By Vicky Kaye
The people of Prescott who know the history of Pauline Weaver may remember him for many things. He was a scout and trapper considered to be the first Anglo-American to make his home in the Prescott area. He was also the guide for the Peeple’s expedition that discovered gold at Rich Hill southeast of Yarnell. Born in 1797, he traveled the West from the 1830s until his death at Camp Verde (then known as Fort Lincoln) on June 21, 1867. There is a story that persists claiming when the Walker Party first came through the Prescott area in the early 1860s, they found Weaver already camped along the banks of Granite Creek, a place he had been familiar with for over 20 years. Sharlot M. Hall, an official Arizona Territory historian, gave Weaver the title of “First Citizen of Prescott.”
Pauline Weaver has been honored with Arizona place names throughout the state. There is the town of Weaver (now a ghost town), Weaver Mountain, Weaver Peak, Weaver Pass, and the most famous of all, Weaver’s Needle in the Superstition Mountains which has figured prominently in the Lost Dutchman legends. However, Weaver was only “honored” in Prescott with a street name. And that street no longer exists today.
Many people living in Prescott today don’t know who he was or what role he played in the settling of Prescott. One of his major contributions was as an interpreter to local Indian tribes. No doubt his mother, who was a Cherokee from Tennessee, gave him the substantial background he used to accomplish this. His calming demeanor with Indians throughout the West was legendary. Because of this he was also known as a peacemaker, helping to settle many disputes in the Prescott area.
When Weaver died at Camp Verde (Fort Lincoln) in 1867 at the age of 70, he was working with the Army as a scout and was buried in the cemetery at that location. His obituary at the time stated the cause as “congestive chills” but this was thought to have been caused by pneumonia or possible complications of malaria. He was given a military funeral with full honors.
On April 10, 1890 the U.S. Army ordered Camp Verde to be decommissioned. The last detachment left the camp on April 25, 1891. A year later, J. H. Lee of the American Ranch near Granite Mountain was awarded the contract for moving the remains of military personnel located at abandoned forts in Central Arizona to the San Francisco National Cemetery. He moved the remains of Pauline Weaver as well as the others at Camp Verde in June of 1892.
Many citizens in the Arizona Territory felt this was a travesty but were unable to do anything about it. Several important pioneers were being removed from Arizona soil. The commander of the 11th Infantry at Fort Whipple denounced the moving of Weaver stating, “It was a great mistake in the territory to ever have allowed the remains of Pauline Weaver to have been removed from Arizona.” Weaver’s remains would lie in the rolling grassy hills overlooking the waters of the Pacific Ocean for more than three decades.
Alpheus H. Favour, a Prescott lawyer and Arizona State legislator of the 1920s, was stirred to action after reading an account of Weaver’s life in a book entitled “Argonaut Tales” written by Judge Edmund W. Wells. In his youth, Judge Wells served in the quartermaster corps at Fort Whipple and had known Weaver there before he was assigned to Camp Lincoln. In his later years, Judge Wells became acquainted with Alpheus Favour and helped him in his efforts to bring Weaver’s remains to Prescott.
Favour believed, as did others such as Sharlot M. Hall, that Weaver’s remains should be brought home to rest on Arizona soil. What better place than close to the banks of Granite Creek where he had often camped so many years before? Miss Hall had recently acquired the grounds of the Old Governor’s Mansion to create a museum. It was the very place where Weaver himself is said to have camped. The stage was set to complete Weaver’s return.
Working together, Favour, Wells and Hall provided the War Department with the needed affidavits to show that Pauline Weaver had no surviving relatives from whom additional permission would have to be obtained and that the future grave would be adequately cared for. Judge Wells signed under oath on February 10th, 1928 that, “…..said Weaver at one time had a son by a Pima Indian woman and that the boy died without issue and that there are no descendents or relatives of said Pauline Weaver living.” It was this affidavit that resulted in permission being granted to remove the remains from the National Cemetery in San Francisco for return to Arizona.
On March 24, 1928, Mr. Favour was informed by C. B. Robbins, assistant Secretary of War, “The necessary instructions to permit the disinterment have been forwarded to the Quartermaster Supply Officer, San Francisco General Depot, Fort Mason, San Francisco, California.” The superintendent of the cemetery in San Francisco, Charles Church, wrote to Favour, “It appears that Weaver has been dead something over fifty years, and you must appreciate that there will be very little of his remains. However, if what we find is shipped as the remains of a dead body it must be in a hermetically sealed package in order to be accepted by the transportation company, and the cost will be the price of two first class tickets from San Francisco to Prescott.” In addition there would be the cost of reburial and a monument once the remains arrived in Prescott. It was estimated that the cost to return the remains would be $156 plus the cost of the first class tickets.
Immediately, Mr. Favour asked Joseph Morgan, president of the Yavapai-Mohave Council of the Boy Scouts, to sponsor a program to raise the necessary expenses. It would be a community-oriented educational project. Favour sent a letter to Ed Honn, superintendent of Prescott schools, asking for his district’s cooperation in the fundraiser. As a result, children responded with donations from “a penny to not more than ten cents.”
Over the next year, donations came in from schools and organizations all over the county. Washington School in Prescott collected $12.71. Canon (Black Canyon City) sent what they referred to as a “mite.” J. O. Mullin of Jerome Public Schools, though not in agreement with the project, wrote that he would consider cooperating. Favour induced the Arizona Legislature to make an appropriation covering the cost of a suitable monument. The bronze plaque that would adorn a large granite boulder was delivered to Prescott on May 16, 1929 and displayed for all to see in the show window of the O. A. Hesla Company in downtown Prescott. The remains of Weaver had already arrived at the Lester Ruffner mortuary in March and the monument was now ready.
Then, one more obstacle to overcome: the permit of interment had not been obtained from the City of Prescott to bury the remains of Weaver on the grounds of the Old Governor’s Mansion near where he had camped so often. It would be October before all conditions were met so the famous scout could finally be put to rest. In the meantime, the remains spent some time at the home of his old friend, Judge Wells and eventually ended up in the front room of the Governor’s Mansion where Sharlot Hall lived. She often spoke to Weaver, even wishing him a “good night Paulino” while turning the lights off for the evening.
Finally all was in order for the burial ceremony that had been planned so long before. It was October 27, 1929. The remains had been returned to Ruffner’s in preparation for the processional through downtown to the Old Governor’s Mansion. Sheriff George Ruffner led the procession followed by the Boy Scouts carrying the casket. The high school band, veterans, pioneers and many school children completed the entourage.
Pauline Weaver, “Prescott’s First Citizen” was finally honored with a permanent home. Sharlot Hall gave the principal address to over 1,000 citizens of Prescott. The bronze and granite monument graces the museum grounds today near the main entrance.