by Laura Clonts

It was June 18, 1910 and President William H. Taft had just signed the Enabling Act for Arizona. By this act, Congress authorized the people of the Territory of Arizona to frame a constitution and meet all the prerequisites for statehood. It was announced that official declaration of statehood would occur in February of 1912. After decades of waiting for this day, the people all over the territory were ecstatic.

In Prescott, the whistles of the Santa Fe shops were blown and telegrams sent to President Taft and others. The committee preparing for the upcoming Fourth of July celebration assembled in the local sheriff’s office and prepared for an impromptu celebration that evening. Volunteers agreed to secure the Prescott Band, money was collected for fireworks and boxes were donated for a huge bonfire. Within fifteen minutes, the fireworks were booming and the local residents began to assemble in the business district. The deputy county assessor and two members of the Board of Supervisors climbed up into the cupola of the courthouse and added the new star to the American flag. The bonfire blazed so brightly that the fire department was called out and unpatriotically extinguished the flames. While it was an informal celebration, it was intensely enthusiastic as the band played "Marching through Georgia" and "My Country ’tis of Thee." They continued playing for two hours in front of every business where there was sufficient light to read their music. To add to the celebration, the fire department made an exhibition run and even the children were waving flags and shouting, "Hurrah for Arizona, the New State."

With the spirit of statehood, the dedication and planting of a statehood tree would be an important part of the upcoming Fourth of July Celebration. On June 28, 1910 the Journal Miner newspaper reported that the Statehood Tree had arrived by express. It was a Deodar Cedar, transplanted from the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Mr. Cruickshank, the county gardener, had selected the tree because of its adaptability to this climate and altitude. The county supervisors selected the spot where it would be planted in Arizona soil.

The new bandstand, which had been approved in May for construction on the Plaza, was now complete. On July 4th, Territorial Governor, Richard E. Sloan, was escorted to the new bandstand. The band, in their handsome new uniforms from the East, and under the direction of C. Wilbanks, struck up "Hail to the Chief" until all the speakers were seated. The first official ceremony at the new bandstand was the dedication address and planting of the Statehood Tree on the Plaza. At the planting, George P. Harrington, chairman of the Board of Supervisors, handed Governor Wilbanks a spade with a copper blade, silver shank and a gold handle. Later, it was engraved and sent to the State Capitol to be preserved as a commemorative record. The Statehood Tree on the Plaza today is the tree that was planted on July 4, 1910 (not 1912 as the plaque reads). A new plaque with correct information is planned for placement by the County Centennial Committee before the centennial of statehood in 2012.

It happened, also, that July 4, 1910 was the day of the "Fight of the Century" in Reno, Nevada, between the undefeated heavyweight champion James J. Jeffries and John A. "Jack" Johnson. Arrangements had been made to receive direct wires from the fight as it progressed and the announcements were made from the bandstand.

Three days of activities were planned to celebrate Independence Day: concerts, literary exercises, an exhibition run by the fire department and a Fireman’s Grand Ball. At the literary exercises, Mrs. H. T. Southworth recited the Declaration of Independence from memory. Charmed by her rendition, Mr. Hill C. Moore presented her with a woven flax towel made in 1821 by a niece of Mrs. Betsy Ross, maker of the first American flag.

There you have it! The ‘Grand Lady’, the Plaza bandstand, is 100 years old today! It has been the site of concerts, weddings, meetings and Christmas ornamentations over the past 100 years. The bandstand pre-dates the present courthouse and it remains much as it was constructed in 1910, with the exception of the original wood railings which have been replaced with iron railings. Granite Mountain Questers recently obtained approval by the Yavapai County Board of Supervisors to erect a bronze marker by the bandstand on the Courthouse Plaza in celebration of its centennial. The installation and dedication is planned for later this year.

Sharlot Hall Museum Photograph Call Number:(pb113f3i6) Reuse only bypermission.

The ‘Grand Lady’ on the Courthouse Plaza is 100 years old today! And so is the Statehood Tree! The first official ceremony held at the new bandstand was the dedication and planting of the Statehood Tree on July 4, 1910.

Sharlot Hall Museum Photograph Call Number:(citn111p) Reuse only by permission.

A 1915 postcard of the Courthouse Plaza showing the Rough Riders Monument and the bandstand in a park-like setting. Note the size of the trees compared to what they look like today.

Sharlot Hall Museum Photograph Call Number:(bug0501pe) Reuse only bypermission.

The Courthouse Plaza in the 1930s with the courthouse we know today which was completed in 1918. Notice that the bandstand is occupied by a band and if you look closely you can even identify the base drum to the right inside the bandstand.