Jackson McCracken
History of Arizona,  Thomas Edwin Farish, Vol. 2 1915, pg. 264

Jackson McCracken, a member of the Walker Party served in the 
First Legislative Assembly  in 1864 as a member of the lower 
house from Yavapai County.  He was born in South Carolina in 
1828.  After his arrival in the territory with the Walker 
Party, he spent his time in mining and prospecting.  
Evidently he was not very fastidious as to dress or 
personal appearance for the following story is told of him: 
After his election, some of his constituents went to him and 
told him that he was now a member of the First Legislature 
and he should be dressed and equipped in keeping with the 
dignity of the office.  He replied," I am in the hands of 
my constituents."  For answer they said, "All right Jack, 
we'll attend to you."  So they formed a committee, took 
Jack down to Granite Creek, where they had a tub made from 
the end of a whiskey barrel, filled with water and soap.  
They gave him a good wash, scrubbed him down with a horse 
brush, wiped him off well, dressed him up with clean 
underclothing and a hand-me down suit; took him to a 
barber and had his whiskers and hair trimmed and turned 
him over to the Legislature.

McCracken was an indefatigable prospector.  With few 
advantages in early life he became a wanderer in the west, 
prospecting through Colorado and New Mexico until finally 
he reached Arizona.  He discovered the Del Pasco mine, and 
also the McCracken mine, both of which are well known in 
Northern Arizona.  He blazed the trail for others to follow 
and was among the first to set foot upon the soil where 
Prescott now stands.  He went to San Francisco late in the 
seventies and on the 28th of December 1882 married Mrs. 
Josephine Clifford, whose former husband had been an army 
officer stationed in Arizona, where she had a sad and 
varied experience.  Immediately after their marriage, 
McCracken and his wife located the Monte Paraiso ranch 
in the Santa Cruz Mountains in California, and invested 
their money in clearing the land, setting out vineyards 
and orchards, building roads, etc.  The ranch was located 
about three miles above the station at Wrights in a redwood 
forest.  It was indeed a paradise.  The house was the finest 
in the mountains and Mrs. McCracken being of literary taste 
at one time associated with the Old Pioneer Monthly Magazine 
as one of its editors, their home became a place of resort 
for men like Ambrose Pierce, Bret Harte and others, who 
always found there a hearty welcome.

In 1899 a forest firer swept over that portion of the Santa 
Cruz Mountains destroying their home.  McCracken came near 
losing his life became he had ventured into the forty acre 
timber tract trying to save the forest by back firing.  His 
hair and long beard were singed and the boots on his feet 
were burned before he got out.

They created an indebtedness in rebuilding their home which 
filled McCracken with worry and anxiety under the strain of 
which his health failed and his life came to a close on 
December 14, 1904 at the age of 80.  He was buried on the 
ranch in a spot he had selected for himself long before.  
His wife, now 70, is engaged as a reporter for a daily 
newspaper in Santa Cruz California.

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