Prescott ( PRES-kət; Yavapai: ʼWi:kwatha Ksikʼita) is a city in Yavapai County, Arizona, United States. According to the 2010 Census, the population of the city is 39,843. The city is the county seat of Yavapai County. In 1864 Prescott was designated as the capital of the Arizona Territory, replacing the temporary capital at Fort Whipple. The Territorial Capital was moved to Tucson in 1867. Prescott again became the Territorial Capital in 1877, until Phoenix became the capital in 1889.
The towns of Prescott Valley, 7 miles (11Â km) east; Chino Valley, 16 miles (26Â km) north; Dewey-Humboldt, 13 miles (21Â km) east, and Prescott, together comprise what is locally known as the "Quad-City" area. This also sometimes refers to central Yavapai County in general, which would include the towns of: Mayer, Paulden, Wilhoit, and Williamson Valley. Combined with these smaller communities the area had a population of 103,260 as of 2007. Prescott is the center of the Prescott Metropolitan Area, defined by the U.S. Census Bureau as all of Yavapai County.
The Yavapai-Prescott Indian Tribe reservation is located adjacent to and partially within the borders of Prescott.
Prescott is in the Granite Creek watershed and contains the convergence of Miller Creek and Granite Creek on its north side.
History
HAUNTED HASSAYAMPA INN HOTEL - PRESCOTT, ARIZONA - During the Roaring Twenties in 1927, El Paso architect Henry Trost was challenged by a group of residents to design a grand hotel. This stunning red-brick building serves as a cornerstone of...
Arizona Territorial Governor John Noble Goodwin selected the original site of Prescott following his first tour of the new territory. Goodwin replaced Governor John A. Gurley, appointed by Abraham Lincoln, but died before taking office. Downtown streets in Prescott are named in honor of each of them. Goodwin selected a site 20 miles (32Â km) south of the temporary capital on the east side of Granite Creek near a number of mining camps. The territorial capital was later moved to the new site along with Fort Whipple, with the new town named in honor of historian William H. Prescott during a public meeting on May 30, 1864. Robert W. Groom surveyed the new community, and an initial auction sold 73 lots on June 4, 1864. By July 4, 1864, a total of 232 lots had been sold within the new community. Prescott was officially incorporated in 1881.
Prescott served as capital of Arizona Territory until November 1, 1867, when the capital was moved to Tucson by act of the 4th Arizona Territorial Legislature. The capital was returned to Prescott in 1877 by the 9th Arizona Territorial Legislature. The capital was finally moved to Phoenix on February 4, 1889, by the 15th Arizona Territorial Legislature.
The Sharlot Hall Museum houses much of Prescott's territorial history, and the Smoki and Phippen museums also maintain local collections. Whiskey Row in downtown Prescott boasts many historic buildings, including The Palace, Arizona's oldest restaurant and bar is still the oldest frontier saloon in Arizona. Many other buildings that have been converted to boutiques, art galleries, bookstores, and restaurants. Prescott is home to the Arizona Pioneers' Home and Hospital for Disabled Miners. The Home opened during territorial days, February 1, 1911. The city was named after author William H. Prescott, whose writings were popular during the Civil War.
Prescott also has a place in western folklore with the fact that Virgil Earp, Wyatt Earp's older brother, lived in Prescott in 1879 and told him of the boom town in Tombstone, Arizona. It is also rumored that Doc Holliday spent some time in Prescott just before heading to Tombstone.
After several major fires in the early part of the century, downtown Prescott was rebuilt with brick. The central courthouse plaza, a lawn under huge old elm trees, is a gathering and meeting place. Cultural events and performances take place on many nights in the summer on the plaza.
Barry Goldwater, the 1964 Republican nominee for president, launched his presidential campaign from the steps of Prescott's Yavapai County Courthouse.
Nineteen members of the Granite Mountain Hotshots, part of the Prescott Fire Department, lost their lives Sunday, June 30, 2013 while battling the Yarnell Hill fire that ignited two days earlier south of Prescott.
Geography
Prescott is 55Â mi (89Â km) west-northwest of the State of Arizona's geographic center.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 41.5 sq mi (107.5 km2), of which 40.7 sq mi (105.4 km2) is land and 0.81 sq mi (2.1 km2) is water.
