We wish to thank Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, for much of the information on this page. We share information and images with Wikipedia. We also wish to thank the Sharlot Hall Museum for some of our information. Fort Whipple was a U.S. Army post which served as Arizona Territory's capital prior to the founding of the city of Prescott, Arizona. The first Army post was founded by Edward Banker Willis in January 1864 in Chino Valley, Arizona. But, it was later moved in May of 1864 to Granite Creek near the present day location of Prescott, Arizona. The military post was closed in 1913. Soon after retiring as a U.S. Army post, it became a Military Hospital that was used throughout the World War I and World War II eras. Fort Whipple is still a veteran's hospital today, and is also a tourist attraction. The name of Fort Whipple, comes from the last name of Amiel Weeks Whipple, who was a Union General, who served in the American Civil War. Amiel Weeks Whipple died at the Battle of Chancellorsville due to injuries. While the fort is still a hospital, several of the original buildings; which once served as the officers quarters, have been maintained as homes to the nurses and doctors of the hospital. One of the military officer's quarters has been turned into the Fort Whipple Museum, with artifacts and history about the fort and hospital, including medical instruments, Army weaponry, the Buffalo Soldiers, maps, with photographs and memoirs written by those stationed there. Since, one of the military officer's quarters has been turned into the Fort Whipple Museum, you will be able to also see how nice and well kept the officer's quarters were at Fort Whipple. The Fort Whipple Museum is easy to find among all of the other buildings at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center because it's green and yellow, and all the other buildings on the grounds are white. Since the architecture of all of the buildings is similar, the color scheme makes it easy to spot the museum among the rows of two-story houses. And the best part is that it's historically accurate because, all of the buildings were painted green and yellow, in the past. The museum is operated as a joint project of the Sharlot Hall Museum, and the Bob Stump Veterans Affairs Medical Center. The Founder, Edward Banker Willis: Edward Banker Willis (January 9, 1831 - December 7, 1879) was a United States military officer during the American Civil War. He participated in the Trans-Mississippi Theater, fighting rebels and hostile native Americans in the frontier of Arizona and New Mexico. Willis was born on January 9, 1831 in New York City and when he was nineteen he traveled west for the California Gold Rush. On August 24, 1861 he mustered into the service of the Union Army, becoming a first lieutenant and later on a captain of Company A, 1st California Infantry. From San Diego, Willis marched with James H. Carleton's expedition across New Mexico Territory and was involved in the capture of Tucson, an old Spanish presidio defended by a handful of milita. After that he headed south for the mining town of Mowry in order to arrest a suspected traitor named Sylvester Mowry. For his conduct in the Civil War, Willis was promoted to major on May 5, 1863. In September, Willis led a scouting party against the Navajo and later was on the board to determine where to build Fort Whipple. Leaving Fort Wingate on November 7, 1863, he went to Little Chino Valley, north of Prescott, and opened the new fort on December 23. However, the fort was moved on May 11, 1864 to its present location near Prescott. On June 30, 1864, Willis fought a small engagement with Apaches along the Salt River. On September 5, he mustered out of the 1st California Infantry and joined up with the 1st New Mexico Infantry at Santa Fe, becoming a lieutenant colonel on February 5, 1865. In January 1866 Willis was in command of Fort Selden when he heard a rumor that a large band of Apaches had sacked the Janos presidio in Chihuahua. Hastily he organized an expedition of fifty infantrymen and twenty-five cavalrymen to march to the aid of the Mexican citizens there. But when the column arrived, ten days later, Willis learned that the citizens had successfully fought the Apaches for two days. The rest fled into the surrounding mountains. Willis was honorably discharged at Santa Fe on November 1, 1866. He then became a civil engineer in New Mexico, Arizona California, Oregon, Washington and Oklahoma Territory before retiring to Omaha, Nebraska. Willis died at Fontenelle, Iowa on December 7, 1879, leaving a wife but no children. The Namesake, General Amiel Weeks Whipple: Amiel Weeks Whipple (October 15, 1818 � May 7, 1863) was an American military engineer and surveyor. He served as a brigadier general in the American Civil War, where he was mortally wounded at the Battle of Chancellorsville. Fort Whipple, the Arizona Territory's first capital, was named in his honor. Amiel Weeks Whipple was born to David and Abigail Brown Pepper Whipple in Greenwich, Massachusetts. He attended Amherst College and West Point, graduating in the Class of 1841. His early career including surveying the Patapsco River, sounding and mapping the approaches to New Orleans, surveying Portsmouth Harbor, and, as a lieutenant, helping to determine portions of the United States' borders with Canada and Mexico. In 1853 he led explorations for the first transcontinental railroad route to the Pacific Ocean, near the 35th parallel. From 1855 to 1857, Whipple published Explorations and Surveys for a Railroad Route from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean. Among other things, the book contains the formal botanical description of the cactus species Opuntia davisii, and others of which Whipple is a binomial author. During the Civil War, Whipple first served under General Irvin McDowell, & then became chief topographical engineer under General George B. McClellan in the Army of the Potomac. His maps were used on many Virginia battlefields. In 1862, as the brigadier general of volunteers, he led the defense of Washington, D.C., on its Virginia side. After great gallantry at the Fredericksburg, where he led third division III Corps, Whipple was severely wounded by a sharpshooter at Chancellorsville, and received the last rites on the battlefield. Taken to Washington he was breveted brigadier-general on May 4, major general of volunteers on May 6, and major-general by brevet on May 7, only a few hours before his death in Washington. He was buried in the Proprietors' Cemetery, Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Fort Whipple Museum Hours & Fees: Located on the VA Hospital Campus, Hwy. 89. Admission is by donation. Hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursdays, Fridays, & Saturdays Only. Closed on Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day and New Year�s Day. Note: Prescott is the home of three museums that describe the culture of the area. Here are Links to their websites. They are the Phippen Museum, the Sharlot Hall Museum, and the Smoki Museum.

If you are planning to visit Prescott and the Prescott area and you are coming from outside of Arizona, you could fly into Phoenix and then rent a car. Prescott is a little over a 2 hour drive from Phoenix off of the scenic I-17 route by taking Arizona 69. There are hotels and motels all along the way in nearby towns. We have some links to Priceline.com on this page since they can arrange all of your air flights, hotels and car. You may need some outdoor clothing and equipment, if you plan to visit the Prescott or Sedona area. We have some links to Altrec on this page since they are a good online source for outdoor gear. The IHG Link will take you to hotels within the Prescott City Limits. We of course, appreciate your use of the advertising on our pages, since it helps us to keep this page active.

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