By Miller Valley Historical Team

As with all things, there is a beginning and an end.  There is a birth, a lifetime to be celebrated and a legacy to be remembered and cherished.  So it is with Prescott’s Miller Valley School.  Preliminary preparations for a centennial celebration have become instead a 99^th anniversary celebration and/or eulogy.

By Christy Hastings

The visitor to Sharlot Hall Museum who reads the exhibit posted in the small log cabin known as “Fort Misery” will be introduced to “Virgin Mary” Ramos, a most intriguing early Prescott pioneer.  When she died in 1876 at the age of 57, her obituary stated:  “A well written history of her eventful life would constitute a volume of thrilling interest.”  If only she had written down the story of her life!  Instead, it is left to archivists and historians to struggle with the few facts we know about her.

By Betty Bourgault

My desire to adopt a grave at the Citizen’s Cemetery in Prescott and to become its caretaker led to the solution of a century-old mystery and to my learning of a most remarkable young man who served our community as an Assistant Pastor at Sacred Heart Church before his untimely death.

By Paul T. Hietter

During the late summer of 1879, John Keller was accused of killing a Salt River Valley farmer named Luke Monihon.  The murder outraged Phoenix residents and a number of them planned to lynch Keller.  By coincidence, the night before the extra-legal hanging was to take place, William McCloskey was jailed for killing Phoenix resident John LeBarr during a barroom altercation.

By Brendan Fillingim

When Studebaker Company executives learned late in 1924 that 12 of the 13 Arizona county sheriffs were using their “Big Six” model—a large V-6, six-passenger touring car—instead of other available brands, they dispatched Grover Sexton to interview Arizona sheriffs to discover why.

By Mick Woodcock

The initial fort on Granite Creek with its wood palisade had barracks, hospital and stables outside the log walls.  The number of troops assembled to campaign against the Yavapai at times numbered six companies which taxed the post’s ability to house the troops comfortably.  Generally there were two or three companies operating out of the fort, patrolling the areas around the mines and attempting to keep settlers on Granite Creek and the Agua Fria River safe.

By Mick Woodcock

By 1863, the central mountains of Arizona had not been explored by Anglo-Americans. Several different parties of men headed into the mountains, but the first to arrive and find gold was guided by Joseph R. Walker. The discovery was made in May on the headwaters of the Hassayampa River, in the Bradshaw Mountains south of present day Prescott.

By Ray Carlson

Last week’s article described how the Way Out West Show in 1921 raised money to pay off part of the Frontier Days’ debt.  Gradually, though, it became clear that the Smoki snake dance part of the Show would serve another purpose.

By Ray Carlson

In early May 1921, Neil Clark, the Yavapai County Attorney, ran an advertisement indicating that he would pay 50 cents for live bull snakes over 3 feet in length.  A common question was what a prominent attorney wanted with a bunch of large snakes?  This curiosity prompted the Prescott Journal Miner to indicate they were trying to resolve the mystery and noted that Clark’s request had something to do with the Way Out West show that was scheduled for the Fairgrounds on May 26.  An article in the Prescott Evening Journal revealed that the show was b­­eing planned by a committee chaired by Chris Totten, a local architect. Totten was quoted as saying the WOW would be four hours of fun at the Fairgrounds, but he offered no details.

By Mary Melcher, Ph.D.

Ranch women in Yavapai County have a long history of hard work and adaptability.  A multi-talented group, they cooked, sewed, raised children and chickens, worked with cattle and rode horseback.  Their stories are sometimes buried under those of the male ranchers, but Sharlot Hall Museum’s Territorial Rose Garden honorees include numerous ranch women.