Albert Franklin Banta (December 18, 1843 – June 21, 1924) was an American newspaperman, politician, jurist, and army scout.
As a scout, he was a member of the Wheeler Survey and assisted General George Crook during the Apache Wars.
[2] At the beginning of the American Civil War, Banta served as a "Three Month Volunteer" in the Missouri State Militia.
On a trip to Kansas City, Missouri, he was arrested by Union soldiers and accused of being a Confederate spy in the service of William Quantrill.
[4] In this role he served as a teamster escorting Governor John Noble Goodwin's party to the newly formed Arizona Territory.
[4][3] He also worked as a cowboy for R. E. Farrington and traveled extensively through the territory, keeping a record of his wanderings in a personal journal.
He continued to serve as a scout and guide, assisting General George Crook during the Apache Wars.
The two men located what the Arizona Citizen called "some very rich strikes of gold and silver.".
[4] Banta had an opportunity to purchase the Arizona Gazette, but felt the $6,000 offering price to be excessive.
[1] A 1900 fire that damaged Prescott's Whiskey Row destroyed the Pick and Drill and dealt Banta a serious financial setback.
[2] During his retirement, Banta spent time at the offices of the Prescott Courier chronicling his life.
A copy of the document he produced was kept at the Sharlot Hall Museum until its publication in 1952 under the title Albert Franklin Banta: Arizona Pioneer.
[9] Tucson's "Franklin Street" was named after his work on a surveying crew led by Solomon W. Foreman in March 1872.