Miller - Prescott

YAVAPAI COUNTY COURTHOUSE, C. 1907. This old courthouse was built in 1867 by Levi Bashford and was demolished in 1916. The courthouse was located on North Cortez Street and was surrounded by a white picket fence. There was also a wire fence that enclosed the watermelon patch, which was planted for the benefit of concert patrons. (Published by Corbin and Bork.)

ROUGH RIDER MONUMENT. The Rough Rider monument was unveiled in Prescott, Arizona, on July 3, 1907, to a large gathering of onlookers at Yavapai County Courthouse square. More than half of the Rough Riders who went from Arizona were recruited from Prescott by the man whose memory was then so signally honored, Capt. Buckey ONeill. (Photographed by Armitage.)

COURTHOUSE AND ROUGH RIDER MONUMENT, C. 1908. Capt. James McClintock spoke at the dedication of the Captain ONeill, which sits in front of the Yavapai County Courthouse. Solon Hannibal Borglum (18681922) was the creator of the monument. (Published by Brisley Drug Company.)

MINERAL FOUNTAIN IN PLAZA, C. 1907 . The mineral fountain and gazebo where the band played on Sundays were on the northwest side of the plaza. Whiskey Row and the Hotel St. Michael can be seen in the background of this postcard. (Published by Brisley Drug Company.)

COURTHOUSE AND PLAZA, C. 1908. In 1908, the plaza was relandscaped with new walkways, and a new fountain was constructed. (Published by A. W. Robinson.)

PLAZA, C. 1908. The present gazebo was built when the plaza was relandscaped in 1908. The old gazebo was moved to the end of the streetcar line at Gurley Street and Park Avenue and was made into a convenient resting place for pedestrians who were going to or coming from the small zoo on Murphy Drive. (Published by W. H. Timerhoff.)

PLAZA BAND, C. 1908. Concerts in the plaza are a century-old tradition. (Photographed by Edwin Baer; published by Heil Drug Store.)

COURTHOUSE PLAZA, C. 1905. During this time, the plaza had a more formal landscape. (Published by W. H. Timerhoff.)

EXECUTION OF MEXICAN MURDERERS, NO. 1. A set of three postcards of the event was published by the Brisley Drug Company in 1907. The date of the hanging on the postcards is shown as 1904, which is incorrect. Why the postcards were not published earlier and why the date is incorrect is not known. Card No. 1 shows the prisoners kneeling. (Published by Brisley Drug Company.)

EXECUTION OF MEXICAN MURDERERS, NO. 2 AND NO. 3. Card No. 2 shows the men standing, and card No. 3 shows them hanging. The hanging took place on July 23, 1903, in an enclosure east of the courthouse in the presence of approximately 100 witnesses. The men executed were Elijo Hidalgo and Francisco Rentezia. They had murdered Charles Goddard and Frank Cox at Goddard Station. The punishment was enacted for the most horrible and unprovoked murder of two innocent men. This was the first hanging to take place in Prescott since 1898 when Fleming Parker was hanged for the murder of Lee Norris. After a prayer, the two prisoners rose, and at this time their hands and feet were bound, and black caps were pulled over their heads. The nooses on their necks were adjusted, and Sheriff Roberts pulled the lever. Just before the trap dropped from beneath them Hidalgo said: Adios amigos! Adios everybody! The photographs were taken from one of the courthouse windows. (Both, published by Brisley Drug Company.)

ARMISTICE DAY IN PRESCOTT, 1918. On Armistice Day, U.S. soldiers marched up Montezuma Street in front of the courthouse. This was the anniversary of the symbolic end of World War I on November 11, 1918. It commemorates the armistice signed between the Allies and Germany at Rethondes, France, for the cessation of hostilities on the Western Front, which took effect at 11:00 a.m., on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month.