THE Symposium

Annual Program of Western History

About the Symposium

The Western History Symposium is an annual event co-sponsored by the Prescott Corral and the Sharlot Hall Museum featuring interesting and informative presentations by historians, educators and authors on a variety of subjects relevant to our western heritage.

The Symposium is an all-day event comprised of hour-long presentations between 10:00 AM and 4:30 PM and an evening presentation held in coordination with the regular monthly dinner meeting of the Corral.

The Symposium always attracts a large audience of wide-ranging interests from throughout the state. The quality of our programming is evident from the fliers used to publicize our past symposiums, which you can access by clicking on the links below.

The Skull Valley Historical Society, the Arizona Rough Riders Historical Association, the Prescott Valley Historical Society and the Arizona Humanities Council are regular participants in the event.

Hotel Information:

Hassayampa Inn

122 E. Gurley St

Prescott, AZ 86301

928-778-9434

1st Annual
Symposium
Oct. 23, 2004

Flyer

Program

Click on any of the links on the right to see previous Symposium promotional flyers & programs

2nd Annual Symposium
Oct. 15, 2005

Flyer

Program

3rd Annual Symposium
Sep. 30, 2006

Flyer

Program

4th Annual Symposium
Oct. 13, 2007

Flyer

Program

5th Annual Symposium
Oct. 18, 2008

Flyer

Program

6th Annual Symposium
Aug. 8,
2009

Flyer

Program

7th Annual Symposium
Aug. 7,
2010

Flyer

Program

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8th Annual Symposium
Aug. 6,
2011

Flyer

Program

The Hash Knife Cattle Outfit in Arizona

Speaker: Jan MacKell Collins Time: 10:00 AM Place: Arizona Room

Although it originated in Texas during the 1870's, the Hash Knife Cattle Outfit is best known as the largest cattle ranch in Arizona during the 1880's and beyond. From its origins between Holbrook and Flagstaff, to the selling of the outfit to the Babbitt Brothers’ Aztec Land & Cattle Company and well into the 20th century, Hash Knife history remains a favorite amongst cowboys, cattle ranchers and descendants of the men who worked for the brand. This presentation explores the colorful history of the brand, including its infamous outlaw reputation, and profiles foreman Frank Wallace and George W. Hennessey who was Holbrook’s first elected mayor. Hennessey was heralded as the last original Hash Knife cowboy when he died in 1973. A PowerPoint presentation will include numerous images of the Hash Knife and its cowboys, including several never-before-seen family photographs.

Announcing The Tenth Annual Western History Symposium

Gone With the Wind Goes West: The Surprising Southern Heritage of Doc Holliday

Speaker: Victoria Wilcox Time: 7:15 PM Place: Marina Room

Doc Holiday was just the kind of man one might find living on Prescott’s Whiskey Row: a hard-drinking gambler with an outlaw past and a tenuous relationship to part-time lawman Wyatt Earp. So it comes as something of a surprise to find him living not above a Montezuma Street Saloon, but in a house shared with the Acting Governor of the Arizona Territory and next door to members of the Territorial Legislature. How did a wastrel like Holliday end up in company with some of Arizona’s finest citizens? The secret lies in his Southern past, in his youth during the Civil War as the son of a Confederate officer, and his family ties to the real people behind the classic novel Gone With the Wind.

Victoria Wilcox is founding director of Georgia’s Holliday-Dorsey-Fife House Museum, the antebellum home of the family of Doc Holliday. Her work with the house led to eighteen years of original research and inspired her novel trilogy, Southern Son: The Saga of Doc Holliday. She has been advisor and contributor to other authors, has lectured extensively and appeared on various television programs relating to her work. A member of the Western Writers of America, Ms. Wilcox’s writing on the Old South and Wild West has been featured in such publications as True West Magazine and North Georgia Journal. Drawing on her lifelong love of music and theatre, she has written songs for Nashville recording artists and authored the musical Goin’ to Zion! along with numerous smaller theatrical works.

The Big Fight in the Salt River Canyon: A Horrific Battle Revisited

Speaker: Dale Miles Time: 3:30 PM Place: Arizona Room

In late December of 1872, two columns of regular army troopers, assisted by Apache, Yavapai and Pima scouts, combed the Salt River Canyon in Arizona Territory in search of an Apache and Yavapai stronghold somewhere in this rugged country of steep cliffs and almost impassable canyons. Operating on information obtained from a captured eleven-year old Yavapai boy named Hoomothya, the Army staged a surprise attack on the cave in which the Indians had taken refuge, killing more than 75 warriors, women and children. Hoomothya was a witness to the battle and, later in life as Mike Burns (Photo, right) ––a name given him by his adoptive white parents––told the story of the slaughter of his people from the perspective of the Indian combatants. His story reveals the high human cost of the pacification of the Indian tribes of Southwest in the latter part of the 1800s.

Dale Miles is a member of the San Carlos Apache Tribe and has held several offices for the Tribe, including that of its first Tribal Historian. Under his management, the Tribe built a cultural center and organized a preservation office. Mr. Miles was also the first Apache historian to work with the Smithsonian Institute, contributing to the book Stories of the People that celebrated the 150^th anniversary of the Smithsonian and the opening of the National Museum of the American Indian in 1997. He has written articles for Native Peoples magazine and worked with True West magazine as well. A book on Apaches in the media and films is a work in progress.

