Prescott

Seat of Yavapai County, western-central Arizona, USA, 10 9 km/68 mi northwest of Phoenix; population (1990) 26,500. Situated in a mountain basin, and surrounded by cattle ranches, it is a mining centre with some light industry. Tourism plays a significant role in the local economy; the 500,000-ha/1.25 million-ac Prescott National Forest is headquartered in the town. Educational foundations include Prescott and Yavapai colleges (both 1966).

Prescott was founded in 1864 by gold prospectors and became an early farming and ranching settlement. It was twice capital of the Arizona Territory, 1864–67 and 1877–89.

Prescott

Town in Leeds and Grenville United Counties, southeastern Ontario, Canada, on the St Lawrence River, 76 km/47 mi south of Ottawa; population (1991) 4,500. It is connected by bridge to Ogdensburg, New York State, USA. Clothing, tools, paper and cement products, and sporting and electronic goods are manufactured. Other local industries include metalworking, woodworking, silk milling, brewing, distilling, and dairy processing. It originally developed as the only deepwater port between Montréal and Kingston.

Prescott was settled in the early 1800s by Loyalists (former American colonists remaining loyal to Britain). Fort Wellington, a military post originally built during the War of 1812, is now part of a national historic park; the site also includes the building defended by rebel followers of Canadian politician William Lyon Mackenzie in the Battle of the Windmill (1838), during his unsuccessful attempt to limit British rule.