Prescott

 

city (1990 pop. 26,455), alt. 5,389 ft (1,643 m), seat of Yavapai co., central Ariz. in a mineral-rich area; inc. 1883. It is a mining and ranching center, a summer resort, and the headquarters of Prescott National Forest. Cattle farming; the production of timber, wheat, corn, alfalfa, and hay; and mining are the predominant economic activities. Light manufacturing, including waxes and earthenware, is developing in importance. Gold was discovered in the county in 1863, and Prescott was built in 1864 near Fort Whipple. It was twice territorial capital (1864–67, 1877–89). The city is the seat of Prescott College. Of note are the Phippen, Sharlot Hall, and Smoki museums.

Prescott, Arizona
Prescott Gurley Street in 1940s
Location in Yavapai County and the state of Arizona
Coordinates: 34°34′6″N 112°27′41″W / 34.56833, -112.46139
Country	United States
State	Arizona
County	Yavapai
Government
- Mayor	Rowle Simmons
Area
- City	sq mi (km²)
- Land	sq mi ( km²)
- Water	sq mi ( km²)
Elevation	ft ( m)
Population (2006)
- City
- Density	/sq mi (/km²)
Time zone	MST (UTC-7)
ZIP codes	86300-86399
Area code(s)	928
FIPS code	04-57380
GNIS feature ID	0033189

Prescott (pronounced by some locals as "press-kit" instead of "press-cot") is a city in Yavapai County, Arizona, USA. According to 2005 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city is 40,360.^[1] The city is the county seat of Yavapai County⁶, and in 1863 this then remote and lightly populated town was designated as the original capital of the Arizona Territory in order to keep the seat of government far from Confederate sympathizers prevalent in the southern part of the state. The Territorial Capital was moved to Tucson in 1867. Prescott again became the Territorial Capital in 1877, until the capital was changed to Phoenix in 1889.

The towns of Prescott Valley (7 miles east) and Chino Valley (16 miles north), and Prescott, together make up the area known locally as the "Quad-City" area. The Yavapai-Prescott Indian Tribe reservation is located next to, and partially within, the borders of Prescott. The weather conditions are favorable owing to the altitude of 5354 ft, being significantly cooler than the lower southern areas of the state and yet without the harsh winters found at higher altitudes.

History

Prescott began as a mining town with the discovery of gold on nearby Lynx Creek in 1863. During the nineteenth century, Prescott experienced far fewer anti-Mexican and anti-Chinese sentiments than other communities. In fact, when the mining district enacted its laws in 1863 the officers specifically mentioned that "Senorians" and "Asiatics" meaning Mexicans and Chinese, were free to mine and work in the region. In 1863 Arizona became a territory and Prescott was the Territorial Capital between then and 1867, and again from 1877 until 1889. 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 boasts many historic buildings, including the Palace, Arizona's oldest restaurant and bar, and many other buildings that have been converted to boutiques, art galleries, bookstores, and restaurants. The City is named after author William H. Prescott, whose writings were popular during the Civil War.

After 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 good gathering and meeting place. Cultural events and performances take place on many nights in the summer on the plaza.

Culture

Prescott features the famous old Western Whiskey Row and many Victorian homes. It has been remarked to be the most Midwestern-appearing city in the Southwest, and it has 525 buildings on the National Register of Historic Places.

Prescott is home to the historical area known as "Whiskey Row", up until 1956 a notorious red-light district. There was a great fire in 1900 that destroyed most of the buildings on Whiskey Row. As legend has it, 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 Hotel was removed by the patrons as the fire approached, and re-installed after the gutted brick structure was rebuilt. (The size of the back-bar is impressive, and appears not easily moved, even by many hands.) Whiskey Row runs north and south on N. Montezuma between Gurley and E. Goodwin St., directly west of the county courthouse. The row has been the home of the St. Michael's Hotel and the Palace Hotel since the late 1800s along with more colorful purveyors of night-life. This block was also the site of merchant Sam Hill's hardware store, famous for its extensive stock in its downtown location and out of town warehouse.^[2]

The movies Junior Bonner and Billy Jack were filmed in Prescott at the Palace Hotel. A 1994 remake of The Getaway was partially filmed in Prescott at locations such as Watson Lake and many of the downtown area streets.

