By Richard Gorby

Early in 1863, President Lincoln established the Arizona Territory by signing it into law.

By March 1864 the territorial officers had been appointed and told that they could pick the new capital.

Tucson, the biggest and almost the only town, was the obvious choice, but the officers, all Republican and Union followers, could not stomach the large number of Democrats and Confederate sympathizers in Tucson, so they moved north and west, deciding finally on the beautiful area around Granite Creek. By May, the new town site had been laid out and Prescott had been named the capital of the territory.

By Jody Drake

Before the appearance of man, the only law was that of balance, pry and predator.  In early human existence, we can only surmise that man adhered to this balance.  However, once individuals began to master their environment, the concepts of property came into light.  Once possession is questioned, protection is necessary, thus the laws.  Once laws are established, we have outlaws.  This is an oversimplification, granted, but a truth in fact.

By Parker Anderson

Father Alfred Quetu is fondly remembered in Prescott history as the priest who built the old Church of the Sacred Heart at the corner of Willis and Marina streets, as wella s the Roman Catholic Church in Jerome.  He was one of Prescott's most revered citizens, but by 1900, the gentle, bearded priest was in failing health and he took on an assistant to help him tend his parish.

By Terry Munderloh

From Prescott's founding in 1864 until 1881, the city's water supply came from wells and a few erratically producing springs.  A community water system didn't exist until workers sunk wells, one on each corner of the Courthouse Plaza, in 1881.

By Michael Wurtz

(Editor's note: This article was published in advance of April Fool's Day in 2001. It should not be taken seriously at all.)

The year 1866 was a particularly wet one in the Arizona Territory. The miners and territorial officials who called the “Wilderness Capital” home quickly learned that El Niño (unnamed at the time) could punctuate and create the unexpected in our otherwise dry climate.

By Rob Bates

The Arizona Miner, the Weekly Arizonian, the Yuma Sentinel, the Tucson Citizen and many other Arizona territorial newspapers were the voice and opinion of the new land opening and stretching along reaches of the far Southwest.

By Anne Foster

You've found the perfect wedding gown, long-sleeved and high-necked, maybe even bustled.  The high-heeled, button boots are ordered.  You even manage to talk your future husband into wearing a cutaway tux and brocade vest.  What else could you possibly need for the perfect Victorian wedding?

By Parker Anderson

It has been no secret that Prescott once had a local chapter of the Ku Klux Klan.  The photos of a Klan funeral march through downtown have been published many times.  But back in the early 20th century, the racial makeup of Prescott was not very different than it is today.  There were not many African-Americans in the area, so Prescott Klan No. 14 had to vent its rage at other targets.

By Lorri Carlson

The month of March has always been associated with my grandma's and my celebration of the aging process together, our birthdays being only one week apart. A few years ago March also became the month that stirs the dormant gardener in my soul.  I had the privilege of working at Watters Garden Center for one growing season.

By Dorothy Chafin

(Editor's note: This is part of a continuing reminisces of the author about her "hometown".)

During the war, my employment with the Harmon Audit Company (offices in Prescott, Phoenix and Santa Barbara) was one of the most wonderful things that ever happened to me.  It kept me busy during a time when I might have spent all my days and nights worrying about my husband whom I cared for deeply.  It gave me a satisfactory amount of income and it introduced me to some of the most interesting people I have ever known.