By Richard Gorby

In 1863, a year before the birth of Prescott, a group of miners from the Walker diggings on Lynx Creek wandered into a steep canyon containing a creek which flowed out of the Bradshaw Mountains.  As they followed the creek downstream they noticed a great number of huge flying insects, and the stream suddenly had a name - "Big Bug Creek."

By Pat Atchison

Memorial Day is a day to honor all those who have passed away and to pay tribute to those who have defended the United States against aggressors.  Many stories surround the origin of Memorial Day or "Decoration Day" as it was originally called.  Residents of several Southern states observed such an occasion before the end of the hostilities of the Civil War.  It is said that several young ladies in Mississippi took spring flowers to the cemetery to decorate the graves of fallen Confederate soldiers.  They decorated the graves and then noticed that the Union soldiers' graves were bare.

By Earl Hoagberg

If the earliest settlers had prevailed, many of us would be living in "Granite City, Arizona," not Prescott, for that was the name the miners themselves gave to the array of lean-tos and shacks along Granite creek in 1864.  The story of the founding of Arizona's first territorial capital 135 years ago, and the choice of Prescott as its name, is a fascinating chapter in the annals of frontier America.

By Chet Brooks and Ann Tewksbury

This year Prescott is celebrating 50 years of square dance festivals, but the origin of square dancing in Prescott probably goes back to Prescott's beginnings.  Square dancing, or "Hoedowns", as they were first called, evolved in early rural America and moved across the country as the settlers moved west.

By Nancy Kirkpatrick Wright

Does anybody out there know anything about Charles Tracy?  How about A. E. Ensign?  Ensign gave us a hint about Prescott's mystery artist, Tracy, but we need more information.  Mysteries create more mysteries, but sometimes there is serendipity, the happy finding of clues strictly by chance. 

Compiled by Michael Byrd, Betty Sigfried and Eric Glomski

Did you know that there are creeks in Prescott?  It may be difficult to notice them because they either rarely have water in them or the roads we drive and walk upon have walls that obstruct any view we might encounter.  But, they are there and they are a vital part of our community.  In the mid-1980s, Prescott Creeks Preservation Association (PCPA) was formed to protect those elusive creeks flowing through the City of Prescott.  Founding PCPA members Betty Bridgewater, Betty Sigfried, and Jay Eby worked on the Keep Prescott Beautiful Granite Creek Clean Up Day for several consecutive years and realized it would be an asset to the downtown area if Granite Creek was kept clean and a nature trail was developed and maintained along it.  After some research, the two Bettys learned that the idea was not a new one.  Originally, Jeri Wagner discussed a nature walk during her second term as Mayor of Prescott in the late 1970s.

By Jean Cross

The next time you are out Williamson Valley way you might like to consider some of the events which took place in this beautiful, if at one time hostile, area during the early days of Prescott's settlement.  The pioneers themselves are worthy of our reflection--such names as Simmons, Fine, Jenkins, Sieber, Matli and many others come to mind in such a discussion.  One name in particular has caught my interest in researching the beginnings of this area, that of Jefferson Harrison Lee better known as Harry in his early years and then as J.H. 
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By Mick Woodcock

In a newspaper article written shortly after Sharlot Hall's death on April 9, 1943, one of the salient points mentioned was that she had left the town of Prescott a legacy in her museum.  It praised her foresight and forethought in establishing her collections when she did.  It extolled the virtue in giving her life to the preservation of local history, particularly the Governor's Mansion.

By Al Bates

History is not just about dates or events, it is the story of people and how they affected events and how events affected them.  This, then, is an attempt to tell of Fort Whipple's colorful past by combining dates and events with stories of people who passed through its gates.  This is a salute to the people of Fort Whipple.  Some of them left their names as city streets or county roads, or creeks or other landmarks.  Some of them are still quite famous and others are almost entirely forgotten.  Some of them spent years at Whipple and others were just passing through. 

By Pat Atchison

There is some controversy as to when the first Roman Catholic Mass was celebrated in Prescott.

Bishop Lamy (in charge of the Roman Catholic Diocese of New Mexico and Arizona) celebrated the 1863 Christmas Mass in the area, although the exact location is undetermined.