Grace M. Sparkes
1893 – 1963
There was a time when progress in Yavapai County was spelled S-P-A-R-K-E-S. Grace M. Sparkes came to Prescott, Arizona Territory, at the age of 14 in 1906. By 1911, she was working for the Yavapai County Chamber of Commerce as Secretary, a job she held for 34 years. In this capacity, and due significantly to her influence, the economy of Yavapai County remained stable through her tenure with a diverse base of tourism, health, mining, ranching and forestry. Among many other accomplishments, Miss Sparkes was the producer of the Prescott Frontier Days Rodeo for 30 years and developed the "Prescott Rules" used widely for rodeos across the West. She was involved in funding for the Hassayampa Hotel, was the publisher and editor of Yavapai Magazine, helped organize the Smoki People, and joined historian Sharlot Hall in securing a reservation for the Yavapai Indians in 1935. She worked to enlarge the Montezuma Castle National Monument and campaigned for good roads across the state. As Yavapai County Immigration Commissioner and member of the Arizona State Board of Welfare, she directed the Works Progress Administration for the County. Projects constructed under her supervision include the Sharlot Hall Building (the House of A Thousand Hands), the Hospital at Ft. Whipple, the Smoki Museum, Ken Lindley Field and Stadium, Prescott High School (now Mile High Middle School), Goldwater Dam and several street bridges.
In 1945 Grace resigned her position as Secretary of the Yavapai Chamber of Commerce and moved to Cochise County. She died October 23, 1963 in Bisbee.
Marker can be reached from East Gurley Street east of North Arizona Avenue.
Courtesy hmdb.org
