By Michael Wurtz

If it is not yet 9:00 am on Sunday morning then you still have time.  Time for what?  Time to get down to the Plaza and watch the hose cart races.  These races are at least as old, if not older, than our famous World's Oldest Rodeo, which began in 1888.

By Warren Miller

Nine years after Buckey O'Neill, the young mayor of Prescott who had led his compatriots to the Spanish-American War in Cuba, fell on the battlefield, Prescott honored him and the Rough Riders by erecting a monument on the Courthouse Plaza.  This heroic equestrian bronze was created by world-renowned sculptor Solon H. Borglum, brother of Gutzon Borglum who would later win fame for sculpting Mount Rushmore.

Edited by Anne L. Foster

One hundred years ago, on July 1, William Owen "Buckey" O'Neill was killed at Kettle Hill, Cuba.  Efforts to commemorate his memory and those of his comrades-in-arms, the Arizona Rough Riders, began soon after and finally resulted in the statue that stands on the Courthouse Plaza.  While the Rough Rider Monument is a powerful statement of Prescott's loss, it is this grief-stricken memorial written by Buckey's widow, Pauline, that is the most moving declaration of the personal sacrifices of war.

By Richard Gorby

On May 30, 1864, Prescott became the new capital of the new Territory of Arizona, with John Goodwin as Governor. 
 

The first Arizona Territorial Legislature was formed, with its first meeting on September 27, at "Old Fort Misery", the cabin now moved to the grounds of Sharlot Hall Museum.  William Claude Jones, previous Attorney General of New Mexico and a practicing lawyer in Tucson, was chosen as Speaker of the House.  The meetings, moved to the newly built Capitol Building on Gurley Street, were apparently a great success, with Speaker Jones commended for his leadership and especially for his acting as interpreter for two members from Tucson who spoke only Spanish.  "The Speaker was highly competent in both languages." 

By Sue Abbey

After one of the most famous manhunts in Prescott's history, Fleming Park was hanged for murder on the courthouse square in the City of Prescott, Arizona Territory.  The date was June 3, 1898.  Better known in Prescott as Jim Parker, he was executed for the murder of Assistant District Attorney Lee Norris during his escape from the Yavapai County jail.

By Terry Munderloh

Arizona Territory was created by passage of an act of Congress on February 20, 1863, by President Lincoln who appointed John Gurley as governor.  When Gurley died before taking office, John M. Goodwin was appointed in his place.  Goodwin arrived in Arizona Territory in December of 1863, and at Navajo Springs declared the Territory of Arizona.  He then continued toward central Arizona and set up the provisional capital at Fort Whipple, then located at Del Rio Springs.

By Pat Atchison

In 1898, the residents of Prescott showed an increase of interest in the observance of Memorial Day.  This was due to the "existing war with a foreign foe".  War had been declared against Spain by United States President William McKinley on April 25th.  In a great flurry of activity, volunteers were recruited to serve in the Spanish-American War.

By Danny Freeman

Prescott has always been a horse racing town; well, that is, since 1866, when the town was just two years old.  By then cattlemen were here in sufficient numbers with horses to race.  In those early days, races were matched-races with side-betting.  That year, 1866, and for many years, horse racing was a major part of the 4th of July celebrations.  For centuries horse owners and others have considered horse racing as an entertaining sport.  And one way or another, interested people will find a way to gamble on sports.

By Nancy Burgess

May 10 through May 16, 1998, is Preservation Week.  The theme for this year's celebration is "Preservation Begins at Home."  The theme aims to emphasize the importance of saving and enhancing the places where we live, not just the buildings, but the communities that surround them.

By Richard Gorby

In 1870, Prescott was only six years old, but on Gurley Street the largest edifice was called "The Old Capitol Building". 
 

In 1864, Governor Goodwin had declared that the legislature of the new Territory of Arizona should assemble on September 26 "at the house provided for that purpose".  The problem was that there was no such "house" and no money to build one.  It was at this time that Van Smith, possibly Prescott's first entrepreneur, offered to build a structure for business purposes that could temporarily be used by the legislature.  "It is to be of hewn logs, carefully put up, and will be upon Gurley Street, on the north side of the Plaza".  The finished product was not very satisfactory to those who had to use it.  The floor was dirt and the partitions did not go to the ceiling, so that voices carried from one room to the other.  The furniture was unpainted pine tables and chairs (two chairs are now in Sharlot Hall Museum's Governor's Mansion).