By Parker Anderson

In 19th-century Territorial Arizona, county lines had been drawn, but not with the boundaries they have today. Coconino County did not exist until 1891, and that area, including Flagstaff itself, was part of Yavapai County. Yavapai officials, already stationed in the county seat of Prescott, had their jurisdiction extending almost as far as the Utah border.

By Carol Powell

(Edited and enhanced by Kathy Krause)

In Santa Fe, NM, there is a place called Siringo Road. It was named for Charles A. "Charlie" Siringo who had a ranch in the area in the early 1900s. Charlie was born in Texas in 1855 and by age 15 was working on surrounding ranches as a cowboy, eventually becoming a trail driver and working the Chisolm Trail. In 1884, he quit the cowboy life, settled down and got married, becoming a merchant in Caldwell, Kansas. It was there he began writing his first book, "A Texas Cowboy; or, Fifteen Years on the Hurricane Deck of a Spanish Pony." A year later, it was published to much popular acclaim – one of the first real looks at the cowboy life by someone who actually lived it.

By Tom Collins

Ludwig Thomas, an extraordinary German pianist who immigrated to America in 1879 and made Prescott his new home in late 1885, attracted a goodly number of pupils and reigned as the town's musical maestro for eight years. After enlivening the 1886 Firemen's Ball with his quartet, he entered enthusiastically into the town's cultural and political scene.

By Tom Collins

The year 1886 marked a significant turning point in Territorial Prescott’s cultural life. Hon. Levi Bashford built an addition to Howey’s Hall and installed upholstered chairs to make a first-class opera house of the existing theatre on the second floor. And a talented young German immigrant, Prof. Ludwig Thomas, arrived in Prescott in time to make the remodeled theatre ring with the sound of music. Under Thomas’s baton, local singers and musicians flourished as never before, making Prescott the cultural capitol of Arizona.

By Goodie Berquist, PhD

In the archives at the Smoki Museum in Prescott, there is an unusual document: a copy of a letter addressed to the "Captain and Crew of the Smoki Bomber." It has no date or address given. Did such an airplane actually exist? If so, what role did the City of Prescott play in its creation? Did such an airplane see action in wartime?

By Sharlot M. Hall

The following is the second part of an excerpt from an article written by Sharlot M. Hall, founder of Sharlot Hall Museum, which first appeared in the Prescott Courier on Dec. 24, 1930. In Part I last week, Sharlot described the brand-new community of Prescott where there were only a few cabins, a small group of soldiers at the stockade military post of Ft. Whipple, and some scattered camps of gold miners on that snowy Christmas of 1864.

(This article was written by Sharlot M. Hall, founder of Sharlot Hall Museum, and first appeared in the Prescott Courier on December 24, 1930.)

Sixty-six years ago the snow lay white over the hills; the tops of the high peaks were crystal white and cold; the pine and cedar and juniper trees were sparkling like trees on a Christmas card. Winter begun early in 1864, and by the middle of December the trails were mostly snowed under and lost – all but those often traveled which led to the placer gold mines on Lynx Creek, or to Walnut Grove and the camps on the Hassayampa.

By John Huff

President Lincoln finally declared Arizona a separate territory from New Mexico on February 24, 1863. Other names, including "Gadsonia," "Pimeria," "Montezuma." "Arizuma" and "Arizonia" had been considered for the territory. However, when President Lincoln signed the final bill, it read, "Arizona."

By John S. Huff

The origin of the name of our state has had many interpretations and translations. Even today, on various websites, you can find several explanations. The most logical and accurate interpretation shows the name to have begun in about 1734-1736 in a community some fifty miles southwest of Nogales on today’s Arizona/Mexico border.

By Richard M. Cesario

During the hard times of the depression years, Rosie earned a living as a carpenter and roofer while working for the WPA (Works Progress Administration). It was through the WPA that he got a job instructing in music at Fort Whipple. In 1933-34, he worked with the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps) as a tree skinner, climbing trees and cutting out the blight. In 1936, he was employed in the TB ward at Fort Whipple Hospital.