Images of America
Williamson Valley Road
Author:
Kathy Lopez
Fundraiser
for: Morgan
Ranch Park Association,
Inc.
Celebrate the History of Williamson Valley Road
Featuring vintage photographs, historical anecdotes, and personal stories.
Williamson Valley Road, located northwest of Prescott, is a prominent part of Arizona’s rich heritage. On July 20, 2010 it was designated a Scenic/Historic Route, one of only two in Yavapai County.
Williamson Valley Road is a pictorial history of the places that made Williamson Valley Road scenic and many of the people who made it historic. The majority of the 240 images were donated from private collections of current and former residents of Williamson Valley and surrounding communities. Over 150 individuals and organizations contributed to this first historical account of the area.
Six chapters lead the reader along the paths, trails, wagon ruts, rails, and roads that developed into one of the major routes of the Arizona Territory. Read first-hand accounts taken from oral histories, diaries, and conversations with current citizens, plus a few legends thrown in for fun.
1) Game Trails is about the area surrounding Williamson Valley Road when prehistoric people were crisscrossing the land from approximately 600-1499 AD. Due to the area’s rich contributions to the understanding of the “Prescott Culture,” there are wagonloads of information: some consistent, some conflicting, but always changing. A sliver of that history has been included for the reader to get a sense that man has always had the desire to move and connect.
2) Foot Paths tells of the Yavapai tribal people who tread where pioneers would later roll their wagons. They were hunters and gatherers and generally ranged from the Prescott area to present day end of Williamson Valley Road. The people of the Yavapai-Prescott Indian Tribe still reside in the area.
3) Ruts, Rails, Roads begins with the tale of the Ehrenburg and Hardyville Road toll roads used by pioneers and the military to access the settlements and military camps springing up in the Arizona Territory in the 1800s. Beginning in the late 1800s, those who wanted faster means of travel could make use of the several rail lines running through the area. By the early 1900s travelers were trading wagon wheels for steering wheels. The 66-mile dirt road, Simmons Highway was constructed from Prescott to Seligman, which is located on the old US Route 66. In 1995, the 20-mile-long, paved, southern portion of Simmons Highway–from Prescott to Campwood Road- was renamed Williamson Valley Road.
4) Walnut Creek focuses on one of the most populated areas in the Arizona Territory in the 1800s. Up to 300 people lived in various communities in this “gateway” to Williamson Valley. Travelers on the Hardyville Road hunting for a homestead found that this fertile valley met their needs.
5) Williamson Valley Road officially ends just little north of where Williamson Valley Wash converges with Mint Wash. In the 1800s the military needed food and hay; immigrants followed the Army encamped at Prescott and Walnut Creek to this spring-fed valley. Over the next century, pioneers discovered the appealing valley as they traveled between the Colorado River, Prescott, Walnut Creek, Seligman, Paulden, Chino Valley, and beyond. Many settled in Williamson Valley and established ranches. In later years, others bought homes on those subdivided ranches.
6) Mint Valley is full of stories including those about a ranch that was traded for a six-gun, and the tale of a family of sixth-generation ranchers who continue to run cattle in the shadow of Granite Mountain.
On February 14, 2012, Arizona celebrated its centennial. This book has been designated as an Arizona Centennial Legacy Project and a Yavapai County Centennial Project. These designations were awarded because this book is the result of the collaborative effort of a great number of individuals and organizations to portray a significant aspect of Arizona’s history.
The park is managed by the Morgan Ranch Park Association, Inc., a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, whose mission is to preserve and maintain the historical, biodiversity, and recreational values of the park. Author Kathy Lopez is the park founder and president of MRPAI. Board members (front) Keith Rosewitz, Donna Parra, Kathy Lopez, and volunteers (back) Pat Briody and Larry Lopez live in the Williamson Valley area.
How to purchase a book and support a park:
Retailers in Prescott, AZ:
Raven, 130 W Gurley St, #104, 928-445-7464
Savoini's, 1117 W Iron Springs Rd., 928- 445-5713
CAL Ranch Store, 1048 Willow Creek Rd., 928 717-5408
The Old Sage Bookshop, 110 S. Montezuma, Suite H, 928- 776-1136
Prescott True Value Hardware, 846 Miller Valley Rd., 928- 445-6422
Old Stage Stop Country Store, 4155 Outer Loop Rd. and Williamson Valley Rd., 928- 445-7699
Mail a check for $22 (for each book ordered) along with your return address to: MRPAI, 2720 W. Glen Haven Dr., Prescott, AZ 86305
Contact MRPAI at 928-533-5183 or morganranchnaturepark@q.com.