Coffee, with Milk SUPPER, from 4 o'clock Other than food was provided by Roundtree's Saloon, which was described by C.P.Genung (who was there): "...It was built of cloth and timber; a small wagon sheet stretched over a pole which rested in the forks of two upright posts. The bar fixtures consisted of one ten-gallon keg of what we called whiskey; a half dozen tin cups and a canteen of water." The Arizona Miner of July 6, 1864, reported: "...
We will not say how much whiskey was disposed of. Nobody was hurt, although the boys waxed very merry, and some of them very tipsy, and there was no little promiscuous firing of revolvers." All in all, we still feel that Prescott's Fourth of July celebrations should be held on the Plaza, even though they might not be quite as exciting as the first.
Richard Gorby is a Sharlot Hall Museum archives volunteer.
Sharlot Hall Museum Photograph Call Number: (citn235p) Reuse only by permission. In 1864, a photographer by the name of Cook took photographs of the town, six or seven buildings, and subsequently it was copied in oil by Miss Alice Dickason. Later, copies were made of the oil painting, shown here. Thumb Butte in the background looked about the same as it does today.