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. Defenders of the Klan maintained that their group consisted solely of "patriots fighting for White rights", an argument still used by white supremacists.

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 Judy Stoycheff

A favorite summer hike and picnic area is on trail #64 to the Stone Corral north of State Highway 169 east of Dewey. This site, shaded by huge ancient Cottonwood trees, watered by Ash Creek and guarded in the past by long-horn cattle, consists of two large stone wall circular structures, obviously meant to be used as corrals. In the 1870s, General George Crook was stationed at Fort Whipple in Prescott and frequently traveled between there and Fort Verde, possibly using this portion of the trail that may have been an existing freight line. It has become part of what was later named the "General Crook Trail" between Prescott, Fort Verde and Fort Apache.

Originally written by Morris Goldwater and edited by Parker Anderson

Editor's Note: At an 1891 celebration marking the 25th Anniversary of the Aztlan Masonic Lodge in Prescott, Morris Goldwater spoke at length about the early days of the lodge. This is the second installment of his remarks.

“On September 30th, 1865, the first work was done by the new Lodge. The Degree of Entered Apprentice was conferred on Bro. A. O. Noyes and J. G. Mitchell, and Bro. Barr was raised to the degree of Master Mason.

By Bob Cornett

Sharlot Mabridth Hall was born in Kansas in 1870 and came to Prescott with her parents and brother when she was twelve years old. Her life from 1870 to her death in 1943 followed many twists and turns. Before 1895, her life consisted of pigs, horses, cattle, vegetables, apples and pears at her parent’s Orchard Ranch in Dewey. With little formal schooling, she began writing simple poetry about the things she knew and loved. She wrote about her life experiences as well as life on the frontier and, in the fifteen year period after 1895, she rapidly increased her stature in literary and public recognition as a natural poet and free lance writer.

(The following account of the first Christmas tree in Arizona comes from Orick Jackson’s "The White Conquest of Arizona" as presented in "History of Arizona" by Thomas Edwin Farish, Arizona Historian, Volume IV, Filmer Brothers, San Francisco 1916, pp 89-92.)

"There is one Arizonan alive to-day (1916) who holds a unique station among men, and who enjoys a distinction that is beautiful and praiseworthy. His name is J. N. Rodenburg, and to him belongs the honor of being the first man who conceived the idea of zealously and fervently observing the birth of the Savior in a wild land, and providing the first Christmas tree to be erected in Arizona. This tribute to Christianity was initiated by him under conditions that would seem in this day of peace and plenty as difficult of execution, but those who are yet alive bear evidence to it in its every detail.

By Carol Powell

Clara S. Olmstead was born in November of 1839 in Elkader, Iowa. Her father, Samuel Baldwin Olmstead, was an enterprising farmer with an extensive dairy farm from which he realized a handsome profit. They were the third white family to settle in Clayton County, Iowa on the west side of the Mississippi River during the time of the stone rebuilding of Fort Crawford (1829-1831) east of the river near Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin. Baldwin, as he was known, was supplying his butter and cheese to both Fort Crawford and up-river at Fort Snelling (present day St. Paul).

By James F. Vivian

(This Tuesday, December 7, 2010 marks the 69th anniversary of the sinking of the USS Arizona at Pearl Harbor. The following article tells of the christening of the ship over 95 years ago.)

Four young women graced the official platform at the launching of the USS Arizona in June, 1915. Two of them, Esther Ross and Eva Behn, were ‘Prescott girls.’ Ross performed the actual christening while Behn stood engagingly to her side holding a flower bouquet.

By Parker Anderson

The Elks Opera House, or rather, the Elks’ Theatre as it was universally being called in the 1920s, was predominantly a movie theater, although manager Charles Born did let local civic organizations use it to hold fund-raising events from time to time.