On the western slopes of the San Francisco Peaks near Flagstaff is a beautiful area known as Hart Prairie. Its 8,500-foot elevation suggests short summers and long, cold winters, but surprisingly; it was one of the first areas around Flagstaff to be homesteaded because of its lush grasses, bountiful timber and readily available water.

On March 18, 1911, an entourage that included former President Theodore Roosevelt and territorial Gov. Richard E. Sloan rode up Apache Trail to dedicate the largest masonry dam in the world.

The natural beauty and healing waters of Castle Hot Springs have enticed several owners during the years to attempt to craft the area into a successful resort destination, with varying degrees of success.

“It says here Aunt Susie died,” said George Smalley, reading a letter from home at the family dinner table. “Oh, who shot her?” asked his daughter Yndia. It seemed like everyone died that way in Globe in those days.

Charles McArthur, Warren McArthur, Jr. and Albert McArthur dreamed about and ultimately built a resort "where the great men and women of the earth would come and rest and play, where these visitors could live in luxury while they surveyed the unexcelled advantages of the Salt River Valley, and where investors in a hotel could realize satisfactory profits from their investments.

At the gala celebration for the opening of the newly constructed, $2.5 million ($29.6 million when adjusted for inflation), Hotel Westward Ho, recently elected Gov. John C. Phillips was asked to speak. He said, "I am not a great man and I have never done great things. With your friendship and cooperation and the assistance of Divine Providence, however, I sincerely hope that I will make you a good governor."

In his autobiography, Geronimo told about the lifestyle and beliefs of his people, the Bedonkohe, who lived in the mountains along the eastern border of Arizona. He said he was born in 1829 near the headwaters of the Gila River.