By Nancy Burgess

In the early 1900s, much of the railroad grant land in the Chino Valley area was sold to the Arizona Land and Irrigation Company.

The company applied for and received water rights along Granite and Willow creeks.

By Terry Munderloh

Gold and silver were not the only mineral deposits which Arizona pioneers discovered.

In 1879 George Puntenney and his wife Lucy arrived in Arizona, located an abundance of limestone on the south rim of Hell Canyon (Highway 89 crosses Hell Canyon about 40 miles north of Prescott) and built the territory's first lime kiln. Lime was an important commodity in the developing West. It is not only used in making mortar and plaster but also in the manufacturing of glass and castings, the refining of sugar, and the tanning of leather. Lime water, a solution of slaked lime, was used in a myriad of medicinal applications.

By Richard Gorby

For anyone perusing maps of Yavapai County as early as 1865 to the present, the 12-mile square in the upper left corner is bound to be noticeable, perhaps puzzling: “Luis Marie Baca Grant, Float No. 5.”

By William Peck

The Hillside Mine was the legendary silver mine located in 1510 by a member of the Farfan Party as they passed down the Santa Maria River en route from the Hopi Villages to the Gulf of Baja California.

Hillside Station received its name from that mine when a road was constructed connecting the mine to the railroad that had been recently completed. The road shorted the wagon haul that went across Bozarth Mesa through Walnut Creek, a difficult winter route.

By Tom Collins

A horse! A horse!

My kingdom for a horse!

When those words rang out from the stage of Patton’s Opera House on March 10, 1896, Prescottonians knew that the villainous King Richard III was about to meet his doom on the battlefield. They also knew that they were probably witnessing one of the farewell performances of America’s greatest living tragedian Thomas W. Keene. It was a truly momentous occasion.

By Al Bates

Who was King S. Woolsey?  He was at times a mule driver, a farmer, a miner and military guide.  He was also a colonel of militia, road builder, miller, merchant, legislator, and oh yes, a famed Indian fighter.

By Al Bates

Now we come to the controversial part - Woolsey's role in what has various been called the "Battle at Bloody Tanks" or the "Pinole Treaty Massacre." There aren't any photos, but we do have three first-hand reports recorded soon after the event. The rest of this presentation comes from these accounts.

By Parker Anderson

Local fans of the Elks Opera House are aware that the star of the very first show in that theater was Florence Roberts.  Many have wondered, however, exactly who Florence Roberts was.  Her name is largely forgotten today, but in 1905, when she came to Prescott and the Elks, she was one of the most prominent professional touring actresses in the nation.

By Mick Woodcock

In Part One last week, we learned something about Amasa G. Dunn, an early Prescott pioneer, businessman and lawman.  In 1869 he had a horrible year.  1870 would be worse.

By Al Bates

Love stories are supposed to be happy endings. This one from Arizona's territorial days did not.

This story begins like a romantic novel of the old West - think of Zane Gray at his most florid. First, Apache traders carry away an innocent Hispanic child. Then, after two years of privation as a captive she runs away to a militia camp and finds a home in a small mining town. Soon after this she becomes the wife of one of the most powerful men of the new territory.