By Brad Courtney

It was called "a dastardly deed.” The work of a demon. It was human emotion gone terribly wrong, and at that time considered the greatest atrocity in Prescott’s 32-year history.

Caroline Emily Brinkmeyer was born on April 16, 1901, in the new house on the corner of W. Gurley Street and Park Avenue, the daughter of Henry and Ina (Muzik) Brinkmeyer. Caroline, who was named for her father's German mother, was the youngest of the Brinkmeyer children. Her older brother was Henry Jr., and her older sister, Marcella. She attended Washington School, Lincoln School, and Prescott High School, graduating in 1918.

Quinnie Rebecca Jane (Larremore) Diskin was born on May 15, 1881, in Edwards City, Texas, the daughter of Sarah Jane (Milne) and Lebious Thadious Larremore. When she was two years old, her family began their westward trek, relocating in Carlsbad, New Mexico. In 1887, the Larremores continued west by covered wagon, settling near Globe, Gila County, Arizona Territory.

By Ron Williams

It is a staple of modern westerns: The Earps ride into Arizona.  Everyone wants them to be lawmen, but they claim to be retired.  Hollywood presents Virgil and Wyatt resistant to strapping on their guns in Tombstone and everywhere else.  That has made for compelling story lines, but it is far from the truth.  Both always gravitated towards law enforcement.  Being peace officers was always their core profession.

Andrew L. Moeller, a poor Pennsylvanian, moved to Arizona via the gold fields of California in 1864 with property valued at $10 (equivalent to $141 today) and dove into the saloon business, first managing and then purchasing the Quartz Rock Saloon. Within four years he acquired, for the sum of $8,500, the building at the southwest corner of Gurley and Montezuma Streets (current location of the Hotel St. Michael). It came to be known as Prescott's premier saloon, the Diana. His investments in three mines of the Big Bug District in 1871 - the Independence, the Deposit and the Dividend - made him a wealthy and influential citizen. In 1874, Moeller was elected from Yavapai County to the lower House of the 8th Territorial Legislature. The capital for the territory was at that time located in Tucson.

By Mick Woodcock

During World War I, home front war work was an important part of the effort to win the war. From the very beginning, national organizations were asked to participate in various ways.  This would trickle down to local communities such as Prescott and other towns in Arizona.

By Marie Slayton

Having worked at the Gurley Street Grill for the better part of the last six years, I am quite familiar with the folkloric history associated with the building.  However, as most people know, folklore and stories that are passed down through generations can bear little if any resemblance to history.

By Parker Anderson

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.

By Mick Woodcock

Victorians celebrated the coming of the New Year in a number of ways over the time that Victoria was queen of England, 1837 to 1901. It would seem that she was the reason that people in England and the United States gave the day any importance. The Queen was taken with the Scottish tradition of celebrating Hogmanay, which was the last day of the year. In Scotland it was celebrated by the giving of small gifts and the tradition of “First-foot” which meant that one received visitors on New Year’s Day.

(Condensed from an article written by Sharlot M. Hall, founder of Sharlot Hall Museum, that first appeared in the Prescott Courier on December 24, 1930.)

Counting miners, soldiers, pack-train owners and all, there might have been two or three hundred men in reach of Prescott that Christmas season -- that late December of 1864.  There were half a dozen families, mostly with several children; most of them arrived in October on a California-bound train and decided to try their fortune in Arizona instead of going on further west.