Prescott Blog

[color=#FFBF80]Justification #1 (1 of 3)[/color] for Pres'kitt
The Prescott Family changed the pronunciation to Pres'kitt. The Prescott House Director said this was true back in 1998 according to Elizebeth Ruffner.
No historical evidence.
[color=#FFBF80]Watch this 18 second clip[/color] of the William Hickling Prescott House introduction video. The pronunciation is Pres'cott.

https://prescottaz-blog.com/WmH_Prescott_pronunciation.mp4



Read below for more information and follow along with the video.
[color=#FFBF80]Website Video:[/color]
https://nscdama.org/properties/william-hickling-prescott-house/

Located on Beacon Hill, Prescott House is a Federal-style townhouse which faces the Boston Common. The house and its owners speak to the history of Boston in the nineteenth century, from the post-Revolution Federal era to the time when Boston was the intellectual center of America, to the expansion of the city into the Back Bay.

[color=#00FFFF]“Pres’cott is OK” [/color]
There are many recent ‘stories’ about the pronunciation of Prescott. I have concluded that the use of the Pres’kitt pronunciation is [color=#00FFFF](1) [/color]not from the Prescott Family (as Ruffner family suggests it is) and[color=#00FFFF] (2)[/color] not favored by the early citizens at a May 30, 1864, public meeting (per Sharlot Hall Museum article suggesting it was favored).

[color=#00FFFF]Pres’kitt – is used by Prescott Family (1).[/color]
William Hickling Prescott was born in 1796 and lived through the Revolutionary era as a child. He was educated in Boston, attended Harvard, and became a leading historian in the 19th century.[color=#00FFFF] His contemporaries and writings show no indication of a “Pres’kit” pronunciation[/color]. In fact, his works and public life were tied to the “Prescott” spelling and pronunciation. (CoPilot AI).
"Life of William H. Prescott" book by Ticknor, George, (1791-1871) did not mention the surname pronunciation.

Click Here to read the "Life of William H. Prescott" book: https://archive.org/details/lifeofwilliamhpr00tick/page/n7/mode/2up
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[attachment=0]Wm_H_Prescott-Life_of_.jpg[/attachment]

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[color=#00FFFF]Credibility of the Pronunciation Change Claim[/color]
The statement that William Hickling Prescott’s grandfather (1726–1795) changed the pronunciation of “Prescott” from “Prescott” to “Preskit” to symbolize the family’s separation from England is not supported by credible historical evidence. (CoPilot AI citing Massachusetts Historical Society).

[color=#00FFFF]Pres’kitt – is preferred at the May 30 1864 public meeting by citizens (2).[/color]
There is no written record available to show there ‘was a compromise reached at a public meeting on May 30, 1864, where the alternatives were discarded in return for pronouncing it PresKIT.’ (Sharlot Hall Museum). The June 22, AZ Miner has an article about a public meeting on May 30, 1864 at the Store of Don Manual on Granite creek. (AZ Miner).
See the June 22 1864 newspaper article clipping below.

[color=#00FFFF]Marshall Trimble[/color] emphasizes respect for the city’s namesake, William H. Prescott, whose proper pronunciation would have been “Prescott,” and for that reason he himself uses the traditional form. (Reddit)

Quoting AZ Miner (clipping below):
[color=#FFBF80][i]The proceedings under which the site was chosen, the name of Prescott selected and the lots had been disposed of, are given in the following report;
A meeting of citizens was held at granite Creek, Arizona territory, on Monday evening May 30th 1864 in response to the following notice; Which had been widely posted;

Notice - there will be a public meeting held at the store of Don Manuel on granite Creek, on Monday evening, May 30th, 1864, for the purpose of considering and adopting the best mode of disposing of lots in the proposed town, to those wishing to purchase under the recent act of Congress.
By order of
MANY CITIZENS
…..........

RESOLVED, That we invite the citizens of the territory and those persons who may hereafter become such, to unite with us in establishing a town at this point, in the name whereof shall be Prescott, in honor of the eminent American writer and standard authority upon Aztec and Spanish-American history. End of quote.[/i][/color]

[color=#00FFFF]NOTHING about a compromise on the name if the pronunciation was Pres'kitt.[/color]
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Clipping of June 22, 1864 AZ Miner,
the first edition after the May 30 public meeting:
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[attachment=1]June_22_1864_AZ_Miner_pg_2.png[/attachment]

I’m an Arizona native and have spent at least summers in the Prescott area since the late 50s.I just naturally learned to pronounce it PresKIT as that’s how the locals spoke.

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[color=#00FFFF]After reading Ken Godbold’s letter to the editor in the Courier May 18th edition, I wanted to look into his claims.[/color] He mentions that he thought he would share a bit of local history ‘passed along years ago’ by one of the Ruffner’s. The Ruffner’s are indeed widely recognized in Prescott for their deep roots and long-standing role in preserving the city’s history. Ken goes on to say that during the Revolutionary era, (1763 to 1783), the surnames associated with English were discouraged, he mentions that the family reportedly chose a simpler solution to changing their name and just proposed a new pronunciation which gradually became 'Pres-kit'. Gradually? This is in 1770s Massachusetts. Prescott was named in 1864 in Arizona.

Godbold mentions the Ruffner story offers an interesting “historical explanation” for why generations of locals have said it the way they do. Maybe. Maybe not.