Prescott is considered part of North Central Arizona. It is just south of the Granite Dells. The Granite Dells area, or often called ‘The Dells’, is notorious for its large boulder outcroppings of granite that have eroded into a spectacular appearance of bumpy rock features. Within 'The Dells' are Watson and Willow Lakes, which are two small, man-made reservoirs. Here a number of hiking trails connect to the Peavine Trail. The Peavine National Recreation Trail follows what was the former rail bed of the Santa Fe. This railroad traveled from Prescott to Phoenix through the Granite Dells. The “Peavine†got its name from the winding portion of this railroad that twists and curves, resembling the vine on which peas grow. The Peavine trail connects to the Iron King Trail, which was the route of the old Prescott Railroad through the Granite Dells. Natural lakes include Lynx, Granite Basin and Goldwater, all surrounding different areas of this rustic community. Goldwater Lake, by Goldwater Park, is located four miles from downtown Prescott and is some 15 acres of water surface, and is a popular destination for park recreation and picnic facilities. Lynx Lake is another lake close to Prescott in tall Ponderosa pines, and gets some 125,000 visitors every year. This 55-acre lake offers visitors recreational activities, boating, camping, fishing, hiking, mountain biking, picnicking and even has a small, seasonal restaurant with a great view near the lake. Finally, there's the smallest of the natural lakes with some 5 acres of surface water at Granite Basin Lake. None of these lakes permit swimming, however all are popular recreational destinations near Prescott.
Granite Creek flows generally north from the Bradshaw Mountains through the city, the Granite Dells, and the Little Chino Valley to the Verde River.
Climate
Prescott is located in the Bradshaw Mountains of central Arizona, at an elevation of 5,400 feet (1,600 m). Average annual precipitation for 1981â€"2010 is 17.75 inches (451 mm), with spring and early summer the driest times of the year. Snowfall is typically light and snow cover usually melts away quickly; the 1981â€"2011 average seasonal total is 12.8 inches (33 cm).The largest portion of precipitation falls during the Julyâ€"September monsoon season. Average daytime temperatures remain above 50 °F (10 °C) the entire year, but diurnal temperature variation is large throughout the year, averaging nearly 30 °F (17 °C) annually. On average, temperatures reach 90 °F (32 °C) on 36 days annually, though 100 °F (38 °C)+ readings are uncommon and do not occur every year, much unlike the Sonoran Desert to the south and Mojave Desert to the west. The average season for freezing temperatures is October 21 through May 1.
There was a severe drought from 1999 to 2009, seen from the lack of snowpack in the Bradshaw Mountains. Local creeks do not contain water except immediately after the rare rains. Nevertheless, at the start of 2007 lakes were reported as full. The winter of 2005â€"06 had less than 3 inches (7.6 cm) of snow, compared to an average snowfall of 22 inches (56 cm).
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 33,938 people, 15,098 households, and 8,968 families residing in the city. The population density was 915.6 people per square mile (353.5/km²). There were 17,144 housing units at an average density of 462.5 per square mile (178.6/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 92.93% White, 0.50% Black or African American, 1.27% Native American, 0.83% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 2.77% from other races, and 1.63% from two or more races. 8.17% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 15,098 households out of which 18.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.7% were married couples living together, 7.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.6% were non-families. 32.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.11 and the average family size was 2.62.
In the city, the population was spread out with 15.9% under the age of 18, 11.2% from 18 to 24, 18.9% from 25 to 44, 27.3% from 45 to 64, and 26.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 48 years. For every 100 females there were 96.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.3 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $35,446, and the median income for a family was $46,481. Males had a median income of $31,834 versus $22,982 for females. The per capita income for the city was $22,565. About 7.4% of families and 13.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.4% of those under age 18 and 6.4% of those age 65 or over.
Economy
The Frontier Village Center was Prescott's first shopping mall and it opened in 1991 offering shopping, dining and entertainment. The Prescott Gateway Mall is an enclosed shopping mall that opened in 2002, replacing Frontier Village as Prescott's major shopping center.
Downtown Prescott has dozens of independently owned and operated shops.
Culture
Prescott has many Victorian style homes. Prescott has 809 buildings on the National Register of Historic Places. The tallest house in North America, Falcon Nest is located in Prescott, on the slope of Thumb Butte.
Prescott is home to the downtown historical area known as Whiskey Row, until 1956 a notorious red-light district. In 1900, a great fire destroyed almost all of the buildings on Whiskey Row, including the 1891 Hotel Burke, advertised as "the only absolutely fireproof building in Prescott". By legend, the patrons of the various bars simply took their drinks across the street to the Courthouse square and watched it burn. At the time of the fire, the entire bar and back-bar of the Palace Restaurant & Saloon was removed to the square by the patrons as the fire approached, re-installing it after the gutted brick structure was rebuilt. Whiskey Row runs north and south on Montezuma St. between Gurley and Goodwin St., directly west of the county courthouse. This single city block has been the home of the St. Michael's Hotel (formerly the Hotel Burke) and the Palace Hotel since the late 19th century, along with other colorful purveyors of night-life. Originally built in 1877, The Palace Restaurant and Saloon was rebuilt after the fire, and is now the oldest continuous business in the entire state. Merchant Sam Hill's large hardware store was located near Whiskey Row.
