By Judy Stoycheff

In 1936, according to a published report, some of the members of the Yavapai County Chamber of Commerce (YCCC) took a tour to one of Prescott Valley’s timeless treasures.  They traveled by automobile eleven miles east of Prescott to Black Canyon Highway and then by mountain road to the Fitzmaurice property on Lynx Creek in Prescott Valley where Fain Park is now located.  On foot, they climbed a hill overlooking the mining operations on Lynx Creek to the prehistoric ruin known as the Fitzmaurice Ruin.

The group gathered ‘round while Miss Grace Sparkes, secretary of the YCCC, told of the recent excavation of the pueblo and the contribution of its artifacts to the Smoki Museum.  Artist Miss Kate Cory told of the probable type of architecture employed by the inhabitants and explained the purpose of the ‘kiva.’  The fact that this ruin does not have a kiva, an underground room used for religious purposes, is irrelevant as Miss Cory was probably relating to her many years living on the Hopi Mesas where kivas are an intricate part of their pueblos and lives.  Miss Sharlot Hall pointed out some landmarks and related some of the early history of the mining, farming, and orchard-tending (particularly peaches) and told of the hardy people who engaged in these activities in the vicinity.  She and her family lived in the area for several years before moving to Orchard Ranch at Dewey.  Mrs. Fitzmaurice, who owned the property with her husband, Garrett Sarafield Fitzmaurice, spoke of the Englishman who preceded them in the mining endeavor along Lynx Creek.  Rev. Parker pointed out that the “many pottery sherds scattered about made a nice memento of the trip and stated that there would be no objection to the visitors taking such souvenirs.”  Apparently Mrs. Fitzmaurice made no objection to the theft of her property!  One person also found a very nice bone awl.

In 1936, members of the Prescott Chamber of Commerce were privileged to tour the Fitzmaurice Ruin in what is now Fain Park along Lynx Creek just south of Prescott Valley. When inhabited about a thousand years ago, the pueblo consisted of 27 rooms built into the slope in stair-step fashion with 24 outlying one and two-room pueblos and pit houses (Call Number: IN-PR-1410pd).

The ruin is a prehistoric pueblo built of local granite rock, located on a hill in Fain Park where it borders the current StoneRidge housing development.  It consists of 27 rooms on the upper area and approximately 24 rooms scattered about on the lower areas.  Room sizes range from 10′ x 9′ to 23.5′ x l4′ with the height unknown but would not have been much higher than the tallest inhabitant.  Some archaeologists estimate each living room would provide shelter for 4 people or a family.  Some of the rooms were used for storage of food, either dried or in clay jars.  Most of the daily activities were outside of the room as it was primarily for sleeping and storing their few possessions.  The ruin has been professionally excavated several times and analysis of the artifacts dates its occupancy from A.D.1100 to 1350.  The pueblo was built in phases over many years and probably had a maximum capacity of 100 people of various ages.

The inhabitants hunted the local game such as deer and rabbit, gathered berries and roots and planted some crops in a flat area on the east side by the creek.  They may also have planted corn and squash in what is now the Stone Ridge area.  It probably was a trading center with other pueblos such as Tuzigoot, Mingus and Coyote Springs and others in the surrounding areas.  What did the inhabitants have to trade?  Surely not pottery as their pottery was very, very plain as evidenced by the sherds(small pieces of pottery) found at the site.  Agave comes to mind as a possible trade item as it is plentiful in the Prescott area and is used to make a very popular adult beverage.  Large locally made ollas (jars made of clay, used for storage of grains or liquid) have been found as far away as the Flagstaff area and it is doubtful that they left this area empty.

Everyone contributed to the welfare of the group whether it was fetching the water in ollas from the creek, making the pottery jars and bowls, hunting, gardening, grinding corn, making garments, watching out for the little ones or hiking to one of the 3 lookout sites to spend the day there.  The existence of the lookouts would indicate that enemies existed either to the south (Hohokam from the Phoenix area) or the north (Sinagua in the Verde Valley).  There is no evidence of actual warfare between these groups at this ruin but perhaps a good offense was a good defense.  There is evidence of trade between all of them, as each of the three groups had distinctive attributes such as pottery design and type of clay from which it was made, basket types, method of burials, etc.  The inhabitants of Fitzmaurice and other local settlements are classified as Prescott Culture or Prescott Tradition.

In Part 2 next week: Where have all the artifacts gone from the Fitzmaurice ruin?

Judy Stoycheff is a member of the Arizona Site Stewards and is a Steward for the Fitzmaurice Ruin.