Whiskey Row History

Commemorating the upcoming 126th anniversary of Prescott's Great Fire, here is another documented story from it.

Prescottonians Sing an Apropos Song While Their Town Burned

Twenty-five years after the fire, firefighter Bob Morrison recalled that a group of men carried the piano from the Palace Saloon onto the Plaza. Ed Wilson, the Palace pianist who was probably a member of that group, was followed by a singer described as a “painted lady.” When the piano was situated properly, Wilson sat down and started hammering out a popular song of that day, the appropriately inappropriate “There’ll Be a Hot Time in the Old Town Tonight,” while the saloon girl sang heartily, and the fire destroyed businesses across the street.
Evidence indicates that this is more than just a good story. The testimony of William Greenwood, an eyewitness to the fire, an employee of Sam Hill’s Hardware and formerly one of Theodore Roosevelt’s Rough Riders, confirmed, “Even a piano was moved to the new location, and soon, someone was playing ‘There’ll Be a Hot Time in the Old Town Tonight.’”
The song caught on and was sung several times. At one point, people from as far away as Granite Street could be heard singing along as the roar of the fire moved east, and soon, seemingly half the town joined in. One report claimed that during one of Wilson’s renditions, when he reached the chorus, another dynamite explosion from a nearby building caused an iron bar to be hurled in his direction. Luckily, it flew directly over his head and smashed into a hose cart.

The Whiskey Row Historian is blessed to have talented researchers keeping him on the straight and narrow. D. Sue Kissel, Dennis McGowan. Lucas Shaw, Mike Mihaljevic, Peter Brand, Victoria Wilcox, Ana Sitnina, Stuart Rosebrook Prescott Constable Ron Williams. Blessed to have you along!

Thank you Prescott The Prescott Times!

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