There are four golf courses within the city limits: Antelope Hills Golf Course, which consist of the City of Prescott South Course and the City of Prescott North Course, Capital Canyon Golf Club (formerly the Hassayampa Golf Club) (private), Talking Rock Golf Club (private), and Prescott Lakes Golf Club (private). More public courses are located nearby in surrounding towns.
Prescott is home to The Arizona Pioneers' Home, a continuing care retirement home, operated and funded by the State of Arizona, originally intended for impoverished Arizona founders from Territorial days. Initially the home was built to house 40 men, but in 1916 an addition of a women’s wing was completed to provide for 20 women. Later, in 1929, the home again expanded to include Arizona’s Hospital for Disabled Miners (current total capacity is 150 beds). Scenes from the 2008 movie Jolene were filmed in the Pioneer's Home in 2006. The Home has had many colorful residents, including a John Miller, who had claimed to be Billy the Kid, and who was exhumed from the Pioneer's Home Cemetery in 2005 in an attempt to identify DNA evidence. Another resident was "Big Nose Kate" Elder, who would also be laid to rest in the Pioneer's Home Cemetery, though not without controversy.
While Prescott is known for its western and cowboy feel, it is also the home of Prescott College, a small liberal arts college located just west of the downtown area that emphasizes environmental and social justice. It is a non-profit organization which has an undergraduate body of roughly 800 students, and an average student to faculty ratio of 7:1 in on-campus classrooms. There are four general programs at Prescott College: the On-campus Undergraduate Program (RDP), Limited-Residency Undergraduate Degree Program (ADP), the Limited-Residency Master of Arts Program (MAP), and a Limited-Residency PhD program in Sustainability Education. Those enrolled in the Limited-Residency programs work with various mentors and Prescott College faculty, usually in their home communities. On-campus students live in Prescott and attend classes at the college itself.
In recent years, Prescott has become a recovery destination for uncounted thousands. At any given time, 1 in 30 people are actively in addiction recovery in Prescott. Prescott is among the nation's top locations for recovery help and a significant industry has grown up around the effort to help folks make an addiction-free life for themselves. Prescott is home to many recovery and rehab centers, a newly minted detoxification clinic and an amorphous community of dozens of halfway houses and sober living homes. There are more than 150 group homes providing housing for those in recovery programs. Current studies show Prescott as having 7.3 counselors per 10,000 people earning the unofficial title of Arizona's Recovery City.
The cultures of Prescott's recovery community, the students at Prescott College, and preexisting small town punk subculture have fostered a thriving punk scene. Shows are hosted weekly at house venues, tattoo shops, and bars throughout downtown and the Dexter neighborhood. Prescott has been home to several nationally known punk bands, including Bueno, Life in Pictures, and Hour of the Wolf. Local bands often play shows alongside touring bands, who include Prescott in their tours.
Prescott hosts annual events such as Frontier Days, The World's Oldest Rodeo (1888) (featured in the 1972 film Junior Bonner), Easter Egg-Stravaganza, the Bluegrass Festival, Earth Day, July 4 Celebration, Tsunami on the Square, art festivals, a Cinco de Mayo celebration, Navajo Rug Auction, Pumpkin Patch Carnival, World’s Largest Gingerbread Village at the Prescott Resort & Conference center (located on the Yavapai-Prescott Indian Tribe reservation), Prescott Film Festival, Folk Arts Fair, parades, the Acker Music Festival, The Cowboy Poets Gathering, the Prescott Highland Games, Courthouse Lighting, Whiskey Off Road and Ragnar Relay Del Sol. On New Year’s Eve, historic Whiskey Row saw the inaugural Prescott Boot Drop to usher in the 2012 New Year. The illuminated 6-foot (1.8 m) tall cowboy boot with multi-colored stars was lowered from the historic Palace Restaurant rooftop’s 40-foot (12 m) flagpole to the delight and cheers of celebrants gathered on Montezuma Street which was closed for the occasion. Also located in Prescott is the Heritage Park Zoo.
Prescott was the location of Arizona's first Elks Lodge (BPOE). In December 1895 a group of enterprising businessmen in Prescott, sturdy products of the early west, charted the original petition for a dispensation and later established the Prescott Elks Lodge #330. "Mother Lodge of Arizona" The Prescott Elks Opera House was built by the lodge in 1905. The Prescott Elks Lodge now located in Prescott Valley and has served the community for over 116 years.
Designations
Prescott was designated "Arizona's Christmas City" by Arizona Governor Rose Mofford in 1989. Other notable designations include:
2000: Downtown Historic Preservation District (which includes "Whiskey Row") â€"one of 12 such National Register Historic Districts within the City.
2004: A “Preserve American Community†in 2004 by First Lady Laura Bush.
