Looking for a uniquely (and genuine) western town? Then point 'Old Paint' toward Prescott, pardner. True West magazine says Prescott, Arizona is their Number One choice for this year's Top Ten True Western Towns.
While incorporation for the little Arizona town didn't happen until 1883, real estate was hot there (in more ways than one) clear back in 1864. In short order it became the Territorial capital, twice. At one point the capital was moved to Tuscon, but Prescott got it back, and lost it--evidently for the last time, when Phoenix claimed the honors.
But Territorial capitals aren't what the west was made of. Prescott's claims to fame include Native Americans, miners, hookers, ranchers and cowboys, and all the support that underpinned the old west. Much of this history is recalled in town museums like the Sharlot Hall Museum that revives the territorial past, and the Phippen and Smoki museums which focus on local artifacts.
But a stroll down Whiskey Row preserves a much larger bit of history in the form of historic buildings like Arizona's oldest bar and restaurant, The Palace. Plenty of other old-timey buildings house galleries, bookstores, boutiques, and the like. Of course, they didn't get there easily: Like a lot of other western towns, Prescott was tried by fire, literally, on several occasions. The result was that much of the downtown core was rebuilt with brick.
Prescott hosts annual events such as Frontier Days, The World's Oldest Rodeo (1888), Easter Egg-Stravaganza, the Bluegrass Festival, Earth Day, July 4 Celebration, Tsunami on the Square, art festivals, a Cinco de Mayo celebration, Navajo Rug Auction, Pumpkin Patch Carnival, World’s Largest Gingerbread Village (actually on the Yavapai-Prescott Indian Tribe reservation), Prescott Film Festival, Folk Arts Fair, parades, the Acker Music Festival, The Cowboy Poets Gathering, the Prescott Highland Games, Courthouse Lighting, Whiskey Off Road and Ragnar Relay Del Sol.
photo: ariztravel on flickr.com
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