By Stan Brown

Before the founding of Prescott in 1863, Apache raids on ranches and wagon trains occurred in the southern part of what would become the Arizona Territory. Mining between the Gila River and the Mexican border brought new investors and laborers. To protect these settlers, military posts were built and, in 1861, a skirmish at Apache Pass in the Chiricahua Mountains brought Cochise and his warriors into a full scale conflict with the Americans. That same year, the Civil War broke out, and the soldiers left their frontier posts to fight the Confederates back east. The Indians concluded that their intensified raids during the 1850s had finally won them a victory, causing the white men to withdraw. The Apache, Yavapai and Mohave took heart and became more ferocious than ever.

By Ray Carlson

Arizona became part of the United States as a result of the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo that ended the Mexican-American War in 1848.  The Gadsden Purchase, five years later, added additional territory needed to build a transcontinental railroad across the Deep South.  The negotiations for the purchase also attempted to resolve conflicts with Mexico.   The War evoked mixed reactions in the East with critics like Abraham Lincoln wondering what the US achieved.

By Stan Brown

 This is Part 2 of a three part article.  Part 1 was published on June 21, 2008 and Part 3 was published July 12, 2008 and all are in the SHM L&A Days Past Archives.

We left off last time with Tom Sanders returning from a trip to California to help settle his sister there. Soon after returning to Prescott, Tom married Cynthia Miller, thus further uniting two of the original settler families of Miller Valley.

By Linda Ludington

The country is not a gentle land. Huge boulders strewn about like a naughty child's toys appear to have catapulted one another to balance themselves capriciously on sheer ledges. Rocks trap and concentrate precious moisture in clefts to nourish Saguaro and desert grasses. Above the Santa Maria River, steep ridges reveal still higher crests to the north. The elevation climbs from 2,000 to over 5,000 feet. The desert gives way to vast mesas covered with pinon, oak, and mountain grasses.

By Linda Ludington

In Part I, we learned that Ed Kellis dreamed of owning a cattle ranch, and that as a toddler, he received his first heifer calf. During the Depression, the Kellis family sold their Blackwell, Texas, windmill business and blacksmith shop and moved to Bagdad, Arizona. Having purchased a herd of goats and cattle, the family met with financial disaster due to a severe winter, during which most of the livestock perished, unfortunately. Hence, Ed Kellis started work at the mine in Bagdad.

By Yavapai Prescott Indian Tribe

In the 1870s the Army was still hunting Geronimo.  He was known as Goyathlay by his tribe (Bedonkohe Mescalero-Chiricahua) and Gajeesah by the Yavapai (for the name of the place his mother, wife, and three children were massacred by Mexicans).  According to Geronimo's biography he was made war chief of all the Apaches with this name (his spelling: Kas-ki-yeh). 

By Dana (Brisendine) Sharp

The group of mining claims known as the McCabe Group existed as a working mine for 110 years.  The town itself actually existed for about twenty-seven years, reaching its height around 1900.  The Post Office closed October 31, 1917. There are many stories about McCabe that have been passed down through the generations of families who still live in the area. Following are some scenes from the lives of one of those families.

By Mick Woodcock

The declaration of war by Congress on April 6, 1917, made unity of thought and effort a necessity in winning the war. While this applied to the United States as a whole, it was accomplished on the local level in every city, town and village in the country. Prescott, Arizona, was no exception.

By Murray Smolens

Dr. Ken Kimsey had an idea. Angie Henrie had the drive to bring it to life. The result was Sharlot Hall Museum’s Folk Arts Fair, which will energize the institution’s normally quiet grounds next week for the 44^th straight year.

By Ken Edwards

This is a part two article.  Please see the article titled, "Squatting on the Plaza, 1867 Style - Part 1," published on December 20, 2008.

Last week, Part I ended with the strong objection of local merchants to Mr. Ward's action.The entire town was enraged. The Arizona Miner stated that the identities had not been established of the "Party thus trespassing upon public opinion and private rights, with one exception, and that individual has been but a few months in the Territory. He has a good reputation as an engineer and millwright, and has been regarded as a very valuable man among us. We regret the step he has taken, and hardly believe he will persist in the course he has begun; in fact, knowing the gentleman as we do, we think he is joking." It was no joke.