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Five generations of the Fain Family have made their mark on Arizona's history. William M. Fain came from Kentucky, and Cary Burch, a Pennsylvania Dutch girl, traveled by sailing sloop around the Horn to San Francisco. The two married in Tonopah, Nevada, in 1867, and seven years later, migrated to Arizona in a covered wagon across the Great Plains. William had fifty cents in his pocket when they arrived at Camp Sandy (now Camp Verde). He cut hoe grass along the Verde River for the cavalry until he had enough capital to purchase a small ranch on Oak Creek. With thrift, hard work and a large family, his ranch grew into the country that is now called Sedona, Fain Mountain and Fain Springs. |
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Granville (Dan) Fain was born in Cornville in 1879. In 1902, Dan married Mildred Back, whose father owned a ranch in the upper Verde Valley. During his lifetime, Dan would operate and own seventy-six ranches and brands throughout Central Arizona, making him the largest rancher in the history of the Central Arizona Territory and the early years of statehood. In 1918 he founded the "Rafter Eleven" ranch, which was situated in Lonesome Valley east of Prescott. Dan was a well-respected and widely known cowman until he pulled off his last wet saddle blanket in his eighty-first year. Truly, he was one of the last and perhaps the best of the "loose-reign" cowboys of the open range.
Norman Fain was born in 1907 in Camp Verde but moved with his family to Prescott after he had completed the sixth grade. In college, he became the undefeated, light-heavyweight boxing champ of the seven southwestern states before graduating from Stanford in 1928. In the fall of that year, he married Johnie Lee Parsons, his former high school sweetheart. Norman bought one-half interest in an outfit on Spring Creek near Sedona and ran his father's Diamond S allotment between Camp Verde and Cottonwood. From 1941 to 1946, Norman Fain served three terms in the Arizona State Senate and sponsored the Arizona Right-to-Work Bill. He was a leader in the Arizona cattle industry and the business community. He served on the boards of directors of the Valley National Bank, Arizona Public Service and Marcus Lawrence Hospital. He pioneered the development of citrus groves on the Yuma Mesa and spearheaded the development of the Southwest Salt Company. In recognition of his accomplishments and decades of exemplary service, Norman Fain received the coveted "Spirit of Arizona" award from the Arizona State Senate and an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters Degree from Arizona State University. The terms "leader," "statesman," "cowman," "farmer" and "businessman" all fit the mold of Norman Fain, a man of common sense to an uncommon degree.
Bill Fain was raised on the Rafter Eleven Ranch and had a vision that someday, the ranch would outgrow Prescott. The concept was, "There is more money in people than in livestock." After graduation from the University of Arizona in 1960, he married Nancy Lee Williams. Bill and Nancy ran the cow outfit at the Rafter Eleven, and over the next ten years, established their family of four. Norman and Bill founded the Shamrock Water Company, and Bill, with a group of local business and professional people, also developed the Prescott Country Club. During Prescott Valley's formative years, Bill and his partner of fifteen years, Bob Pavlich, brought Prescott Valley more than 100 new business ventures and thousands of jobs to the community. The Fain family continues its legacy of ranching and public service with an eye toward balanced economic growth. "Our greatest resource," said Bill Fain, "is the people we work with and the community we serve."
Now a new generation of Fains has formed the Fain Signature Group to build a vibrant downtown community in Prescott Valley and to further expand the job base to benefit the community.
The Fain family has a tradition of giving back to their community and state...
Dan Fain - 640 acres to the City of Prescott for a municipal airport-Love Field
Mildred Fain - Montezuma Well %26 Museum to the State of Arizona for an Arizona State Monument
Johnie Fain - 100 acres to the Town of Prescott Valley - "Fain Park," home of historical landmarks, Barlow-Massicks Castle - 18th century Victorian home built in 1890
One-half mile of stream bed and lake with high cement dam - used by Fitzmaurice %26 Savage in hydraulic gold mining and dredging Lynx Creek placer
Fitzmaurice Ruins - 35-room pueblo and outposts dated 1050 A.D. by University of Arizona and is commited to building a bright and prosperous future...
The Prescott Valley Downtown Master Plan - an entertainment center, which includes 60,000 square feet that has been set aside for restaurants, a food court, and specialty retail and office space
The Granville planned residential community - 3,400 homes to be constructed over the next decade
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