History

September 5, 2026

What Prescott Looked Like in 1901: A Map of the City’s Early Years

A 1901 Sanborn fire insurance map preserved by the Library of Congress offers a fascinating look at Prescott as it…

September 5, 2026

The Great Prescott Fire of 1900: The Day the Town Burned

On July 14, 1900, Prescott faced one of the worst disasters in its history. A fire swept through the business…

September 5, 2026

Prescott Before Statehood: A Town in the Arizona Territory

When Prescott was established in the nineteenth century, Arizona was not yet a state. It was part of the Arizona…

September 5, 2026

The Prescott Public Library: From a Wagon of Books to a Community Landmark

It Started With a Wagon Prescott’s public library story began long before the city had a permanent library building. According…

September 5, 2026

When the Railroad Came to Prescott: How the Peavine Changed the Town

Prescott Was Waiting for the Railroad For much of Prescott’s early history, getting people and goods in and out of…

September 5, 2026

The Invention of the Interstate Highway

Roads Change More Than Travel America’s modern highway system changed the country as dramatically as railroads had changed the nineteenth…

September 5, 2026

Arizona’s Five Cs: The Industries That Built a State

Cattle, Cotton, Citrus, Copper and Climate For much of the twentieth century, five words were used to explain Arizona’s economy:…

September 5, 2026

Why the Old West Was Never Quite as Wild as the Movies

Myth and Reality Popular Westerns gave Americans a familiar picture of the Old West: gunfights, saloons, stagecoaches and lonely trails.…

September 5, 2026

The Rise of the American Suburb

A Different Kind of American Life After World War II, millions of Americans moved into newly built suburban neighborhoods. The…

September 5, 2026

How the American Home Front Worked During World War II

War Was Not Only Fought Overseas During World War II, American civilians became part of the war effort. Factories shifted…