Prescott hosts annual events such as Frontier Days, The World's Oldest Rodeo, the Bluegrass Festival, Earth Day, Tsunami on the Square, art festivals, a Cinco de Mayo celebration, Shakespeare Festival, Navajo Rug Auction, World’s Largest Gingerbread Village, Prescott Film Fest, Folk Arts Fair, parades, the Acker Music Festival, The Cowboy Poets Gathering, the Prescott Highland Games and several marathons. Also located in Prescott is the Heritage Park Zoo.

Geography

Prescott is located at 34°34′6″N, 112°27′41″W (34.568210, -112.461482)¹. Prescott is 55 mi WNW of the State of Arizona's geographic center.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 96.6 km² (37.3 mi²). 96.0 km² (37.1 mi²) of it is land and 0.6 km² (0.2 mi²) of it (0.64%) is water.

Prescott is considered part of North Central Arizona.

Climate

Prescott is located in the Bradshaw Mountains of central Arizona, at an altitude of 5400 feet. The town has a four-season climate with relatively mild winters. Average annual precipitation is 19.32 inches; average snowfall is 25.4 inches. There has been a severe drought from 1999 to present (2007); precipitation has dropped dramatically. Some evidence of this is 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 2005-2006 had less than 3" of snow, compared to an average snowfall of 24".^[3]

Education

Prescott is the home of Prescott College, the western campus of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and Yavapai Community College. Northern Arizona University and Old Dominion University also have speciality campuses here as well as the online university, Northcentral University.

Demographics

City of Prescott Population by year[4]
1870	668
1880	1,836
1890	1,759
1900	3,559
1910	5,092
1920	5,010
1930	5,517
1940	6,018
1950	6,764
1960	12,861
1970	13,631
1980	19,865
1990	26,455
2000	33,938
2006	41,528

As of the census ² of 2000, there were 33,938 people, 15,098 households, and 8,968 families residing in the city. The population density was 353.5/km² (915.6/mi²). There were 17,144 housing units at an average density of 178.6/km² (462.5/mi²). 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.

The city also boasts a municipal airport, Ernest A. Love Field, located seven miles north of the downtown courthouse.

See also

• List of people from Prescott, Arizona

Notes and references

External links

• City website
• Prescott Arizona Chamber of Commerce
• Prescott Daily Courier
• Read It Here magazine
• Prescott City Directory

Coordinates: 34.56821° N 112.461482° W

Municipalities and communities of Yavapai County, Arizona
County seat: Prescott
Cities	Cottonwood | Peoria | Prescott | Sedona
Towns	Camp Verde | Chino Valley | Clarkdale | Dewey-Humboldt | Jerome | Prescott Valley
CDPs	Ash Fork | Bagdad | Big Park | Black Canyon City | Congress | Cordes Lakes | Cornville | Cottonwood-Verde Village | Lake Montezuma | Mayer | Paulden | Peeples Valley | Seligman | Spring Valley | Wilhoit | Williamson | Yarnell
Communities	Bumble Bee | Cherry | Cleator | Clemenceau | Cordes | Crown King | Skull Valley | Tip Top

	State of Arizona Phoenix (capital)
Topics	Climate | Economy | Education | Geography | History | People | Transportation
Regions	Arizona Strip | Coconino Plateau | Colorado Plateau | Grand Canyon | Kaibab Plateau | Mogollon Plateau | Mogollon Rim | Mojave Desert | Monument Valley | North Central Arizona | Northeast Arizona | Northern Arizona | Oak Creek Canyon | Phoenix Metropolitan Area | San Francisco Volcanic Field | Sonoran Desert | Southern Arizona | Verde Valley | White Mountains
Counties	Apache | Cochise | Coconino | Gila | Graham | Greenlee | La Paz | Maricopa | Mohave | Navajo | Pima | Pinal | Santa Cruz | Yavapai | Yuma
Cities	Chandler | Flagstaff | Gilbert | Glendale | Lake Havasu City | Mesa | Peoria | Phoenix | Prescott | Scottsdale | Sierra Vista | Tempe | Tucson | Yuma

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