2006: One of a “Dozen Distinctive Destinations†by the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
2008: Yavapai Courthouse Plaza recognized as one of the first ten “Great Public Places†in America by the American Planning Association. The plaza joins New York City’s Central Park and Santa Monica Beach in California on the list. The historic courthouse stands in an oasis of green grass in a gothic cathedral of 170+ trees including 127 American elms. More than 130 activities occur annually including arts and crafts shows, concerts, dancing, outdoor movies, and other special events. People are always seen on the plaza. Walking (3 laps = 1 mile) around the plaza is quite popular with the locals.
2012: Number 1 True Western Town of the Year for 2011 by True West Magazine and One of the 61 Best Old House Neighborhoods in the U.S and Canada by This Old House Magazine.
Government
The City of Prescott operates under a council-manager form of government. The council has six council members and a Mayor, all elected at-large by the people of Prescott. Council members are elected to staggered four-year terms, and the Mayor to a two-year term. Elections for Mayor and council members are held in the first year after the national presidential and mid-term elections to keep national issues from overshadowing local concerns. Mayoral and council elections are non-partisan. There are no term limits for council members or the Mayor. The council appoints a professional city manager to oversee the daily administrative operations of city services and their respective departments, including the Prescott Fire Department. The current city manager is Craig McConnell. The current Mayor is Harry Oberg, elected in 2015 replacing long time mayor Marlin Kuykendall. Council members elected in 2011 are Jim Lamerson, Charlie Arnold, and Chris Kuknyo. Council members elected in 2013 are Greg Lazzell, Jean Wilcox, and Steve Blair. Council members elected in 2015 are Steve Sischka, Jim Lamerson and Billie Orr.
Education
Colleges in Prescott
- Yavapai College
- Prescott College
- Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Prescott
- Northern Arizona University and Old Dominion University have campuses in Prescott
High Schools in Prescott
- Prescott High School
- Tri-City College Prep High School
- Northpoint Expeditionary Learning Academy
- BASIS
- Kestrel High School
Prescott Unified School District operates public schools. There are 18 public schools, including five charter schools, in grades K-12 and four private schools in Prescott.
In 2015 due to budget cuts the Prescott Unified School District closed Washington Elementary and Miller Valley Elementary schools. To make up for the change all elementary schools only went up to 4th grade. Granite Mountain Middle School serves 5th and 6th grades. Mile High Middle School serves 7th and 8th grades and Prescott High School remains unchanged. A district preschool has been operating in the Washington Elementary since its closure. A recent renovation of the building will be completed in 2018 and will also be the home of the Prescott Unified School District Offices.
Transportation
The city has a municipal airport, Ernest A. Love Field, seven miles (11Â km) north of the downtown courthouse. Prescott Transit Authority, a private company, operates Prescott Citibus, which provides local transit services. Prescott Transit Authority also operates intercity service to Phoenix. Other private companies provide airport shuttles to Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport.
The three main thoroughfares in and around Prescott are Arizona State Route 89A, Arizona State Route 69 and Arizona State Route 89. State Route 89A connects Sedona and Cottonwood to Northern Prescott and meets with State Route 89 near the Airport eventually turning into Pioneer Parkway where it connects to Williamson Valley Road. State Route 69 connects Prescott with Prescott Valley to the east, eventually curving southeast before reaching Interstate 17 at mile marker 262, about 65 miles (105 km) from downtown Phoenix. State Route 89 travels mostly northâ€"south and connects Prescott with Chino Valley and Paulden to the north, continuing northward until it joins Interstate 40 at mile marker 146, Ash Fork.
In 2016 ADOT realigned willow creek road in between State Route 89 and Pioneer Parkway adding a round about on State Route 89 with new access to the Ernest A. Love Field Airport. A future Great western Corridor is planned go on the east side of the Ernest A. Love Field Airport and provide an alternative route to the Airport.
Notable residents
Sister cities
As of 2015, Prescott has three sister cities:
- Caborca, Sonora, Mexico
- Suchitoto, El Salvador
- Zeitz, Germany
See also
- List of historical markers in Prescott, Arizona
- 135 Years Ago Today a Capital is Born Named Prescott, by Earl Hoagberg, Sharlot Hall Archive & Library, May 1999.
- Many Prescott places take their name from 1850s surveyor, By Harley G. Shaw, harlot Hall Archive & Library, August 2000.
References
External links
- City of Prescott website
- City of Prescott tourism website
- Prescott Arizona Chamber of Commerce
- Prescott, Arizona at Curlie (based on DMOZ)
Sister projects
- Media related to Prescott, Arizona at Wikimedia Commons
- Prescott, Arizona travel guide from Wikivoyage
- Â "Prescott, Ariz.". The New Student's Reference Work. 1914.Â