By Nancy Burgess

The Elks Club, B. P. O. E. #330, of Prescott, Arizona Territory, was chartered in January 1896 and is the "mother lodge" of Arizona. Desirous of a building of their own in which to hold their meetings and social events, a committee was appointed in 1899 by the Elks Club to investigate the feasibility of erecting an Elks Building in downtown Prescott. A downtown lot was purchased in 1900 on Gurley Street just east of the Courthouse. In 1901, Articles of Incorporation were approved for the Elks Building Association. After members of the community lobbied the Elks Club to add an opera house to their proposed building and stock was sold to help fund this additional cost, architect, J. R. Minor was hired and ground was broken in January, 1904.

By Pat Atchison

On June 2, 1864, the local newspaper, The Miner, noted that the Hon. Joel Woods, a visiting legislator from Colorado, was accidentally shot and killed in the forest near town while on a hunting expedition. He was buried “in a beautiful ground just east of town which will be reserved for a public cemetery.”

By Kathy Krause

The July 14, 1900 fire in downtown Prescott burned all the books the Monday Club ladies had collected for three years for their little library in the Bashford building. It took over a year for the Library Board to get things rolling again for the planned library building. Book donations came in from the community and the insurance money from the fire loss was all held pending the construction of the Carnegie Library. The $4,000 collected locally and equal grant from the Carnegie Foundation were in the bank.

By Kathy Krause

In mid-1899, the Library Board of Directors of the Monday Club of Prescott requested a grant from the Andrew Carnegie Foundation in the sum of "$10,000 or even $8,000" in order to build a public library. The Foundation agreed to supply "the last half of the eight thousand dollars ($8,000) required to make the library free." In April 1900, the Carnegie Foundation sent the $4,000 they had promised after the town had collected the first $4,000 to fulfill the town’s obligation.

By Kathy Krause

In August of 1895, a group of women in frontier Prescott felt the need for a club where they could "meet for study, mutual counsel and united action pertaining to education and civic betterment." It was called, "The Women’s Club of Prescott," and met twice monthly on the least socially busy day of the week, Monday. They were not and did not wish to be considered a part of the usual women’s groups of the time, i.e. women suffragettes.

By Carol Powell

In May of 1897, three men escaped from the Prescott jail in the true manner of Western folklore. They left in a blaze of gunfire, leaving a young man dead in their haste. The news of the escape and the names of the men were sent by telegraph to neighboring towns and cities. The escapees were Cornelia Sarata, Louis Clair Miller and James Fleming Parker.

By Parker Anderson

One of Prescott's most enduring legends is the brief history of the Ku Klux Klan in Prescott. The famed white supremacist group had existed in various forms throughout the nation since Southern Reconstruction. By the 1920s, the Klan was the subject of public debate, with state legislatures conducting investigations into allegations of killings, vandalism, and general terror tactics attributed to the Klan.

By Stan Brown

 (This is the third and final installment of "A Day Trip..." We pick up for the final segment of the journey at the Walnut Creek Bridge at milepost 35.8.)

As you cross the bridge, look up and slightly to the left (northwest) and you will see the Juniper Mesa Wilderness area. You are in the Juniper Mountains that span many miles to the north and west from here. Soon after crossing the bridge, County Road 125 (Walnut Creek Road) branches to the west. Turn here to explore the area.
 

By Stan Brown

This day trip will take you from Prescott to Seligman on the Williamson Valley Road, and is being presented in three parts. We pick up this week, Part 2, on our day trip with historical spots along Williamson Valley Road beginning at milepost 20.6.
 

At milepost 20.6 is the Crossroads Ranch development on the right. This area was originally known as "the crossing" where stage, wagon trains and freight wagons crossed the wash on the route between Prescott and Hardyville (now Bullhead City). There are several things to note in this area. Dillon Wash (aka Williamson Valley Wash) was named for the John Dillon family who had a house in the settlement of Simmons. The large trees on your left, 100 yards or so in from the road, was the location of this small settlement and stage stop named for John A. Simmons, who settled here in 1880.
 

By Stan Brown

This is part 1 of a 3-part historical backroad trip adventure from Prescott to Seligman. Wait until you have all 3 parts to make the trip come alive. In the meantime, pick up a Prescott National Forest map at 344 S. Cortez or at Granite Mountain Outfitters.
 

One of Yavapai County's many beautiful drives, and a good one for entertaining guests, is the Williamson Valley Road out of Prescott northward to Seligman. Not only is this a scenic drive, but these 70 miles have many stories to tell from Arizona's Territorial days.