Welcome to Badger Mountain Press
Why, you might ask, "Badger Mountain"? Badger Mountain is a prominent pile of granite located in southeast Prescott, Arizona. It is part of the Bradshaw Mountain Range in Yavapai County. At the top is large letter "P" for Prescott. The "P" celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2022. It is the very solid and familiar landscape that I view through my office window when I write.
As a writer of non-fiction Arizona history I have had very good experiences working with established publishing companies. The decision to establish a personal publishing company was not an easy one. It all had to do with timing. If I wanted to have An Arizona Auto Adventure, Clarence Boynton's 1913 Travelogue published in time for the 100th Anniversary of the trip, I would have to do it myself. And so, Badger Mountain Press was born. To date only An Arizona Auto Adventure, Clarence Boynton's 1913 Travelogue has been published by Badger Mountain Press, but it is growing, with another book about Arizona history due to be published in 2023. Look for it on this website. Hint: It's about a place with a very unusual name.
A Photographic Tour of 1916 Prescott, Arizona: History Lost and Found
AUTHORS - NANCY BURGESS WITH RICHARD WILLIAMS
2005 | Soft cover | 232 pages | 244 illustrations
The opportunity to obtain a previously unknown collection of historic photographs of Prescott, Arizona, was, for me, one of the most exciting discoveries possible. Poring over 130 glass plate negatives in the darkroom became even more exciting as it was discovered that the photographs were almost all dated and that they were taken in the historic city of Prescott, Arizona in 1916. (continue below)
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To a historian who uses historic photographs constantly for research into Arizona’s history, the information contained in these photographs was unparalleled for the time period in Prescott.
Unfortunately, history does not tell us the all of the stories of the photographs to be presented in this book. They were taken in Prescott, Arizona between March and May, 1916, but the photographer is, unfortunately, unknown. The photographs are all of interiors of businesses. Photographs from other sources, including my own photo and postcard collection, have been chosen to supplement the interior photographs. Business tokens and advertisements help tell the stories of these remarkable photographs. Images appear on almost every page of the book.
The glass plate negatives for the photographs were discovered in the historic Elk’s Opera House in Prescott, Arizona. In 1993, Richard Williams, who knew of the photographs, approached me about the possibility of a book of the photographs. Ten years of research followed.
A Photographic Tour of 1916 Prescott, Arizona presents a small slice of life in a growing-up, frontier western town in 1916 in a State which was, four years earlier, a Territory of the United States.
A Photographic Tour of 1916 Prescott, Arizona was updated and revised in 2013 and republished in softcover.
An Illustrated History of Mayer, Arizona
AUTHOR - NANCY BURGESS
2012 | Soft cover | 264 pages | 300 illustrations
It is important to acknowledge and save the places that matter today and in our history. This book is the story of a small, rural western town and the men and women who put it on the map. There is common thread that runs through all of these people. They all have a true pioneering spirit, and the uncompromising land and lifestyle in which this type of person flourishes is called, even today, the Frontier. (continue below)
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I waited twenty years for someone to write the history of Mayer, Arizona. When it didn’t happen, and seemed that it would not happen, I delved into my twenty years of research and my photo and post card collection and wrote the book, illustrating the story of Mayer, Arizona with images on almost every page of the book.
Mayer, Arizona is a small, unincorporated town in Yavapai County, Arizona. It is located near the center of the state at an elevation of 4,371 feet in the foothills of the Bradshaw Mountains. It was founded and named by Joseph Mayer, who purchased the “Big Bug Stage Station,” a stage station on the Black Canyon Stage Line from Prescott to Phoenix, in July of 1882, and proceeded to found a town, where he was the major player until his death in 1909.
