By Ryan Flahive

In the Archives of Sharlot Hall Museum, you will find countless materials related to the 'Prescott Frontier Days.' Hot Iron programs, rodeo record books, newspaper articles, advertisements and correspondence document the history of our famous rodeo. However, hidden within the rodeo material lies an 'Official Souvenir Program', published by the Arizona Journal Miner, for the 4th of July Celebration of 1908.

The program provided a daily schedule of the events that began on the 3rd of July and concluded on the 5th, along with advertisements for familiar businesses such as Hotel St. Michael, J.S. Acker & Co. Brokers and The Palace Saloon. The 4th of July Celebration of 1908 is our focus today, looking at a bygone era and gaining perspective on the dramatic changes seen by Prescott over the past ninety-eight years. 

The events described were eclectic and varied, and included most of the communities of Yavapai County. The Miner reported, "That there will be a record-breaking crowd is now assured. Jerome will be depopulated. Mayer will turn out en masse to see her crack ball team win the fat end of the purse hung up for the baseball tournament, and Ash Fork, Poland, Humboldt, Crown King, McCabe, Huron and other points along the P. & E. line will contribute their share to the big crowd. Besides, there is Wickenburg, which came up a hundred strong. Congress will do equally as well and Skull Valley and Hillside are to be here to take in the big doings." 

The celebration began with a band concert on the plaza at 2:00 p.m. July 3rd, and continued with several baseball games, starting at 2:30, followed by daylight fireworks. The two opening games of the tournament were played by the Prescott Grays vs. the Phoenix All Stars (Ft. Wingate) and Mayer vs. Harter's Colts. The game between the Grays and Ft. Wingate was colorfully described in the Journal-Miner of July 4th, "Prescott Grays 6-Fort Wingate 2. That doesn't tell the whole story. Dutch Burgett (Prescott) mowed down sixteen of the Soldiers, and the fighting men of Uncle Samuel faded from the jump off, else there might be a far different story to tell. Then the soldiers had a slight attack of the rattles, probably because of the assemblage of Prescott beauty in the grand stand." The second game, the Miner noted, was attended by 200 spectators and was a whirlwind game with Mayer losing to the Colts 11-8. Our national pastime, then void of modern professional egos and salaries, held an essential role in the fabric of the community and the pride within. The evening of the 3rd closed with musical and dramatic entertainment at the Elk's Theater and was presented for the benefit of the Prescott Baseball Club. A band concert followed on the plaza to finish the day's events. 

On the 4th, events began at 10:00 a.m. with a traditional military parade, including a troop of cavalry and company of infantry from Whipple Barracks, Major F.W. Foster commanding. The parade formed on Mt. Vernon Avenue and proceeded down Gurley Street to Montezuma Street, where they made a once-around-the-plaza to the St. Michael Hotel, where the parade disbanded. The day continued with several literary exercises, events now practically extinct in today's world of mass media. Mrs. H.T. Southworth read the Declaration of Independence, followed by a patriotic oration by the Honorable H.F. Ashurst of Coconino County. The exercises were well attended, as was reported in the Journal-Miner of July 5th, "Long before the hour given as the time for the speeches, the bandstand was surrounded by nearly one thousand people who waited with a commendable patience." To put this number in context: the population of Prescott in 1910 was 5,018 people; just imagine if one-fifth of Prescott's present population, 8,000 people, showed up for a local event on the plaza! 

The day continued with the annual hose cart races, and, as noted by Mike Wurtz (previous Sharlot Hall Museum Archivist), "Hose company competition included hook and ladder climbing events, the 'dry test' event in which the Hose companies would simply run with their hose cart 200 yards, and the 'wet test hose race' event, the object of which was for the crew to run to a hydrant 150 yards away, hook up the hose to a hydrant, lay out 150 feet of hose and 'turn on a stream." The race was between two notable volunteer fire teams of Prescott, the O.K. Hose Company and the Toughs Hose Company, with a prize of $100 to first place and $50 to second place. 

The rest of the afternoon was filled with community-minded events. The baseball tournament commenced at 1:00 p.m., another band concert at 2:00, and Japanese daylight fireworks and juvenile sports began at 4 p.m. The juvenile sports included boys and girls races, one for those under 15 and one for those youths under 12 years of age; a 25 yard sack race; a 300 yard burro race; a free for all three-legged race; and last, but certainly not least, a free for all greased pig catching contest. The day's events continued with a tug of war at 7:00 p.m. between three teams, in which the firemen conquered and won the prize of $100. With a band concert at 8:00 p.m. and the Firemen's Ball at the I.O.O.F. Hall at 9:00 p.m., the day's events were suitable for all ages to participate. 

The final day of the celebration (July 5th) was quiet, sporting the final game of the baseball tournament in the afternoon and a final band concert on the plaza in the evening ending at 9:00 p.m. The celebration was busy and certainly more than 'stay cowboy'. Today, we maintain our traditional Fourth of July parade through downtown Prescott and the hose cart races, but many of the community events of the 1908 celebration are gone to days past; baseball tournaments played between neighboring communities, plaza concerts, and patriotic orations have been geographically dispersed into small community fairs and fireworks in Pioneer Park, Prescott Valley, and Chino Valley. The dramatic growth of our small burg combined with modern age technology spelled the demise of greased pig catching and burro races; but the spirit of the Fourth of July celebration is just as strong as it was 98 years ago. 

(Ryan Flahive is Archivist at Sharlot Hall Museum.) 


Sharlot Hall Museum Photograph Call Number:(misc151p)
Reuse only by permission.
Prescott Baseball Team, c. 1909. Local baseball tournaments were the main attraction for most 4th of July celebrants at the turn of the century.