Prescott Valley

History

Prescott Valley's Fitzmaurice Ruins contain artifacts from the early Mountain Patayan people who inhabited the area some 1,400 years ago. The Walker Party discovered gold along Lynx Creek in 1863. The Lynx Creek placers went on to produce a recorded of gold. Estimates of actual production range up to , which would be worth about $138 million at 2020 prices. Prescott Valley, formerly known as Lonesome Valley, was settled by ranchers in the 1880s, raising beef to supply the miners and new settlers. The Fain family, pioneer ranchers, still ranch in the valley. In the mid-1960s, Prescott Valley Incorporated, a real-estate company from Phoenix, purchased land in an area 10 miles east of Prescott known as Lonesome Valley. In 1966, representatives from Prescott Valley Inc. began traveling to the Midwest to sell home lots. By 1978, more than 1,500 residents were living in the unincorporated area now known as Prescott Valley. In 1978, 80 percent of the voters of Prescott Valley voted for incorporation as a town. The town celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2018. In 1985, Prescott Valley got its first licensed radio station. The station was the first solar powered FM station in the United States. Today, Arizona's Hometown Radio Group has grown to seven stations throughout Arizona.

Geography

Prescott Valley (locally, PV) is located in central Arizona approximately north of Phoenix at . elevation. PV has good access to Arizona State Route 89, SR-89A and SR-69, connecting to Interstates 17 and 40. Air service is available at Ernest A. Love Field, approximately northwest. One of PV's landmarks, Glassford Hill (elevation ) was an active volcano between 10 and 14 million years ago. Colonel William A. Glassford traveled the area in the 1880s and helped build a system of 27 heliograph stations to monitor the movements of Apache Indians, U.S. military troops and civilians. Glassford Hill was a part of that early communications system. According to the Köppen climate classification, Prescott Valley has a cold semi arid climate (abbreviated BSk).

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• House Finch

  Haemorhous mexicanus (P.L.Statius Müller, 1776) · Aves
  9,572
• Common Raven

  Corvus corax Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  8,735
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  7,887
• Lesser Goldfinch

  Spinus psaltria (Say, 1822) · Aves
  7,849
• Spotted Towhee

  Pipilo maculatus Swainson, 1827 · Aves
  7,306
• Mallard

  Anas platyrhynchos Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  6,715
• White-breasted Nuthatch

  Sitta carolinensis Latham, 1790 · Aves
  5,571
• American Coot

  Fulica americana Gmelin, 1789 · Aves
  5,165

Largest nearby schools

• Bradshaw Mountain High School
  High · Prescott Valley · 1,697 students · 24.2:1 ratio
• Prescott High School
  High · PRESCOTT · 1,436 students · 21.8:1 ratio
• Liberty Traditional School
  Elementary · Prescott Valley · 785 students · 22.4:1 ratio
• BASIS Prescott
  Other · PRESCOTT · 611 students
• Coyote Springs Elementary School
  Elementary · Prescott Valley · 592 students · 18.5:1 ratio
• Prescott Mile High Middle School
  Middle · PRESCOTT · 578 students · 19.3:1 ratio
• Granville Elementary School
  Elementary · Prescott Valley · 514 students · 18.4:1 ratio
• Prescott Valley School
  Elementary · Prescott Valley · 432 students

Most recent

• M 2.5 — 2025-04-15
  14 km N of Clarkdale, Arizona
• M 2.6 — 2023-08-14
  9 km WSW of Williams, Arizona
• M 3.8 — 2023-07-23
  2 km E of Chino Valley, Arizona
• M 2.7 — 2022-09-09
  10 km ESE of Flagstaff, Arizona
• M 2.9 — 2021-07-18
  27 km SW of Valle, Arizona
• M 3.3 — 2021-04-07
  4 km ESE of Flagstaff, Arizona