John Henry “Doc” Holliday

The Battle of Big Dry Wash

Speaker: Sam Palmer Time: 2:30 PM Place: Arizona Room

The 1882 Battle of Big Dry Wash was the last major engagement between the U.S. Army and the Apaches in the Arizona Territory. Na-ti-o-tish, neither a chief nor a war leader, led a group of “hostiles”––a term commonly used to describe Apaches who had bolted their reservations––on a killing and raiding spree down the Salt River and through Pleasant Valley. With a cavalry troop in pursuit, Na-ti-o-tish led his band of hostiles to Big Dry Wash, a site approximately 40 miles north of present day Payson, where he planned to ambush what he perceived to be a relatively small army unit. Unknown to Na-ti-o-tish, however, the cavalry unit he had observed had been reinforced and the battle that ensued turned out to be a disaster for the Apache hostiles. This session, based on years of research and site visitations, will delve into the details of this important battle.

Sam Palmer is a native of Illinois who has had a fascination with the Indian wars period of American history since childhood. A graduate of the University of Louisville and Washington University Dental School, Dr. Palmer practiced dentistry in Phoenix and currently serves as the Chief Investigator for the Arizona Board of Dental Examiners. A student of the Apache Wars, and especially the Battle of Big Dry Wash, Dr. Palmer has hiked to the battle site over 125 times. On occasion when he camped at the site, he swears there were moments when the moon was just right that he heard sounds that make him think the men who died at the battle never really left.

Alexander Oswald Brodie and his Impact on Arizona

Speaker: Charles Herner Time: 1:30 PM Place: Arizona Room

Alexander Oswald Brodie's multi-faceted career as a military officer, engineer, mine operator, Rough Rider and territorial governor began in Arizona Territory in 1870, following his graduation from the United States Military Academy. While his military service during the Indian Wars and his subsequent employment as an engineer and mining operator were largely undistinguished, Brodie’s fortunes changed dramatically in 1898 when the U.S. declared war on Spain and the War Department organized the First United States Volunteer Cavalry. As senior major of the “Rough Riders,” Brodie earned the respect and friendship of Lt. Col Theodore Roosevelt, which ultimately led to his appointment as territorial governor of Arizona in 1902 following Roosevelt’s ascendency to the presidency upon the assassination of President William McKinley. As territorial governor, Brodie played a largely unheralded role in ensuring the defeat of an effort in Washington to have Arizona and New Mexico admitted to the Union as a single state.

Charles Herner of Tucson was born in the Verde Valley mining town of Jerome and raised in Douglas on the Mexican border. After attending the University of Arizona for several years, he interrupted his formal education to serve two years on active duty in the U.S. Army. Returning to the university upon being discharged, Mr. Herner received a B.A. and later an M.A. in United States History. He taught U.S. History at Canyon del Oro High School in Tucson until he retired in 1990. Mr. Herner also retired from the United States Army Reserve with the rank of colonel. The University of Arizona Press published his first book, The Arizona Rough Riders, in 1970, and Texas Christian University Press recently published his latest book: Alexander Oswald Brodie: Frontiersman, Rough Rider, Governor.

Governor Brodie

Homesteading Across Arizona–A New Perspective

Speaker: Patrick Grady Time: 11:00 AM Place: Arizona Room

Nearly five million acres of land were homesteaded across Arizona. Often overlooked and even ignored in the history of the settlement of Arizona, homesteading had a profound impact on the establishment of farms, cattle ranches and towns. This presentation will provide an overview of homesteading in Arizona, with case studies of Phoenix in the 1870s and early Prescott, drawn from original research, National Archives files and two books written by the presenter. The session will delve into the lives of several homesteaders, providing informative facts and engaging stories about their experiences on the Western frontier, as well as insight into the fun and opportunity for new discoveries awaiting future research and documentation of homesteading histories across Arizona.

Patrick Grady is a writer living in Cave Creek, Arizona. His professional career was in city planning and development. Upon retirement, he returned to his passion for history. Mr. Grady has a B.A. in history from DePauw University as well as a Master's Degree in History and Ph.D. work in urban history from Kent State University. His first book, Homesteading Along the Creek, portrayed pioneer life in early Cave Creek. Out of the Ruins, a history of frontier Phoenix from 1867-1881, was released in 2012. Mr. Grady serves on the Board of the Cave Creek Museum and volunteers for Central Arizona Habitat for Humanity. He is also the Chairperson for the Town's Green Cave Creek committee, dedicated to fostering sustainability at the local level.

Doc Holliday’s ancestral home in Georgia, now a museum.

Jan MacKell Collins is an author and historian and she currently works at the Sharlot Hall Museum. She is a former Historic Preservation Commissioner for the City of Cripple Creek, Colorado and served for six years as the Director of that city’s museum. Ms. Collins is the author and co-author of seven history books, two documentary scripts and over 1500 feature articles and has served as an historic research consultant since 1989. In 2010 and 2011 she was nominated for Women Writing the West's WILLA award for her book Red Light Women of the Rocky Mountains and as co-author of Extraordinary Women of the Rocky Mountain West. Ms. Collins continues to write for True West Magazine and other history publications. She is currently working on a book about George Hennessey and Frank Wallace, her great grandfather and great-great grandfather respectively, both of whom worked for the Hash Knife Cattle Company.