By Danny Freeman

On August 7, 1913, the Northern Arizona Fair Association of the five northern counties was formally organized and the by-laws were adopted.  A membership fee was set at $2.50, and within ten days two hundred had signed up.  A board of directors of 25 was agreed upon, with five from each county: Yavapai, Mohave, Coconino, Navajo and Apache.

By Linda Ludington

The current owner of the historic V7 Ranch, Betty Wells, is an energetic woman who is full of friendly good will and good stories about six generations of her family who have made Chino Valley their home.  You would not think that this demure Western woman had been named Rancher of the Year by the Kiwanis Club or had been a rodeo-winning team roper or had introduced the Team Penning event to the Prescott Rodeo.  You would not expect to find that, at the age of seventy-five, she still works cattle on young horses she trains herself, fixes fences and brands on the range, but all of these are true of Betty Wells.

By Ruby Schmieder

Before the Mountain Club existed there was the heat of Phoenix B.C. (Before Cooling).  It had a population of about 40,000 most of them suffering through the summer heat.  The more affluent mothers fled with the children to the California seacoast hoping to protect the small children from the (sometime fatal) summer complaints.  However, it was never a desirable situation to separate families for the summer.  Thus there was a need to correct this unhealthy exodus.

By Mary Woodhouse

The world had hardly been introduced to aviation in 1924.  Charles Lindbergh was three years away from making his historic trans-Atlantic flight.  But the board of directors of the Yavapai County Chamber of Commerce could see what flying machines would mean to the remote community of Prescott.

By Sylvia Neely

A beautiful historic brick school building is clearly seen by Prescottonians traveling down East Gurley.  This is Washington School, built in 1903, and Yavapai County's oldest continuously used school and one of the oldest in the state.  Few people know that there was another beautiful brick school building on this same site.  It was known as the Prescott Free Academy, and was built in 1876.  It was Arizona Territory's first graded public school. 

By Kathryn Reisdorfer

Some come to see the rodeo, the parade, or the fair on the Square.  Some come from the Valley to get away from the heat.  Others are drawn by the blow-out on Whiskey Row.  And, of course, there are the high-tech water fights.  Now 111 years old, Prescott's Fourth of July celebration and Rodeo still draws them in-for various reason and via various conveyances.

By Dewey E. Born

At the beginning of this century a frequent visitor to Prescott was the Medicine Man.  He would set up shop on a street corner at night and, with flaming torches and some entertainment to draw a crowd, sell his cure-all elixir.  In 1906, one of these potion purveyors arrived with a different attraction.  He had a motion picture projector which he set up in the second story window of a building and used the wall of a building across the street for a screen.  When it was dark enough, he showed "The Great Train Robbery" which was just eight minutes long.  This was probably the first movie shown in Prescott.

By Dewey E. Born

The second photoplay was called "Neighbors".  The story involves two ranch families who do not get along at all well.  The girl of one family, played by Mary Ryan, falls in love with the boy of the other family, played by Robin Adair, which creates a host of problems.  The two elope by taking a train out of town.

By Sandra Lynch

Back around 1600, an English jurist shed some light on the relationship between humans and their houses.  "The house of everyone is to him as his castle and fortress, as well for his defense against injury and violence as for his repose," commented Sir Edward Coke.

By Nancy Kirkpatrick Wright

Just what is an Occultation of Venus?  About once every eight years, the path of our sister planet intersects the slightly tilting path of our moon.  Early in the morning of April 19, 1993, Prescott sky-watchers saw the moon move closer and closer to the bright disk of Venus until it disappeared as if the moon had suddenly swallowed it whole.  About 80 minutes later the watchers were rewarded by the reappearance of Venus on the other side of the moon.  And all was right with the world.