Joe Mayer had his hand in almost every business in the Mayer area in the early days and was a true 19th century entrepreneur who was constantly coming up with new and adventuresome business ideas. Many of his enterprises were successful, and made him a wealthy man in property, if not in cash. Some business ventures, such as his “cactus spine toothpicks” never took off. However, he helped to bring water and the railroad to Mayer, built the first hotel the first business block, built the 1902 school and established the post office. Joe’s wife, Sarah Belle (Sadie) Wilbur Mayer, was the first postmistress, starting in January of 1884, and she continued in that capacity into the 20th century. Sadie was also known throughout the area for her skill in “doctoring” and was always willing to help anyone who was in need of medical assistance in an area where the nearest doctor was some 25 or more miles away.
The town of Mayer has had a varied history in Yavapai County but has retained its economic base, its rural, small-town, western country flavor and many of its historic buildings. As industries, such as mining and sheep and cattle ranching have waned, and as the State highway bypassed the downtown, and, as retirees and commuters from the big cities to the south have arrived, Mayer is still “Mayer,” much as it was fifty years ago.
An Arizona Auto Adventure: Clarence Boynton’s 1913 Travelogue
AUTHOR - NANCY BURGESS
2013 | Soft Cover | 206 pages | 200 illustrations
In the case of “An Account of the Watkins-Boynton 1,000 Mile Tour Through Northern Arizona, August 28 to October 3, 1913,” by Clarence Boynton, serendipity put the typewritten journal into my hands or, actually, into my e-mail. An Arizona Auto Adventure: Clarence Boynton’s 1913 Travelogue is the result of that serendipity, which so often happens when a writer is not looking for a new topic. (continue below)
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Clarence and Mariquita Boynton’s grandson, Rush Boynton, sent the journal to his friend who sent the journal to me by e-mail, and immediately, I knew that it should be published and that it was my responsibility to see that happen. A travel journal from the earliest days of automobile pleasure travel is a treasure, and an eye-opener. This is a unique and exciting story told by a man who was very involved in the trip – as a driver, mechanician (mechanic) and chronicler of the trip.
In the fall of 1913, chemist Clarence N. Boynton, his wife Mariquita and his friend and soon-to-be business partner, physician William Warner Watkins, along with his wife Bessie and the Watkins’ nine-month old daughter Merial, took a driving trip in Dr. Watkins’ 1913 Studebaker. Dr. Watkins was an “autoist,” a man who was enamored of the new-fangled automobile for pleasure driving, rather than for pure transportation. Starting and ending in Phoenix, the trip was planned to cover a circle of approximately 1,000 miles in central Arizona. The trip took the Watkins’ and the Boyntons from Phoenix to Wickenburg, Castle Hot Springs, Kirkland, Skull Valley, Prescott, Clarkdale and back to Prescott, Chino Valley, Ash Fork, the Grand Canyon, Flagstaff, Williams, Strawberry, Pine, Payson, Roosevelt, the Apache Trail, Mesa and back to Phoenix with numerous exciting, interesting or dreaded places in between. An Arizona Auto Adventure: Clarence Boynton’s 1913 Travelogue is the chronicle of the excitement, sights, experiences, trials and tribulations of a road trip in the early days of automobile travel in a place and time when the “Wild West” of Arizona was still in evidence. Just 18 months before the trip, in 1912, Arizona became a State. There was no statewide road system, and many of the “roads” were nothing more than cattle trails, unimproved wagon or stagecoach roads or tracks across the forest or desert. Pavement was practically non-existent. Creek and river crossings were, for the most part, un-bridged and treacherous, whether wet or dry. The days of the stagecoach, freight wagon and horse and buggy were certainly not over, and automobiles were a rarity in the more rural communities in the state. “Gas stations,” such as they were, were few and far between. Maps were incomplete or incorrect, and in some areas roads were uncharted. It was no country for an auto.
