By Terry Munderloh and Mary Woodhouse

The writers for this article compiled information from various Days Past articles published in the past few years.

Prescottonians were first introduced to the new-fangled flying machines at the 1913 Northern Arizona State Fair held in Prescott.  Aviator L. F. Nixon piloted his air bird over the fairgrounds and astounded the crowd.  At the 1914 and 1915 fairs, more airplanes joined the festivities.  In those days, airplanes were primarily flown for entertainment rather than transport.  And entertain they did!

By Evan Sage and edited/expanded by Kathy Krause

In 1863, Henry Waring Fleury (b. 1817 - d. 1895) was part of the First Territorial Governor’s Party, that “outfit,” as early journalists would come to call the group of officials, which arrived in the area to soon be named "Prescott." Yet, while most of these politicos moved on seeking fortunes in the newly discovered mines of the Prescott region or to further their political notoriety elsewhere, Fleury stayed on in local politics.  Originally engaged as private secretary to Governor John Goodwin, he was also elected first chaplain for the two houses of the new legislature, largely because of his resources to supply the lawmakers with whiskey and his general indifference to religion.

By Richard Gorby and edited by Kathy Krause

This article was originally written by Richard Gorby and published February 1, 1997 in the SHM Days Past Archives.  The following article was edited and expanded by Kathy Krause.

Those of us who love the Plaza - lunching under the trees, enjoying the beautiful Christmas lights, or looking at it as we drive by - may be shocked to know how close it came to being lost altogether. On May 30, 1864 a meeting was held at the store of Don Manuel Yrissari on Granite Creek, near the present Mile High Middle School, for the purpose of adopting the best method for selling of lots in the proposed town.

By Parker Anderson

Ralph Henry Cameron had been elected to the U. S. Congress from the Territory of Arizona in 1908 and became involved in the battle in Washington for Arizona statehood.  By August 1911, President Taft signed the bill for statehood and the territorial politicians scrambled to write a proposed state constitution and elect its first official state officeholders.  Cameron, realizing his term as Congressman would be over, decided to run for U. S. Senate instead, hoping to be the first senator from the new State of Arizona. . . .

By Jim Byrkit and edited by Kathy Krause

The following article was originally written by Jim Byrkit and titled, "Early Spanish Street Names Reflect New England Influence," published on August 2, 2003 in teh SHM Days Past Archives.  Days Past Editor, Kathy Krause condensed and edited the original article for reprint here.

In February 1863, at the height of the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln signed a bill making Arizona a separate territory from New Mexico.  Three months later, renowned frontiersman Joseph R. Walker wrote a letter to Gen. James Carleton in Santa Fe, whose Army command included both New Mexico and Arizona Territories.

By Kathy Krause

The following article was compiled and edited by Kathy Krause and taken from various articles originally written by Richard Gorby published in the SHM Day Past Arcihves.

Most people in the Prescott area are familiar with Groom Creek and even Groom City, but know nothing about Robert Groom. But we can all be thankful for something he gave us 148 years ago: downtown Prescott.

Chosen by the governor of the newly established Arizona Territory to lay out the town in the spring of 1864 was Groom, the only available surveyor at the time. He was apparently given carte blanche in planning "his town," possibly because he had been overruled in his choice of location; Groom wanted the capital built at the beautiful Point of Rocks in Granite Dells.

By Parker Anderson

By the 1920s and 1930s, rodeos had become very popular nationwide and had advanced from mere feats of bronc riding and calf tying to include halftime entertainment shows. During this period, one of the most popular of the entertainers and singing cowboys on the rodeo circuit was "Powder River" Jack Lee and his wife, Kitty. Interestingly, they are mostly forgotten today and are seldom talked about, even by rodeo historians. There is a reason for this.

By Randi Wise

As apathy towards the upcoming General Election in November escalates as the weeks go by, the struggles it took for one minority group in particular to go to the polls needs to be retold. Women’s suffrage in the United States, the right of women to vote and run for public office, was over a seventy-year struggle, ending in 1920 by passage of the 19^th Amendment, eight years after the State of Arizona took that step.

Compiled by Kathy Krause from various Days Past articles written by Nancy Kirkpatrick Wright

The following article is a compilaiton that has been revised and updated by Kathy Krause.  All articles were originally written by Nancy Kirkpatrick Wright.

Eight years ago, on Tuesday morning, June 8, 2004, the bright planet Venus moved in front of our sun - a transit of Venus - and millions watched through strong filters as a small black dot moved across the sun.

By Carol Powell

Louis Clair Miller was an ex-constable and himself a troublemaker in Prescott who was jailed for forging a check in 1897. In last week's Days Past, I began the final chapter of his life story.