Near the center of Arizona, in the foothills of the Bradshaw Mountains, lies the small, unincorporated town of Mayer. With a population of less than 1500 people, Mayer remains unknown to almost all but its residents and neighbors, but its history is as lively and resonant as many larger cities. This volume chronicles the story of this rural western town and the men and women who put it on the map, including its founders, Joseph and Sarah Mayer, who established their settlement around Big Bug Stage Station, purchased for $1200 in 1882. It traces the continued influence of the Mayers and other...

In the spring of 1916, an unknown photographer captured the heart of Prescott, Arizona. For decades the fruits of that labor, a collection of glass plate negatives, lay largely forgotten in the local opera house and theater. Now, an historic western town comes to life as it once was, through images of the town s business district as found on those photographic plates. Step into a soda fountain, a pool hall, a mercantile, a haberdashery, a saddlery and more, and experience life as it existed in the newly minted state of Arizona in the early twentieth century. This photographic history of...

In 1864, Arizona was divided into four counties named after the local Indian communities: Yavapai, Yuma, Mohave, and Pima. Believed to have been the largest county ever created in the lower 48 states at the time, Yavapai encompassed over 65,000 square miles until 1891, when the state was divided into additional counties. Yavapai finally settled to 8,125 square miles. While still a US territory in 1900, Yavapai County had a population just under 13,800 people and was quite remote. Within a few years, postcards started appearing in drugstores, such as Brisley, Timerhoff, Owl, Heit, Corbin and...