By Terry Munderloh

Arizona's first governor journeyed through Central Arizona in the 1860s. Letters written by members of the expedition mention Fossil Creek by name and commented on abundant "petrifactions" in one of the streams they crossed. Fossil Creek is identified on maps dating from the 1860s.

By Nancy Burgess - Caption courtesy of Richard Sims, former Director of the Sharlot Hall Museum.

A restored and resplendent elk returns home 

The Elks Club, B. P. O. E. #330, of Prescott, Arizona Territory, was chartered in January 1896 and is the "mother lodge" of Arizona. Desirous of a building of their own in which to hold their meetings and social events, in 1899, a committee was appointed by the Elks Club to investigate the feasibility of erecting an Elks Building in downtown Prescott.

By Parker Anderson 

In the early days of the 20th century, it was not especially common for nationally known entertainers to visit the small town of Prescott. It had only happened a handful of times. The Elks Opera House had been constructed in 1905 to help rectify this situation, but things had not gone as originally planned.

Original author Jim Smith, c.1975 & Edited by Jody Drake for this article. 

(Printed with Permission from Northern Arizona University, Cline Library, Special Collections and Archives, Jerome State Historic Park Collection)

"Generally speaking, eruptions of 'righteousness' triggered by revelations of vice are not permitted to get too far out of hand. Reporters begin to weary of the story, editors are restored to their senses, and the police, acting in the interest of the politicians, do only enough to enable the administration to declare that 'action has been taken'." (Harry Benjamin & R.E.L.,Master's Thesis, 'Prostitution and Morality')

By Stan Brown 

(Last week we left General Crook and his small detachment of soldiers heading west over the Mongollon Rim towards Fort Verde on their way to Fort Whipple, blazing the General Crook Military Road through Central Arizona.)

Upon reaching Fort Whipple, Crook ordered work to begin, even though winter would soon be setting in. The road from Fort Whipple and Fort Verde needed improvement and re-routing in places. Late in 1871, a crew from Prescott began working on that section. When the snow melted in the spring of 1872, two larger crews began approaching each other from Verde and Apache, planning to meet half way at a place called Deadshot Canyon. Today this is on the border of the Coconino and Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests. 

By Stan Brown 

George Crook turned forty-three years of age three months after taking command of the Military Department of Arizona on June 4, 1871. He came with almost twenty years' experience, having graduated from West Point in 1852, fought Indian Wars in Oregon and California, and led Union troops throughout the Civil War. During these years he had risen through the ranks to become a Major General. Upon arriving in Arizona his concern was to confine and defeat the Apache bands that were causing havoc throughout the Territory.

By A.E. Ensign of the Federal Writers Project c.1935 

Editor's Note: continuing our series of articles written by the Federal Writers Project in depression-era America, 'Law and Order' is an exaggerated recount of a courtroom melée during the 1880s. Although many of the hard facts are wrong, the excitable description of this gruesome and almost humorous encounter is an entertaining read and is an example of how an historical event, when told at a certain angle or by a certain person, can become mythical. Please find the original Courier article (which contains most of the correct facts) following the story.

By A.E. Ensign, Federal Writers Project, Yavapai County c. 1935 

"Note: The following is from the pen of Sharlot M. Hall, historian, writer, and curator of Sharlot Hall Museum. Its value rests upon the fact that she is the only living writer who can tell, from first-hand knowledge, the more intimate details of the history of Arizona's first 'Gubnatorial Mansion.'"

By Nancy Burgess

This article first appeared in the Prescott Herald in 1903, and was later reprinted in the December 23, 1949, Prescott Evening Courier.

Christmas was celebrated by the people of Skull Valley and the Kirkland section Friday night by a big ball given in the school house two miles below the eating house at Skull Valley.  People were there from all over that section and the affair was one of the most pleasant we have ever attended. Our readers have doubtless heard of "hog-killing times" well, that was one, if there ever was one.

By Arthur Ensign - Federal Writers' Project, 1935

The following account continues our series of stories written by the Federal Writers' Project of the Works Progress Administration of depression era Arizona. The story was based on an oral history interview of Skull Valley "old timer" Joe Farrell (as is noted later in the text) as told to the FWP workers.

Skull Valley's old-timers tell, with much gusto, of an incident, which emphasizes the inadvisability of too close questioning, particularly when the one questioned happens to be of Hibernian extraction. As the story goes, William Howard Taft, while campaigning for the Presidency, addressed the citizens of Skull Valley from the rear platform of his special train.