By Ken Edwards

Rufus Farrington was an early settler in the Arizona Territory, arriving in late 1863.  He was one of the incorporators of the Fort Mojave and Prescott Toll Road Company that was given exclusive right to build and maintain a wagon road between the two communities.  His road station at Walnut Creek, northwest of Prescott, was more than once the victim of raids by "Apaches". 

By Robert Spude

On November 19, 1904, Prescott's newspaper reported:  "Mrs. F. M. Murphy entertained a number of guests in honor of Miss Nellie Drake, who returned recently from a visit east.  The dining room which is in red, was beautifully decorated for the occasion and a dainty little souvenir in the shape of a Cinderella silver slipper filled with bonbons was given to each guest."

By Mona Lange McCroskey

Recently the community of Prescott community lost a very remarkable lady.  Services for Martha Yount Caldwell were held at the Congregational Church, a block from where she was born in 1912, soon after Arizona attained statehood.  Martha had deep roots in Prescott.  Her grandfather, John Criley, was a pioneer physician who came here in the 1890s, followed by her father, Dr. Clarence E. Yount, who emigrated to Arizona as a health seeker and married Dr. Criley's daughter Clara.  Dr. and Mrs. Yount established their first home on the corner of Marina and Gurley Streets next door to the Congress Hotel, where the Hassayampa Inn now stands.

By Marguerite Madison Aronowitz

The city of Prescott is known for its many attractive features, including the historic courthouse, Whiskey Row, and a collection of five outstanding monumental bronzes that grace the downtown area.  Residents and visitors alike often ask about the stories behind these impressive works of art.

By Richard Gorby

There are two major reasons for most ventures into the Sharlot Hall Museum Archives: a search for family history and/or a search for certain aspects of Prescott history. 
 

For the family historian, genealogical indexes are kept on special shelves.  These include marriage, death and burial records, hospital deaths, funeral records, census records, city directories, telephone directories, probate and wills, school yearbooks and many other source materials.

By Al Bates

Late in 1942, a small group of young American men dressed in khaki could be seen practicing their marching skills on the streets of the small rural community of Prescott, Arizona.  On closer look, their garb was far from uniform.  While all wore khaki shirts and pants, some wore web belts round their waists while others wore belts of leather.  Some wore black shoes while others wore brown.  They were all bareheaded, and only a few wore any insignia.  Who were these 28 young men and what were they doing in the mountains of central Arizona far from any military base in the first year of America's participation in World War II? 
 

By Bill Lynam

On Oct. 13, 1895, The Arizona Journal Miner reported in a welcoming article that Virgil Earp relocated to Prescott, this time from Cripple Creek, Colorado.  It recalled some of his and his brothers past exploits in Prescott and Tombstone and their ridding these communities of outlaws.  Virgil started mining in the Hassayampa district in partnership with W.H. Harlon.  They leased the Grizzly mine owned by W.C. Hanson. 
 

By Mona Lange McCroskey

There is a document hanging on the wall at the Hassayampa Inn that is probably not even noticed by most of today's guests.  However, without those individuals and businesses named on the "Contributors to the Hotel" list, the Hassayampa would not be a reality.  From 1920, until it opened in 1927, there were concerted efforts, led by Yavapai County Chamber of Commerce Secretary Grace M. Sparkes to finance the building of a community-owned hotel.  The budding tourism industry in this country and the need for accommodations for business and mining men who visited Prescott prompted the formation of The Hassayampa Hotel Company in 1920.  The concept of a community-built hotel was popular at that time, and in Arizona the Gadsden in Douglas and the Copper Queen in Bisbee were already flourishing.  On the board of directors of the Hassayampa Hotel Company were Francis S. Viele, LeRoy Anderson, Harry W. Heap, M.B. Hazeltine, O.J. Faulkner, Dr. J.W. Flinn, James Whetstine, and C.C. Miller, Jr.

By Bill Lynam

Like the rest of the Earps, Virgil, the second oldest of the Earp brothers by his father's second marriage, always seemed to wind up where his father or brothers were, but not for long.  The lure of new gold and silver discoveries in the West drove him to seek his fortune at the next bonanza, but more often as a lawman than as a miner.

By Parker Anderson

(This article was originally published in the Days Past column on October 28, 2001 under the title, "Old Ghosts I Have Known Hereabouts".)

Every once in a while, someone will strike up a conversation with me regarding Prescott's various reputed "haunted" sites. I enjoy the subject, but in reality, Prescott is probably one of the least haunted cities in America. Whether you believe in ghosts or not, there are not that many purported hauntings in the Prescott area, so the same stories are told over and over again.