Overlooking what is now Prescott Valley, Glassford Hill has witnessed many changes since being formed by volcanic activity many centuries ago. At one time, mammoths roamed the valley floor. There is ample archaeological evidence to indicate that early man moved into the area nearly 3,000 years ago. Native Americans settled villages around the year 1400 and left behind spear points and other artifacts to mark their presence.
Though Spanish explorers passed through the vicinity in the late 16th century, it was not until the 1864 discovery of gold in the nearby Bradshaw Mountains that Prescott Valley began to really attract attention from the outside world.
The U.S. Army established Fort Whipple in nearby Prescott and the U.S. Cavalry used Glassford Hill as a heliograph site for signal mirrors to communicate with other army units in a war against the Apaches. This was probably the most activity Prescott Valley saw until the early 1900s, when the Fain family homesteaded the area. Cattle then shared the range with antelope for decades … but a new town was on the way. In 1966, Prescott Valley was founded.
By the early 1970s, the population in the area, sometimes called Lonesome Valley, had grown to 600 people. Prescott Valley was incorporated in 1978 with a population of 1,520. Today, Prescott Valley is one of the fastest-growing non-metropolitan towns in America. We now have more than 45,000 residents and we continue to grow, but we are still proud to offer a friendly, small-town atmosphere that makes us one of the nation’s most desirable communities in which to live and work.