First Arizonian Inducted into the Hall of Great Westerners in the Cowboy Hall of Fame - First of its Kind on Waymarking.com

The Ruffner Plaza Stables were built on this lot purchased from Frank Murphy for $3,600. In May 1898, a local newspaper reported that it was "one of the most substantial as well as ornamental improvements which has been put up for several years. It is said to be one of the handsomest buildings of the kind in the Southwest and far ahead of any similar structure in Arizona." In February 1922, Ruffner sold the business to Dixon Fagerbert, who remodeled the building into a modern garage. The building later burned.

Owner, George Ruffner (marked with an X on the photograph) was described as "a man of honest and respectable industry". He came to the Territory in 1881 and worked as a cowboy and teamster. In 1888, Ruffner was one of the organizers of Prescott's World's Oldest Rodeo and he carried the American flag in every Fourth of July parade until his death in 1933 at the age of 71. In 1893 he was appointed a Deputy Sheriff of Yavapai County and the following year was elected Sheriff. He served five non-contiguous terms and was the first person from Arizona inducted into the Hall of Great Westerners in the Cowboy Hall of Fame.

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