By Parker Anderson

It is believed that the first Catholic priest to pass through the area that later became Prescott was Father Francisco Garces, of the San Xavier del Bac Mission in Tucson, circa 1776, on his way to minister to the Hopi Indians. Nearly 100 years later, in 1863, tradition holds that Santa Fe Archbishop Lamy celebrated a Christmas Eve Mass with the regiments at Fort Whipple.

By Judy Riggenbach

One of the most notable and respected women of Prescott, Viola Jimulla, was the first Chieftess of the Yavapai-Prescott Indian Tribe. She led the tribe for 26 years.

By Marjory J. Sente

Education has been a priority for the citizens of Prescott for a very long time. One of Prescott’s first public buildings was a log cabin schoolhouse, a replica of which is located on the grounds of Sharlot Hall Museum. St. Joseph’s Academy and the Prescott Free Academy were both established in the 1870s.

by Guy Coates

Between 1876 and 1890, Prescott’s first City Marshal earned a reputation as one of the toughest marshals who ever lived in the West. Although James M. Dodson never garnered the fame of such lawmen as Wild Bill Hickok and Wyatt Earp, those who knew him considered him to be just as brave.

By Stan Brown

Rachel Berry’s 20-year-old son, Wiley, had just been killed by two cattlemen brothers, Zechariah and John Booth, while driving his father’s sheep from St. Johns to the Salt River Valley for winter grazing. Wiley Berry and Juan Vigil, the 16-year-old son of their hired sheepherder, Santiago Vigil, were both shot as they ate breakfast at their sheep camp near Gisela (south of Payson), early on December 22, 1903.

By Stan Brown

As we approach the 100th anniversary of Arizona’s statehood, we are discovering stories of little known events from our state’s beginnings. One of these is about the first woman to be elected to our State House of Representatives and the tragic event that motivated her.

By Charles B. Genung, 1915

(Edited by Parker Anderson and Kathy Krause)

(Charles B. Genung (1839-1916) came to Arizona in 1863 and was involved with the earliest mining in the area around Stanton, Rich Hill, Yarnell and Walnut Grove. He settled in Peeples Valley, was active in civic and community affairs and befriended Sharlot Hall, aiding her in preparing for the establishment of the museum in Prescott. The following is a continuation of his account of gold mining in 1863. He and his partners had just registered their claim, the Montgomery.)

By Charles B. Genung, 1915

(Edited by Parker Anderson and Kathy Krause)

(Ed. Note: Charles B. Genung (1839-1916) was one of Arizona’s earliest pioneers in the area soon after Arizona had been officially declared a Territory in Feb. 1863. He is a legend in the Yarnell-Peeples Valley area. Arriving in Arizona in July 1863, he first began mining down the hill from Yarnell in the Rich Hill-Stanton area where many other miners were striking claims. He was involved with much of the earliest mining in the Hassayampa River-Walnut Grove area. He believed his mine, the Montgomery, was the first quartz mine in the new Territory.

By Tom Collins

The Hotel Burke opened in January of 1891 and was not only one of Prescott’s architectural gems, but was operated by its proprietors, Dennis A. Burke and Michael J. Hickey, as a first-class hotel. They hired experienced dining room managers, Mrs. Durning and Miss Bergheart, both of California, an all white kitchen crew and even a night watchman.

By Tom Collins

On July 14, 1900 a roaring fire raged through Whiskey Row and Gurley Street, destroying Prescott’s most cherished business buildings. Ironically, the magnificent $60,000 hotel on the southwest corner of Montezuma and Gurley Streets, advertised proudly as Prescott’s only “fireproof” hotel, collapsed into smoking rubble along with the Palace Saloon, the Bashford-Burmister Company mercantile store as well as many others businesses. The hotel had stood for nearly eleven years as one of the architectural gems of Yavapai County.