By Lane Burkitt
A military encampment in Chino Valley in 1863 for the purpose of protecting what many hoped would be the richest gold fields in the West, led to the founding of the town of Prescott. General James H Carleton, military commander of New Mexico Territory with authority over Arizona, was convinced of the mineral riches in this area by reports from the early "placers" (prospecting miners looking for loose gold in the creeks). He especially wished to secure the gold deposits for the Union, as the Civil War was being hard-fought in the East at the time. Carleton wrote several times of "extraordinary developments of gold and silver in Arizona," and it was this belief that prompted him to act with urgency to establish a fort near what would, within a year, become the town of Prescott.
Captain Joseph Walker and his party of prospectors had struck gold in the Bradshaw Mountains in 1863. Gen. Carleton had knowledge of the Walker party and their prospecting in the area but didn’t know exactly where they were. When the troops arrived to establish a military presence to protect the gold fields, they camped for several weeks in Chino Valley while they looked for Walker and his men. One day, while camping in a picturesque spot on Granite Creek surrounded by old growth Ponderosa Pines (about where the Prescott Courthouse now stands), the search party heard a shot up in the canyon. Gen. Carleton had assigned Robert Groom as the guide for the search party so he went to investigate and found Pauline Weaver, scout, trapper and miner, hunting in the mountains. Weaver told Groom he had not seen the Walker party, but he had seen smoke that "was not Apache smoke" to the southwest.
Having finally located the Walker party, a permanent camp was established at the site that eventually became the town of Prescott. Congress had officially established the Arizona Territory on February 24, 1863. First Territorial Governor, John Noble Goodwin, arrived with his party in late December of 1863. He eventually settled on the current location of downtown Prescott as the best spot for the capital of the new territory, though at the time Tucson was already well established. Tucson was thought to be too sympathetic with the Confederate cause, and the new capital should be near the rich gold and silver mines in the area. Governor Goodwin called a meeting on May 30, 1864 in a log cabin to choose a name for the new community. Secretary Richard McCormick had a classic book with him by William Hickling Prescott and suggested the town be named after the well known historian and everyone agreed. Governor Goodwin then appointed Robert Groom (despite the fact that he was not only a democrat, but also a Confederate) and Van C. Smith to survey the new town site. In the absence of proper surveying equipment, they used a prospector’s skillet and the North Star to lay out the streets and the plaza. It is due to the surveying work of Robert Groom that Prescott has the wide streets and central plaza that make it so attractive to residents and visitors today.
The early promise of untold wealth and easy gold in the hills around Prescott never materialized. The capital was moved to Tucson after the war and the fort was moved from Chino Valley soon after Prescott was established. Though the mines were profitable for a time, most of them played themselves out quickly. But what did remain is a beautiful and charming town in an idyllic setting in the mountains of central Arizona.
(Sharlot Hall Museum’s Blue Rose Theater will be presenting the story of Robert Groom in the play, "Groom’s Last Duel," on June 11-12 and 17-19. Call the museum at 445-3122 for tickets and information.)
Go to sharlothallmuseum.org/archives/history/dayspast to read another Days Past article about Robert Groom. Search for the article dated March 14, 1999 by Richard Gorby. Groom was a well liked, colorful character of early Prescott. If you would like to submit an article for Days Past consideration, call the museum archives for information at 445-3122.
Sharlot Hall Museum Photograph Call Number:(po1834p) Reuse only by permission.
Robert Groom, a native of Kentucky came to Arizona in 1862. He was appointed to survey the new town of Prescott in 1864. Having no equipment at the time, he used a prospector’s skillet as a transit. Groom Creek is named in his honor.