Marjory J. Sente

Born June 8, 1879, in Prescott, Bessie Ethel Hatz was the second child of Arizona pioneers Daniel and Catherine Shanberger Hatz. A Swiss native, Bessie’s father came to Prescott in 1864 by way of Colorado. Daniel and John Raible constructed the territory’s first governor’s mansion, now the Sharlot Hall Museum’s centerpiece.

Bessie’s mother, then 23, arrived in 1875 by ox-team from San Bernardino with her sister, Younda Shanberger Probst and family. Daniel and Catherine were married in December that same year.

Bessie excelled in school. Although Prescott didn’t have a high school at the time, the quality of her education was sufficient that, in 1899, she applied for and received a teaching certificate. She taught at a school in Groom Creek during the fall, commuting between there and Prescott on weekends.

By Bradley G. Courtney

John Henry “Doc” Holliday’s two separate stints in Prescott in 1879 and 1880 weren’t noted in the local newspaper, the Arizona Miner. The first stretch was with Kate, who he sometimes called his wife. However, in the late winter of 1880, Doc broke it off with Kate, left Prescott, and returned to Las Vegas, New Mexico, for a few months. He returned to Prescott as a single man, probably in May. Doc then rented a room from businessman Richard Elliott, and was housemates with acting governor John Gosper.

In 1884, after a shooting incident in Colorado, Prescott locals would recall that Doc became a “well-known sporting man” during his two stays, meaning that the dentist turned full-time gambler made an impression on Whiskey Row. There’s no record regarding what saloons or other places Doc patronized, but we can be sure he went where faro was played.

By Bradley G. Courtney

Last week, John Henry “Doc” Holliday’s first tenure in Prescott—spanning the winter of 1879-80—was described. He spent that time with “Big Nose” Kate before she departed for Globe while Doc returned to Las Vegas, New Mexico, to tie up some loose ends and take advantage of the nearby Montezuma Springs.

Holliday was back in Prescott that spring. His name, written as “J. H. Holladay,” appeared in the 1880 Federal Census for Yavapai County. It’s sometimes difficult to remember that Doc was a young man at this time, being only 28-years old. His occupation was listed as dentist. The owner of the boarding house where Doc rented a room was Richard Elliott, a man who wore many hats.

By Bradley G. Courtney

Prescott history buffs know that the legendary John Henry “Doc” Holliday lived in Prescott before moving on to Tombstone. Most, however, don’t realize that Doc actually spent two separate tenures in our mountain town, the first of which was during the winter of 1879-80.

Doc came to Prescott by way of Las Vegas, New Mexico. His friend, Wyatt Earp, had gotten the hell out of Dodge City, Kansas, because he’d heard from brother Virgil, constable of Prescott at the time, about a new boomtown in southern Arizona with an unwelcoming name, Tombstone. No one can say for certain why Doc decided to join the Earp party, because almost a year would pass after hearing of Tombstone from Wyatt before he finally joined him there.

Holliday, with his girlfriend/partner Kate, arrived in Prescott in early November 1879. The couple found lodging in town while Wyatt and his lady, Mattie, stayed with Virgil and Allie. Wyatt’s time in Prescott was short, indeed more like an “extended layover” than a stay. He and Virgil were anxious to get to Tombstone.

By Worcester P. Bong

November is the month in which Thanksgiving Day is celebrated in America as a federal holiday. Families and friends gather to express gratitude for good health and well-being. Earlier in the month, on November 11^th, (also a federal holiday) is Veterans Day, celebrated to honor and express thanks to all U.S. military veterans.

During Arizona’s early territorial years, the Governor at the time would issue a proclamation of Thanksgiving observance. In the November 23, 1867 issue of the Arizona Miner, the proclamation was printed in its entirety. The beginning read as follows, “To the People of Arizona, the President of the United States having designated Thursday, the 28^th instant, as a day of general thanksgiving and praise to God. Now, therefore, I, Richard C. McCormick, Governor of the Territory of Arizona, do recommend that the day be observed in this new country, where, even amid unusual exposure and trial, the pioneer is constantly reminded of the goodness and mercy of Him who controlleth the destinies of men.”

