First of a two-part article based on the recollections of Marvin Evan Bennett. 

Late one hot afternoon in 1931 several mule wranglers were relaxing at Phantom Ranch at the bottom of the Grand Canyon, when a “dude” stumbled into their midst.  “Please,” he asked, “may I have a drink of water, I haven’t had a drop since I left the North Rim.”  “But,” asked a wrangler, “the trail crossed Bright Angel Creek 19 times, why didn’t you just drink from the creek?”    “I didn’t have a cup,” he replied.

By Gail Van Horsen

During the tumultuous times of the 1930s and 1940s, as the economy failed and soldiers fought in a world war, women stitched colorful and cheerful quilts for their homes.  Why did they choose these cheery patterns?  Perhaps the economic chaos of the Great Depression and anxiety associated with World War II made women turn to happy colors and designs when making quilts for their homes.

By Mary Melcher, Ph.D.

Many folks journeyed to Arizona during the territorial period, some without their legal spouses.  Available records reveal that desertion was a leading cause of divorce in the 19^th century. 

By Ray Carlson

The Prescott Free Academy was built in 1876 to make the town “the educational . . . centre of the Territory.”  The building was not only “the handsomest structure in the Territory” but also the “strongest brick building . . . possible to make.”  Surprisingly, there was “not even a crack in the plastering, showing the foundation to be solid.”  Built on Gurley Street two blocks east of the Courthouse Square, it formed the first impression visitors had of the town.

By Ray Carlson

The Prescott School District was created in 1871 with the Trustees responsible for providing the school house and teacher.  Their work never let up.  Over the next six years, they built a new school twice, made building improvements two other times, replaced the teacher twice and hired two additional teachers. 

By Andrew P. Odell

In 1882 the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad finally met a long-sought goal when it built track across northern Arizona. But to the dismay of Prescott residents it went through Ash Fork, somewhat to the north of the territorial capital.  There were a lot of mines around Prescott at the time, and they as well as the town stood to benefit from rail transportation.  Local businessmen and investors advanced several proposals for construction of a rail line to link Prescott and Ash Fork. Around 1884 the competition was winnowed down to two differing proposals.  The A&P urged the leaders of the two factions to compromise for everyone’s good and to get on with it.

By Al Bates

During the lengthy debates in the US Congress about splitting a new territory to be named Arizona from New Mexico Territory, the popular assumption was that the new territory’s capital would be located at Tucson—and that stipulation was included in an early version of the Arizona Organic Act.  But it did not happen.

By Dr. Jay Cravath

The venues for culture during the immigrant influx into Arizona Territory concentrated around mining towns, where striking it rich meant gaining disposable income.  Nouveau riche miners wanted to show their taste for the good life.  Gambling halls, restaurants—where cuisine was as fine as any in America’s large cities — opera houses, saloons, and brothels began serving their needs.

By Erik Berg

Many people know about the rich gold discoveries that brought waves of early prospectors to Yavapai County, but few realize that the area was also the scene of a brief but intensive oil boom during the First World War. For a few years, the rolling hills of the Chino Valley were dotted with the wooden derricks of oil wells and local newspapers were filled with the advertisements of would-be oil barons. Now largely forgotten, the Chino Valley oil boom remains as one of the more unusual stories from Arizona’s mining history.

By John Darrin Tenney

Baseball, the national pastime, has a long history dating back to the 1840s. The game evolved from older bat-and-ball games from England such as cricket and Colonial America era games like one-o-cat, two-o-cat. When most of us think of Arizona history, however, the game of baseball is not the first image that comes to mind.