By Mick Woodcock

Arizona was nicknamed the “Baby State” for forty-seven years until Alaska’s statehood. Before that, she was a territory for forty-nine years. For the previous fifteen years, much of the area was part of the New Mexico Territory. From when it was first explored and settled by the Spanish until today, Arizona has remained sparsely populated, her topography and mineral riches both helping and hindering settlement.

By Drew Desmond

For residents of Prescott today, J.S.Acker is remembered most warmly. Due to his philanthropy, the popular annual downtown music festival held during the holiday season is named in his honor. However, while he was alive, most considered him to be a bit cranky and cantankerous.

By Parker Anderson & Darlene Wilson

Authors of Haunted Prescott

Occasionally, someone will ask about Prescott's various "haunted" sites. Whether you believe in ghosts or not, there are many purported Prescott area hauntings, with new ghostly stories being told all the time.
 

Perhaps Prescott’s most famous ghost is "Abby" and her cat “Noble”, who haunt room 16 of the Hotel Vendome. Abby died in 1921 and her ghost, along with her cat, began to be seen after WW II. While some workers say footsteps are heard in the room, and the bell sometimes rings for service when the room is vacant, many guests sleep in the room every year, some with experiences and some without.
 

By Mick Woodcock

While not resulting in death, the 1868 Weekly Arizona Miner noted that soldiers were having accidents resulting in injury. “Dr. Howard informs us that, a few days ago, a soldier named Gay, while going from Camp Whipple to Camp Lincoln, shot himself in the foot, accidentally, of course. He remained at Lincoln.”

By Mick Woodcock

The early days of the Arizona Territory were a time when men went about armed. As Daniel Ellis Conner, a member of the Walker Party and an original settler in Prescott, wrote in his biography, Joseph Reddeford Walker and the Arizona Adventure, the carrying of firearms was a habit. On leaving Arizona for California he wrote, “I had often thought how pleasant it would be to unbuckle my belt and throw it with its scabbards and pistols altogether into the sea….But it was a long while before I could be accustomed to being without them, and I was constantly feeling that something was wrong, without thinking what it was, but on turning my attention to it I invariably found the annoyance caused by the absence of the heavy belt, which I had become accustomed to wearing.”

By Marjory J. Sente

Traveling to the Arizona Territory in early 1864 in a two-wheeled cart pulled by oxen, fifteen-year-old Jane Oswald had no idea that a decade later she would make history. Jane, whose given name was Mary Jane Oswald, came to Prescott with her mother Elizabeth, brother George, step-father George Jackson and his son Stephen.

By Emily Lane

Every piece of pottery tells a tale. The unique Native American art form known as storyteller pottery does so both literally and figuratively.

A clay figure of a grandmother sits, the smaller figures of children all around her. Her mouth is open as she sings and tells stories of their culture and heritage, imparting spirituality and the important lessons of life. Three children and their dog, finely sculpted from clay, peer into a small bowl to find a turtle resting at the bottom. The children have slingshots in their back pockets; they are hunting for a rabbit but have found a turtle instead.

By Bob Baker

Today, the bicycle is a recreational vehicle. From the late 1800s until early 1900s, people saw the bicycle as a new, exciting form of personal transportation, less expensive than a horse and perhaps faster.

In the 1870s, the “ordinary” or “Penny-Farthing” bicycle was available. To mount, the rider gripped the handlebar, stepped on a small step on the back of the bicycle, pushed off with his right foot and lunged forward, hopefully landing his feet on the pedals and his rear on the seat. Using pedal speed to slow down or stop, to dismount, the rider reached back with his foot to the small step and hopped off. Many novice riders stopped too abruptly and did “headers” over the handlebars. Average people found the “ordinary” bicycle difficult to operate and dangerous to ride.

By Melanie Sturgeon

On July 23, 1914 Frances Willard Munds announced that she would seek the nomination for State senator from Yavapai County. This would not have been possible without her dedicated efforts as the leader of the Votes for Women campaign that granted Arizona women not only the right to vote in 1912 but to run for elected office. This was eight years before the passage of the 19th Amendment to the US Constitution.

By Murray Smolens

Women’s roles in history have usually been relegated to second-banana status, except for notables such as Cleopatra, Joan of Arc, Queen(s) Elizabeth and Catherine the Great of Russia. But frequently, women “behind” the men were actually out in front, or at least a full partner in their spouse’s success. Jessie Ann Benton Frémont (wife of John C. Frémont, fifth territorial governor of Arizona) was certainly one of these women.