By Donna Baldwin

With the Prescott Indian Art Market (PIAM) coming up, it is interesting to look at the evolution of Navajo weaving, which will be one of the art forms at the Market.

Navajo weaving has been documented as early as the 1700s. They used upright looms with no moving parts and wool produced by their own Navajo-Churro sheep. The unprocessed wool retained lanolin, which repelled water. Early weavings included cloaks, dresses, saddle blankets and covers for door entrances. Prior to the 19^th century, weavings primarily used natural dyes in shades of brown, gray and white.

By Bill Hawes

The history of Arizona’s mining industry didn’t begin until the Joseph Walker party discovered gold. True, there were other contemporary or even earlier mining endeavors, chiefly along the Colorado River or close to the southern border with Mexico, but they didn’t lead to any significant rushes to the territory. These were mostly silver ventures, which was uneconomic to transport to markets. Gold (a mineral that didn’t require further processing) was the only economical commodity to seek.

By Marjory J. Sente

Born in Jerome to Arthur A. and Mae Winterholer Foster in 1908, Edith Marie Foster lived a life that few girls at the time would ever dream possible. Graduating from Prescott High School in 1926, she attended the University of Arizona, graduating in 1930.

By Coleen Bornschlegel

Outside the Prescott Valley Civic Center sits Limitless by Michael Tierney - an immense painted steel sculpture that reaches into the sky and warmly invites passersby to experience its magnificent scale and vibrant colors.

By Sally Jackson and Karen Murphy

Few Arizonans know that John Noble Goodwin, the first Governor of the Arizona Territory, was descended from the esteemed Reverend Robert Jordan of Maine. Likewise, few are aware of the connections to criminality in Goodwin’s family tree.

By Amy Garbo

When people think of fashion, they may not think of Prescott, AZ. Most people, especially today,  associate fashion with cities like New York, Paris or Milan. However, national or local, fashion is what we make it and depends on practicality and personal taste.

By Kelly Cordes

Have you ever wondered what would have happened if certain political figures had won their elections rather than lost? This article focuses on two politicians who lost elections to Congress in 1862, John N. Goodwin of Maine and Richard C. McCormick of New York.

By Dale O’Dell

Since the invention of organized society, humans have been decorating their living and working spaces. Murals, sculptures and rock art are primary types of public outdoor art.  Mural-making dates to Upper Paleolithic times (estimated to be as much as 50,000 years old). Humanity seems compelled to make art.

In Prescott, as well as the rest of the Southwest U.S., our landscape is dotted with Native American petroglyphs and pictographs (rock art), some of which are thousands of years old. Contemporary outdoor art, however, is bigger, bolder, brighter, urban and easier to find. The popularity of large-scale murals in the Western world began in the nineteenth century with ready-made paint. Although artists used paint as long as 30,000 years ago, it wasn’t until 1867 that D.R. Averill patented the first prepared or “ready mixed” paints in the U.S..

By Lisa Schnebly Heidinger

[Note: The author is the great-granddaughter of Sedona Schnebly, for whom Sedona is named. This article reflects her thoughts about her ancestor.]

Larry Schnebly, Sedona Schnebly’s grandson, my father, often said, “Looking at the past is like looking at a foreign country; there’s so much we can’t understand.” Growing up hearing about my great-grandmother’s pioneering adventures filled me with awe and envy. What a difference she made in what is now Arizona. However, as my friend Jodi Applegate (former host of Good Morning Arizona) points out, “The truly important questions can only be answered, ‘Well, yes and no.’” Sedona was amazing. And she wasn’t.

By Mary Melcher, Ph.D., edited by Robert Harner

Sharlot Hall was just twelve years old in 1882 when her family moved by covered wagon from Kansas to Arizona Territory. The family settled onto a ranch near Dewey, and Sharlot settled into a life of ranching work. Her father placed little emphasis on formal education. Sharlot attended a school term in Dewey and a high school term in Prescott, but she was largely self-educated...