New book chronicles Camp Verde history in photos
Sales benefit local historical society
By Raquel Hendrickson
Bugle Managing Editor
CAMP VERDE - Jerome has a book, and so does Sedona. But Arcadia Publishing felt there was a gap in the Verde Valley section of its "Images of America" history series.
When the Camp Verde Historical Society was contacted by Arcadia's acquisitions editor about putting something together, members thought a brief pictorial history of Camp Verde was a great idea. The CVHS had all of the photos and turned over the task of writing explanatory captions to board member Steve Ayers.
"I thought it would be much easier than it turned out to be," said Ayers, who is also a reporter for The Bugle. "We had lots of photos and little information."
The book "Camp Verde," which will be available during Fort Verde Days, is not officially released until a week later. It was five months in the making, and that only came after a requested extension. The historical society not only had to piece together a coherent story but also had to decide what had to be left out due to Arcadia's restraints.
Part of the difficulty, according to Ayers, was a dearth of information on the community in the first half of the 20th century. There was lots of information and material on Fort Verde, but once the fort disappeared so did real record keeping.
"There was a great void from the end of the fort to about 1960," Ayers said.
So the CVHS set about telling that story of the transformation of the community from a military fort to a town. In the process, the historical society discovered a few things itself. A discovered hand-drawn map by Dr. Edward Palmer from around 1903 completed much of the puzzle of what Main Street looked like.
"We had to triage what information to use," Ayers said. "Which settlers, which families played a major role. The Wingfields, for instance, played a big part in the continuation of the town and the growth of the town."
The Yavapai-Apache Nation was brought into the process to proof information for accuracy as well. The historical society has always had pits and pieces of local lore, but the book is the first real history of the town, though it is primarily historic photographs.
"Fort Verde could stand a separate book," Ayers said.
During Fort Verde Days this weekend, the Camp Verde Historical Society will sell the book for $20. If copies run out, new orders can be placed. All proceeds go to the CVHS for the research and archives department in order to grow the collection of maps, photos and documents.
Sales benefit local historical society
By Raquel Hendrickson
Bugle Managing Editor
CAMP VERDE - Jerome has a book, and so does Sedona. But Arcadia Publishing felt there was a gap in the Verde Valley section of its "Images of America" history series.
When the Camp Verde Historical Society was contacted by Arcadia's acquisitions editor about putting something together, members thought a brief pictorial history of Camp Verde was a great idea. The CVHS had all of the photos and turned over the task of writing explanatory captions to board member Steve Ayers.
"I thought it would be much easier than it turned out to be," said Ayers, who is also a reporter for The Bugle. "We had lots of photos and little information."
The book "Camp Verde," which will be available during Fort Verde Days, is not officially released until a week later. It was five months in the making, and that only came after a requested extension. The historical society not only had to piece together a coherent story but also had to decide what had to be left out due to Arcadia's restraints.
Part of the difficulty, according to Ayers, was a dearth of information on the community in the first half of the 20th century. There was lots of information and material on Fort Verde, but once the fort disappeared so did real record keeping.
"There was a great void from the end of the fort to about 1960," Ayers said.
So the CVHS set about telling that story of the transformation of the community from a military fort to a town. In the process, the historical society discovered a few things itself. A discovered hand-drawn map by Dr. Edward Palmer from around 1903 completed much of the puzzle of what Main Street looked like.
"We had to triage what information to use," Ayers said. "Which settlers, which families played a major role. The Wingfields, for instance, played a big part in the continuation of the town and the growth of the town."
The Yavapai-Apache Nation was brought into the process to proof information for accuracy as well. The historical society has always had pits and pieces of local lore, but the book is the first real history of the town, though it is primarily historic photographs.
"Fort Verde could stand a separate book," Ayers said.
During Fort Verde Days this weekend, the Camp Verde Historical Society will sell the book for $20. If copies run out, new orders can be placed. All proceeds go to the CVHS for the research and archives department in order to grow the collection of maps, photos and documents.
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