Early Settlers in Prescott
History of Arizona,  Thomas Edwin Farish, 1915, pg. 194

The first house on the townsite was the office of the Arizona 
Miner which was torn away and its place occupied in the 
building of a brick store house now owned by T.G. Loisilon.  
The publisher was Tisdale A. Hand.  The first hotel and 
restaurant was called the Juniper House with George W. 
Barnard as proprietor.  The first store was opened by 
Manuel Yesera, in the south end of town.  Yesera arrived 
on December 24, 1863 and according to C.B. Gunung, stopped 
his loaded teams just where Granite Street turns to cross 
Granite Creek and on that spot erected a two-roomed log 
house. One room was used as the store, the other as a 
living room.  Judge Howard occupied this house after 
Yeserea returned to New Mexico and called it Fort Misery.

The first well-regulated saloon was opened by Tom Hodges 
on Cortez Street who sold drinks and cigars and took 
"Burros" in payment.  The first Sunday School was organized 
on August 7, 1864 in a log cabin by Rev. H.W. Reed, 
postmaster and pastor. The first day-school was opened 
in the fall of 1864 by Alexander Malron but it failed to 
assume the form and character of a school until taken 
hold of by Mrs. L.A. Stevens in 1865.  Dr. James Garvin 
was the first Justice of the Peace. Captain Joe Walker 
and some of his party lived just across the South Granite 
Street bridge in a log corral with two sides covered and 
the center left open for a fireplace.  The next store 
started was in a small log cabin on Granite Street where 
California Jackson lived when he died.  Herman Menassee was 
the next proprietor.  He was murdered by a Mexican at his 
store in Wickenburg some years later.  About the same time 
Barnett and Barth started another store on Montezuma 
Street.  This building was of hewn logs, about twelve 
by eighteen and was built by Steve Richardson for 
Secretary McCormick to be used as a printing office.

One of the first families to settle on Granite Creek was 
that of Julius Sanders and his wife and daughter.  They 
came in with a packtrain in March 1864.  Miss Mary Sanders 
afterward became the wife of Samuel C. Miller in April 1867.  
Other families in 1864 were Joseph Ehle and family, Daniel 
Stevens and family, consisting of a wife and a son and three 
daughters, T.M. Alexander and wife, with three sons and three 
daughters, Lewis A. Stevens and wife, John Simmons and wife, 
with two sons and a daughter, and J.P. Osborn and wife with 
three sons and four daughters.  Mrs. R.C. McCormick, the wife 
of the Secretary came out in the same year and died in 
childbirth in 1866 in the old Gubernatorial Mansion.  
Captain Leib and wife came with the Governor's party a 
little prior to the others, and located at old Fort Whipple.  
Mrs. Leib afterward became the wife of Judge Hezkiah Brooks.
The first marriage in Prescott was that of John Boggs to a 
woman from California.  The Fish manuscript states that the 
first marriage was that of John H. Dickson to Mary J. Ehle, 
which took place on November 17, 1864.

William H. Read was the first clergyman to arrive in 
Prescott.  He came with the Governor's party and started a 
Sunday School for boys until June 14, 1866 which was done 
by Mrs. Brooks, Mrs.Bashford and Mrs. Turner.

The first boarding house for miners was presided over by 
"Virgin Mary" who built a loghouse on Goose Flat.  Two goats 
furnished the milk and the price "Board $25 in gold, per 
week in advance" hung from the latch string.
Shortly afterward a man named Jackson started another 
boarding house and cut the price to $16 dollars in gold 
per week. Virgin Mary could furnish goat milk for coffee which was 
an attraction and to offset this Jackson had a few stewed 
apples.  Virgin Mary was one of two women who lived in 
Prescott in 1864.  Her real name was never known but she 
was called Virgin Mary because of her charity and 
benevolence.  She died about 1888 on Lynx Creek.

Christy and Van Smith erected under contract, the old 
capitol building in 1864 of logs which stood for many 
years.  Levi Bashford owned the proprty for more than 
twenty years.  The original Montezuma building was 
erected in 1864.  It was used as a saloon and stood 
where the Cabinet saloon and the Palace Barbershop 
were located in later years.  About twnety feet in 
back of the Montezuma the first boot and shoe 
manufacturing shop was erected.  It was built and 
owned by John Laughlan.

D. Henderson and Company had a general merchandise store 
near the creek.  This place was later occupied by Fred 
Brecht and used for a blacksmith shop.  The first adobe 
building in Prescott was used for a saloon but was later 
converted into a clothing house by Cook and Bowers.  
Coles Bashford and Judge Howard were the only lawyers.  
Michael Wormser erected the first buliding on what is 
now the plaza.  It was built of adobe and stood near the 
southwest corner of Goodwin and Montezuma streets.  

The first hotel was started and run by George W. Bernard, 
now of Tempe, and was known as the Juniper House, deriving 
its name from the tree under which the cooking and eating 
was done.  It was very handy as a man could load up his 
plate with grub and go to the shady side of the tree to 
eat.  About the time Bernard opened his establishment, 
John Roundtree and Dr. Alsap opened the first saloon.  
That was opened under some large pine trees that grew on 
the lower end of Goose Flat.  It was built of cloth and 
timber; a small wagon sheet stretched over a pole which 
rested in the forks of two upright posts.  The bar 
fixtures consisted of one ten gallon keg of whiskey; 
a half dozen tin cups and a canteen of water.
The cups had handles, loose at one end and the loose end 
formed a hook by which they hung around the chain of the 
keg when not in use.