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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	Jack WIlson
Area
- Total	37.3 sq mi (96.6 km²)
- Land	37.1 sq mi (96.0 km²)
- Water	0.2 sq mi (0.6 km²)
Elevation	5,368 ft (1,636 m)
Population (2006)
- Total	41,528
- Density	915.6/sq mi (353.5/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 most locals as "press-kit" instead of "press-cot") is a city in Yavapai County, Arizona, USA. According to 2006 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city is 41,528.^[1] The city is the county seat of Yavapai County^GR6, 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 "Tri-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.

Contents 1 History 2 Culture 3 Geography 4 Climate 5 Education 6 Demographics 7 Notes and references 8 External links

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 Prescott 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.

Prescott has many Victorian homes and 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", 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 Goodwin St., directly west of the county courthouse. This single city block has been the home of the St. Michael's Hotel and the Palace Hotel since the late 1800s along with other colorful purveyors of night-life. Merchant Sam Hill's hardware store was located near Whiskey Row, famous for its extensive stock in its downtown location and out of town warehouse.^[2]

There are six golf courses within the city limits: Antelope Hills Golf Course, City of Prescott South Course, City of Prescott North Course, Hassayampa Golf Club, Prescott Lakes Golf Club, Talking Rock Golf Club. More 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. 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 was again expanded to include Arizona’s Hospital for Disabled Miners. Current capacity is 150 residents. Scenes in the movie "Jolene" were filmed in the Pioneer's Home in 2006. One person claimed to be Billy the Kid, John Miller, was dug up from the Pioneer's Home Cemetery in 2005 in an attempt to identify DNA evidence.

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 (1888), 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 (actually on the Yavapai-Prescott Indian Tribe reservation), 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.

Prescott is located at 34°34′6″N, 112°27′41″W (34.568210, -112.461482)^GR1. 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 37.3 square miles (96.6 km²), of which, 37.1 square miles (96.0 km²) of it is land and 0.2 square miles (0.6 km²) of it (0.64%) is water.

Prescott is considered part of North Central Arizona.

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. Historical 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]

Prescott is the main site of Yavapai College's campuses in the county. Yavapai College was established as a community college in 1965 and held its first classes in 1969. Today, there are over 9,000 students enrolled each semester. ^[4]

Prescott College is "an independent, liberal arts college offering bachelor's and master's degrees, as well as teacher certification. Our educational programs reflect the College's commitment to the environment and social justice."

The western campus of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University is located here. ERAU teaches "the science, practice, and business of the world of aviation and aerospace."

Northern Arizona University and Old Dominion University also have specialty campuses here as well as the online university, Northcentral University.

There are 20 public schools in grades K-12, four private schools, and five charter schools. ^[5]

Tri-City College Prep High School, a charter school, is rated as "Excelling" by the Department of Education. Abia Judd Elementary, Granite Mountain Middle School, Prescott High School, Taylor Hicks Elementary, and Washington Traditional School, all of Prescott Unified School District, also rate "Excelling." Lincoln Elementary and Mile High Middle School are considered "Highly Performing."^[6]

City of Prescott Population by year[7]
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 ^GR2 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/sq mi (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.

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

• City of Prescott website
• Prescott Arizona Chamber of Commerce
• Prescott College
• Yavapai College
• Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
• World's Oldest Rodeo
• Arizona Pioneer's Home

• Prescott, Arizona is at coordinates 34°34′06″N 112°27′41″W / 34.56821, -112.461482Coordinates: 34°34′06″N 112°27′41″W / 34.56821, -112.461482

v • d • e 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

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