By Marjory J. Sente

On July 23, 1898, four of prominent Phoenician Sam Dysart’s offspring—Fred, age 25; Winifred, 20; Zella, 17; and Arthur, 12—set out from Phoenix to visit the Grand Canyon. A team of two horses—Vic and Nell—pulled the wagon. Trilby, their dog, accompanied them during their seven-week sojourn.

Having just completed her junior year at Phoenix High School, Zella kept a diary of the trip, providing observations of summer in Arizona and insights into life in 1898.

The Dysart siblings reached the outskirts south of Prescott around noon on July 30. After quickly making camp, they went to town for provisions and to pick up their mail.

“We sought the latter first, as might be supposed, and were much pleased to find two good letters from Papa. We read them on the street corner, then drove to the store.” The letters were sent to them at the Prescott Post Office in care of general delivery.

Fred had visited Prescott three years prior on a trip to the Grand Canyon and noted that the town had grown considerably.

By Jody Drake

When coyotes howl on a dark night, or wind rustles through the trees, or the moon is casting shadows is all it takes to set the stage for a chilling tale. Sharlot Hall, the founder of the museum bearing her name, was in constant search of life’s truths. She studied all religions and philosophies with a profound desire to understand the pain of existence. Sharlot was once asked why she wrote so much about suffering; she replied “Because there is so much pain and suffering. I tell all the tales I know, tragic or funny if there is truth in them, they are worth relating.”

By Stuart Rosebrook

In 1961 MGM’s film company for How the West was Won came to Yavapai County to film a major railroad sequence at Perkinsville’s historic train depot. Director Henry Hathaway’s production crew renamed the station “Gold City,” where stars Debbie Reynolds, Karl Malden, George Peppard and Caroll Baker acted in “The Outlaws” chapter of the 164- minute Technicolor, Cinerama-style film. Hathaway, well known as a director of Westerns, was one of four to helm the ambitious picture: John Ford, George Marshall and Richard Thorpe, uncredited for his direction of transitional historical sequences. Producer Bernard Smith received an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture, one of eight nominations for the blockbuster Western. Screenwriter James R. Webb, Editor Harold F. Kress and Sound Manager Franklin Milton all received Academy Awards, making it one of the most nominated and award-winning Westerns to date.

Just 49 years before Hathaway’s film company rolled into central Arizona, the fledgling Lubin Motion Picture Company chose Prescott to make the first movie, The Cringer, in Yavapai County. Forty-five-year-old Romaine Fielding directed himself as the Sheepherder. The Cringer received national distribution, and the mild, four-season climate and beautiful Yavapai County locations inspired filmmakers to make Prescott the first film capital of Arizona. True, Tucson is recorded as the first location for the production of a fictional film (In Old Arizona, 1909) and was a popular choice for early filmmakers in the Grand Canyon State, but more movies were made in Prescott between 1911 and 1920 than anywhere else in Arizona, with many, if not most, starring cowboy hero Tom Mix.

By Kristen Kauffman

Books were important to the people of Prescott from its genesis. In 1864 the first territorial government arrived. Territorial Secretary Richard McCormick brought 300 volumes with which to start the Arizona Territorial Library and a printing press on which the Arizona Miner newspaper would begin.

The books would go on to establish the first library in the area. They were initially only intended for territorial officials; however, while these men were still the only ones permitted to check out the books, it became administration policy to allow anyone in Prescott to come and read them.

By Andrew Somerville

As early as 1881, Arizona had an Immigration Commission tasked with encouraging people from across the country to settle in the territory. This task was later the responsibility of individual counties. In 1914 the Yavapai Chamber of Commerce acquired funds to publish a magazine for “the purpose of advertising,” and Yavapai Magazine was born. Each magazine issue contained statements like one in the March 1914 publication proclaiming, “Published… in the interests of Northern Arizona and the Yavapai County Chamber of Commerce.”