7/25/2009 9:26:00 PM
'Shootout' conjures images of Prescott's Old West past
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Matt Hinshaw/
The Daily Courier
Members of the Sierra Nevada Guns for Hire group from Northern California re-enact a gunfight Saturday morning during the fourth annual Shootout on Whiskey Row in Prescott. |
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Sharlot Hall Museum/
Courtesy
Jim Parker, a notorious criminal and thief who came through Prescott in the late-1800s, was arrested for train robbery, later broke out of jail and killed a man. He was eventually led to the gallows in downtown Prescott on June 3, 1898. |
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As a couple thousand spectators gathered in downtown Prescott this weekend for the fourth annual "Shootout on Whiskey Row" to watch re-enactments of Old West gunfights, one couldn't help but imagine what it must have been like to see the real thing more than a century ago.
Although lawlessness did not run rampant in Prescott from the mid- to late-1800s, some of the most famous - and infamous - names of the period passed through here, including notorious criminal James Parker.
The Shootout, sponsored by the Prescott Regulators and Their Shady Ladies re-enactment group, continues Sunday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on South Montezuma Street.
George Ranz, the Regulators' president and historian who does research on the Wild West at Sharlot Hall Museum and writes performances and skits for his contingent, said Parker led a posse of thieves here for a while in the late-1800s.
Parker was taken to the Yavapai County jail within the Prescott courthouse on two occasions, first after robbing a train near Peach Springs and secondly after escaping from the jail. Yavapai County Sheriff George Ruffner apprehened Parker without firing a shot the first time, but a wanted poster was Parker's enemy the second time. While Ruffner and neighboring sheriffs were searching for Parker for two weeks, a trading post operator recognized the fugitive from his poster and captured him for the reward near the Utah border without firing a shot.
Parker was eventually hanged in Prescott on June 3, 1898.
When compared with other Arizona towns such as Wilhoit, Holbrook and Tombstone in southeast Arizona, Prescott was considered "kind" during the time period, Ranz added.
"There wasn't a whole lot of major gunfights here," he said.
Nonetheless, the famed Virgil Earp, who became deputy U.S. marshal for the Arizona Territory in 1879, and his brother, Wyatt Earp, Pima County's deputy sheriff, lived briefly in Prescott in the late 1870s.
"Virgil never pinned on a badge, regardless of what the movies say, until he came to Prescott as a night constable," Ranz said. "His first gunfight was a street battle here in Prescott, and that's one of the skits that we do."
Cheryl Hanks, a founding member of the Prescott Regulators, which formed six years ago, said seven Western re-enactment contingents from Arizona and California competed in this weekend's Shootout - the most since its inception in 2006.
"We want to keep the Old West and the history of Prescott alive, and that's one of our statements of purpose," Hanks said.
Added Regulators vice president John Boyer, "There's a lot of history that people are not aware of, and when you put an act to a story, it enhances the story a little bit more."
The Shootout's popularity continues to grow. Hanks said its period costume contest, which requires authentic 1880s clothing, and performances from the Arizona Gunfighters add flavor to the experience.
The Regulators travel across the state, including Tombstone and Yuma, as well as California to perform their skits and mock-gunfights, which often center around Prescott history. Hanks said members try to re-create the Old West of the 1800s with their authentic-looking costumes and weapons.
In May, the Regulators won a competition in Tombstone when they re-created a fight that broke out in 1869 at the Diana Saloon at the corner of Montezuma and Gurley streets, where Hotel St. Michael is today.
Apparently, military men and miners started a brawl with some cowboys inside the saloon in which they pulled knives in a free-for-all. Three people died and several more suffered injuries.
"The next morning, the newspaper called it the bloodiest day in Prescott history," Hanks said. "Only one person had a gun and actually used it. It was an interesting ordeal."
The Regulators will perform the Diana Saloon fight today around 3:30 p.m. on Whiskey Row.
Every year of the Shootout, the Regulators, a non-profit charity, also generate money for Yavapai Big Brothers Big Sisters. In 2008, they raised $2,000, up from $1,200 in 2007 and $600 three years ago, Hanks said.
"We've also increased each year with signing up 'Bigs' for children on waiting lists," Regulators member Barbara Boyer said.
In addition, the Regulators have adopted Sharlot Hall Museum, which they donate money to over the course of the entire year in efforts to preserve the museum's archives.
For more information about the Shootout or to become a sponsor, call Ranz at 771-2161 or log on the Regulators' website at www.prescottregulators.org.
Note: This story includes corrections not found in the original posting on July 26.
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Posted: Monday, July 27, 2009
Article comment by:
Loved it!!!
This event was so much fun and very informative! I have 4 little ones that are now dying to learn about history! Hurray for all this non profit does!!!
Posted: Sunday, July 26, 2009
Article comment by:
Retired Five-Oh
Good clean fun I guess, but the guys are so old they all look like Festus. Did that many people really live that long back then? Just kiddng, "pardners".
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