Matilda (Lambuth) Spence was born on June 26, 1850 in Muhlenburg County, Kentucky to Mary (Langley) and Richard J. Lambuth. Matilda married Alfred Barnam Spence (1833 -1908), on December 5, 1869, in Marshfield, Webster County, Missouri. Matilda, Alfred, and their daughters Belle and Ida, joined a wagon train with thirty other families and headed west in 1875. The wagon train reached Fort Whipple, Yavapai County, Arizona Territory and stopped there due to hostile Indian activity. Twelve of the families decided to stay in Arizona. The Spences settled on Banning Creek, Yavapai County, near Prescott, where Alfred worked at the Peck Mine sawmill, as well as other available jobs. In 1878, the Spence family built a log cabin, which became the Palace Station stagecoach stop, just fourteen miles southwest of Groom Creek, Yavapai County. The location was selected because it was halfway between Prescott and the Peck Mine, which was then one of the most prosperous mines in the Arizona Territory. The station served the needs of the miners, ranchers, and travelers. Here many a meal was prepared for weary travelers on the Prescott to Phoenix, Maricopa County, Arizona Territory stage route, and the horses were watered and rested. Matilda had eight children, two of whom were born in Missouri: Belle Bayd Johnson Crume (1871) and Ida May Mott Applustill (1873). Florence Arizona Beck Dozier Alexander (1877); Myrtle E. Olin (1879); Eunice Elsie “Dolly” Evans (1886); Maude E. Thompson (1881); LeRoy “Roy” Leslie (1883); and Willis Spence (1887) were all born in Yavapai County, Arizona Territory. Besides being a wife, mother, teacher, and stagecoach stop manager, she took on the job of Postmaster in 1881, when Maude was barely three months old. However, the post office closed eighteen months later. Matilda often had her hands full, as Alfred often took jobs that acquired him to be away from their ranch and the Palace Station for weeks at a time, leaving Matilda to take care of everything. After the death of Alfred, Matilda sold the Palace Station on October 31, 1913 for $10.00 and moved to Prescott. While in Prescott, she became a member of the Methodist Church. In January 1926, she entered the Arizona Pioneers’ Home, where she died on April 14, 1929, and was buried in Mountain View Cemetery. Matilda’s daughter, Belle Bayd (Spence) Johnson Crume, is also represented in the Territorial Women's Memorial Rose Garden. Donor: Elsie “Dolly” Evans, Daughter Photo Located: Historic Photo Collection (HPC), BU-ST 6001pb Updated: 11/30/2018, D. Sue Kissel