Melissa Ruffner is 84 years old and still lives in Prescott. In a June 26, 2017 interview with ‘Prescott LIVING’ she shares her stories, but nothing mentioned about a preferred Prescott pronunciation.

Well, I am skeptical. Godbold’s letter relies on conversations that took place 250 years ago. Reading an article on the Sharlot Hall website, (https://archives.sharlothallmuseum.org/index.php/articles/days-past-articles/1/135-years-ago-today-a-capital-is-born-named-prescott) the city was named after William Hinckley Prescott...by Richard McCormick; “the first Territorial Secretary, and owner-publisher of the Miner. Appointed to his post by his friend Abraham Lincoln”, he chose the name Prescott because of William H. Prescott's life as a historian. But most of his history was written about the conquest of Mexico, and he wrote that Mexican settlements were as far north as Prescott which was found to be inaccurate.

Well, what are the ‘Facts’?
[color=#00FFFF]Looking at an July 20, 1864 edition of the ‘Arizona Miner[/color]’; there the publisher, Richard C. McCormick, stated that he wanted the name Prescott to be bestowed upon the new capital city in the Territory of Arizona because of Prescott's fame as a historian that followed ‘facts’. The area of Prescott was to become the capital of the new territory of Arizona, they had to figure out a 'place' for the new capital. The first Fort Whipple was at De Rio Springs in Chino Valley.
[attachment=3]Del_Rio_monument_.jpg[/attachment]
Then Fort Whipple moved down to the Granite Creek area south of the Dells, where the VA campus is today. So, when this became the 'place' of the new Territorial capital, they had to come up with the name. Richard McCormick, a student of history, decided to push it a certain direction, which was the name Prescott. This was his favorite because of the connection to William Hinckley Prescott an American historian. So, in the July 20,1964 edition, it is written what the “City of Prescott” would be. It describes the 'place' and the street names, orientations and widths. The typical “lot” size around the square was setup. Nothing written about the pronunciation.

[attachment=2]Richard_McCormick.jpg[/attachment]

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[color=#00FFFF]My point here[/color] is that if 'locals' choose not to use the press-kit pronunciation they should not be chastised. I moved here 10 years ago from Phoenix. I am a third generation Arizona native, born in Tucson. I was raised in north central Phoenix. In the 80s I built and designed a house in Cave Creek and lived there for 25 years. When I was growing up in Phoenix my father would take the family camping, and often the camping trip was through Prescott to the White Spar campground or the Lynx Lake area campgrounds. As a college student I slept on the Courthouse lawn, July 4, 1976, while in town for the Bicentennial. So, I got early impressions of Prescott. I say this just to provide a basis for my argument. I have a spiritual connection with Prescott; it holds a deep and dear place in my heart. I have always pronounced the name per the English pronunciation of Prescott. And now I am being told no, you were taught wrong, you pronounce it wrong, pronounce it the way we want you to.
Well, I take exception to that. I will continue to pronounce it the way I ‘heard’ it growing up.

Just being an ‘ornery’ local!

As I was looking into the pronunciation of the word, I found that in September of 2016 The Daily Courier had a editorial about the pronunciation and in that article the basic result was that, it doesn't matter, they used the example of the pronunciation of potāto or potăto. What the Courier did was give an OK for either pronunciation. The City of Prescott is very involved in its history and preservation. The City of Prescott does not currently endorse a pronunciation of the word Prescott. None of their online pages or past information has indicated a preference for the pronunciation and nowhere do they push newcomers or visitors to use a certain pronunciation. So, the City of Prescott says potāto or potăto...no problem.

[color=#00FFFF]Click here to go to July 20 1864 'Arizona Miner' page 3 describing the New city Prescott and the lot sizes and prices.:[/color]
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https://prescottaz-blog.com/PrescottBlog_AZ_Miner_1864.html
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[attachment=1]AZ_Miner.jpg[/attachment]

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[attachment=0]friendly_argument_.6jpg.jpg[/attachment]

Daily Courier Rant on Tuesday 5-5-26:
[color=#BFBF80][i]- RE: We call it “Pres-kit.” Remember, our city is named after a person and we use his family’s pronunciation. If we want to change that honor to the Dallas Cowboys quarterback, then we would pronounce it the way his family does.[/i][/color]

Ha ha...Sorry ranter...but William Hickling Prescott, who lived in Massachusetts, never set foot in Arizona. His family lived in Salem and Boston Massachusetts. So, I have no allegiance to the family's 'honor'. I have spent my entire life in Arizona. So...I have some say in this.
Pres'cott' is for me!

By the way, The City of Prescott does not appear to have a dedicated, official campaign to teach residents or visitors how to pronounce “Prescott” — but the pronunciation itself is a well‑known local identity marker.

To each his own pronunciation.
I heard the story of the Prescott namesake, a family from Britian wanted the pronunciation be differentiated from British English, to help separate from England, so he promoted the kit sound, which is a short vowel i.

William H. Prescott was an American historian, who actually never visited the area.

Seems to me that Prescott pronounced with the short e, the short i, the short o and the short u all come out of the mouth about the same...unless a vowel is accented.

[i]Short vowels:
a as in cat
e as in wet
i as in big
o as in clock
u as in but[/i]
[attachment=0]Wm. H. Prescott.jpg[/attachment]


go to Sharlot Hall website or more:
https://la.sharlothallmuseum.org/index.php/blog/william-hickling-prescott-namesake-of-arizonas-first-territorial-capital/