By Rob Bates

The Arizona Miner, the Weekly Arizonian, the Yuma Sentinel, the Tucson Citizen and many other Arizona territorial newspapers were the voice and opinion of the new land opening and stretching along reaches of the far Southwest.

By Anne Foster

You've found the perfect wedding gown, long-sleeved and high-necked, maybe even bustled.  The high-heeled, button boots are ordered.  You even manage to talk your future husband into wearing a cutaway tux and brocade vest.  What else could you possibly need for the perfect Victorian wedding?

By Mona Lange McCroskey

Western women in the 19^th-century lived without much fanfare, working hard, bearing children, and caring for the sick. Usually they died as unsung heroines. It was therefore exciting to discover spidery-penciled notations in a fragile ledger kept by Laura Anna Garbarino Bolden in the possession of her granddaughter, Joan Kuhne Looney. Embellished by Joan’s recollections of her, the ledger provides a peek into Laura’s remarkable life.

By Parker Anderson

It has been no secret that Prescott once had a local chapter of the Ku Klux Klan.  The photos of a Klan funeral march through downtown have been published many times.  But back in the early 20th century, the racial makeup of Prescott was not very different than it is today.  There were not many African-Americans in the area, so Prescott Klan No. 14 had to vent its rage at other targets.

By Lorri Carlson

The month of March has always been associated with my grandma's and my celebration of the aging process together, our birthdays being only one week apart. A few years ago March also became the month that stirs the dormant gardener in my soul.  I had the privilege of working at Watters Garden Center for one growing season.

By Rob Bates

There is a small cloth patch in the collection of the Sharlot Hall Museum in Prescott. It is circular in shape; pine trees grace the edges and mountains fill the center. The letters CCC sweep across the top.

This small patch tells the story of where the CCC did most of its work – in the mountains, within the green places of the United States, - and did so in cooperation with the U.S. Forest Service. One of these places to fit this description was, of course, the surrounding area of Prescott.

By Dorothy Chafin

(Editor's note: This is part of a continuing reminisces of the author about her "hometown".)

During the war, my employment with the Harmon Audit Company (offices in Prescott, Phoenix and Santa Barbara) was one of the most wonderful things that ever happened to me.  It kept me busy during a time when I might have spent all my days and nights worrying about my husband whom I cared for deeply.  It gave me a satisfactory amount of income and it introduced me to some of the most interesting people I have ever known.

By Terry Munderloh

The Homestead Act of 1862 gave the privilege of obtaining a quarter section (160 acres) of land, free of charge, to any person who was head of a family or was at least 21 years old and a U.S. citizen, or had filed declaration to become such.

In the Sept. 21, 1864 edition of the Journal-Miner, the following notice dated Aug. 15, 1864, was published: “Know all men of these presents that the undersigned have this day taken up and squatted on the tract of land situated at and near the old site of Fort Whipple, consisting of about 500 acres.” The notice was signed by Postle, Brown & Co.

By Al Bates

Many of the American men who moved west inthe mid-19th centiry had episodes in their past they wished forgotten.  A common solution to this problem was to change names, a practice followed by two of Prescott;s earliest pioneers.  Both men became well known in Arizona Territory long before they felt secure enough to resume use of their real names.  Both served in the Territorial Legislature while using aliases, and both made significant contributions to the written record of territorial Prescott. 

By Parker Anderson

In the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries, Goddard Station was a popular stagecoach stop between Phoenix and Prescott. Operated by Charles E. Goddard and his wife, Rosa, the little ranch-café was down near New River.

On Feb. 1, 1903, it all came to an end. Two men, described by witnesses as heavy-set Mexicans, walked in and asked to be fed. They proceeded to draw their guns and open fire. When the dust had settled, Goddard and his clerk, Frank Cox, lay dead. Witnessing the deadly attack were Goddard’s wife, and Milton Trumbull, a friend.