Around Yavapai County: Celebrating Arizona’s Centennial
AUTHORS - NANCY BURGESS AND KAREN DESPAIN
2011 | Soft Cover | 127 pages | 197 illustrations
Yavapai County has a rich heritage of ranching, mining, military and business and is home to much of Arizona’s most fascinating history and spectacular scenery. (continue below)
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From ancient American Indian ruins in the Verde Valley to Jerome, the West’s “most wickedest town” to the once rollicking Whiskey Row in Prescott, and from the deserts of the southern part of the county to the rivers, lakes and streams throughout the county, to the brilliant red rocks of Sedona to the Ponderosa forests in the Prescott area, Yavapai County has plenty to offer.
The history of Yavapai County is rich and vast, fully deserving preservation for future generations to come. Yavapai County has the quintessential history of cowboys and Indians, and miners and merchants and shady ladies.
The Yavapai County Arizona Centennial Committee was created by the Yavapai County Board of Supervisors. The Committee’s goal was to identify and assist with the development of projects focused on history and the 2012 Arizona Centennial which bring attention to all parts of Yavapai County. “Around Yavapai County, Celebrating Arizona’s Centennial” is one of these projects. The late Karen Despain, a career newspaper woman, and I collaborated to research and write the stories of the many Yavapai County places and people to produce the book for Yavapai County. Images for the book came from many sources and appear on almost every page of the book.
As one of the original four counties, Yavapai County is believed to be the largest county to have ever been created in the United States, containing approximately 65,000 square miles. Yavapai County earned the historical moniker of “Mother of Counties” because all or portions of five other counties, Apache, Coconino, Gila, Maricopa and Navajo, were carved out of the original land area of Yavapai County. Today, the very diverse Yavapai County consists of 8,125 square miles, which is similar in size to the state of Massachusetts!
This book serves as a guide for both residents and visitors alike to explore Yavapai County, to learn about and appreciate the rich pre-history and history of our area, and to enjoy the spectacular and colorful places, the people and the characters which make up our communities and rural areas in Yavapai County.
Nancy Burgess - Author
An Arizona native, Nancy Burgess is a historian and photographer specializing in the history of Central Arizona. She is the author of A Photographic Tour of 1916 Prescott, Arizona published by McFarland & Company, Inc. in 2005 and An Illustrated History of Mayer, Arizona, also published by McFarland & Company, Inc., in 2012 and the co-author of Around Yavapai County: Celebrating Arizona’s Centennial published in 2011 by Arcadia Publishing, Inc. and An Arizona Auto Adventure, Clarence Boynton's 1913 Travelogue published in 2013 by Badger Mountain Press. She is the photographer for Ranch Dog, A Tribute to the Working Dog in the American West by Marianne Murdock published in 2000 by Willow Creek Press, which is currently out of print.
Nancy Burgess is a member of the Western Writers of America and is the recipient of several awards including the Governor’s Awards for Historic Preservation 2001, 2004, 2006, 2007; Arizona Culturekeeper 2008; Sharlot Hall Award, 2010; and the Prescott Western Heritage Foundation Award, 2013. She lives in Prescott, Arizona. Also a professional photographer, she is an independent preservation consultant and has written extensively on the subject.
About Badger Mountain Press
Badger Mountain Press, LLC was created in 2013 by Nancy Burgess. Nancy was working on An Arizona Auto Adventure: Clarence Boynton’s 1913 Travelogue, which she wanted to publish in 2013 for the 100th Anniversary of the Clarence Boynton’s 1,000 mile driving trip in Arizona in the summer and fall of 1913.
McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers, which had published both A Photographic Tour of 1916 Prescott, Arizona and An Illustrated History of Mayer, Arizona for Nancy could not schedule An Arizona Auto Adventure until 2015. So, a dilemma ensued, and Nancy decided to form her own wholly owned publishing company in Prescott, Arizona to publish An Arizona Auto Adventure so that it would be ready for the 100th anniversary of Clarence Boynton’s exciting Arizona trip in 2013. Book design was by Becky Fulker of Color Factor and the book was printed and bound by Color Factor, a local business in Prescott at the time.