what to see and do when you visit ArizonaThese Prescott Museums offer a great way to experience Arizona’s history and see a bit about the often surprising past of the 48th state.
To experience the colorful and rugged history of Arizona, there’s no better thing to do than to visit these Prescott museums. You’ll find out about the indigenous people of the area, their rich cultures, and then what happened when miners, settlers, and the military moved into the area.
You can wander through a living history museum and find out about the heyday of Prescott as the town became Arizona’s territorial capital. And then, you will be drawn into the life of cowboys and ranchers through the eyes of famous western artists from the area and learn how Prescott became the home of the oldest rodeo in the world and a draw for western movie-making.
We will take you to three top Prescott museums in the high country where you can experience Arizona’s history and discover a few surprising stories along the way.
Prescott Museum of Indigenous People
As I walked down the sidewalk toward a 1930s stone building, I seemed to remember this place from a visit many years ago. And, therein lies quite a story. This was once the Smoki Museum, named after the “Smoki Tribe,” a non-Native civic organization made up of Anglo residents who donated the land, the buildings, and cultural resource materials to help create the museum.
Once named the Smoki Museum, this building was constructed in the style of the Hopi buildings on the nearby Hopi mesas. Photo by Elizabeth R Rose
This Prescott museum began in part due to people like artist Kate Cory (1861 – 1958), who came out west from Illinois seeking an artists’ colony. Finding no other artists there, this adventuresome woman lived with the Hopi people. She donated eight of her paintings and her photo album from her time with the Hopi people for the museum’s collection. Others donated artifacts and ethnographic information and the museum was dubbed The Smoki Museum. The building, using local stone and pine, with additional funding from the CCC and WPA, was completed in 1935.
Paintings by Kate Cory drawing from her experiences living with the Hopi people are displayed toward the back of the museum. Photo by Elizabeth R Rose
The Smoki Story
As I sat down with Manuel Lucero IV (Cherokee), director of the museum, he looked at me with his piercing blue eyes and proceeded to tell me this story. I was enthralled.
Founding of the Organization
Back in the 1920s, the Smoki People Organization of Prescott was fascinated with local Native cultures. In their own way, they wanted to preserve some cultural aspects that they found particularly interesting. But in their zest for cultural preservation, they clearly overstepped their bounds.
Historical photo of the all-Anglo Smoki Women’s Auxilliary in their version of Native dress. Photo courtesy Museum of Indigenous People
The Smoki Tribe, as they called themselves, conducted events dressed up in Native-inspired costumes, wearing greasepaint, and enacted their version of dances based on aspects of sacred Hopi ceremonial dances. One of the most dramatic was the snake dance using live bull snakes.
Historical photo of the Smoki snake dances which were appropriated from the Hopi Snake Clan ceremonies. Photo courtesy Museum of Indigenous People
These dances originally took place at the “Smoki Pueblo” building next to the current museum. You can imagine that the Hopi were not amused. But the Smoki organization grew in popularity.
Famous Members
As the story goes, Barry Goldwater was a member, Calvin Coolidge was an honorary member, and the group participated in parades as far away as the East Coast. They were a significant force on the Prescott social scene.
Historical photo showing Smoki members parading in downtown Prescott. Note the Goldwater family store in the background. Photo courtesy Museum of Indigenous People.
Saving Prescott Frontier Days Rodeo
The community did benefit some from this cultural appropriation. In 1921, Prescott’s Frontier Days Rodeo, known as the world’s oldest rodeo (and still going today), was in financial trouble. The Smoki Tribe staged their dances as part of “The Way Out West” show as a fund-raiser and saved the rodeo.
End of an Era
They performed the dances annually through the 1990s despite protests including those by the American Indian Movement (AIM). Ultimately, as the membership aged (the dances they performed were fairly arduous) and support for their work waned, the Smoki Tribe died out. Plans are in the works to place stories of the group’s history and mementos including their jewelry and costumes in the Smoki Pueblo building next to the museum.
Transition to the Museum of Indigenous People
On February 10, 2020, the museum became the Museum of Indigenous People. Along with the name change came a new focus – “to instill understanding and respect for the indigenous cultures of the Southwest.”
Changes to the Museum
Manuel proudly described to me the transition as more Native representation took seats on the Board of Directors, they formed a Native American advisory council, and authenticity became paramount. In fact, the gift shop had a big sale and got rid of their stock of non-Native souvenir items. Today, the gift shop is a great place to find local Native American-made items.
I was impressed with the handmade Native American items at the gift shop. This is a Navajo beadwork necklace with ghost (cedar) beads. Photo by Elizabeth R Rose
Visiting the Museum Today
When you visit, you’ll find more than 2,000 artifacts include pottery, basketry, and beadwork. You’ll find collections of artifacts from the Pre-Columbian era up to modern times. In fact, the baskets in the museum collection are considered among the best in the United States and the pottery displays are impressive.
As you wander from case to case, don’t forget to look up to see how the ceiling was made and look for the handprints in the hand-stuccoed walls. The building is a treasure and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The pottery collection includes some very rare pieces, including this ancient pot from the Prescott area. Photo by Elizabeth R Rose
The museum supports Native artists by hosting a guest artist series. Area artists come, interact with the public, and have an opportunity to display and sell their art.
Tim Yazzie (San Felipe Pueblo/Navajo) lives in Tucson. He came to show his overlay silverwork enhanced with colorful stones. Photo courtesy Museum of Indigenous People
History of the Whirling Logs
When I visited, I toured the special exhibit, “Whirling Logs,” featuring a global symbol that also happens to be the shape used for the German swastika symbol.
I learned much about this symbol by going through this exhibit. Photo by Elizabeth R Rose
The symbol has been used by many cultures around the world as a symbol for harmony with nature, prosperity, good luck, and more. Prior to Hitler’s rise to power, Native Americans used the symbol in their weavings and art, only deciding to ban its use because of the overwhelming negative meaning of the symbol during World War II.
Collectors of Native jewelry, pottery, and weavings will often see the symbol on pre-WWII items. The exhibit has an interesting range of items on display using the symbol including fruit crate labels, quilts, and of course, the Native artwork.
The Whirling Logs design was used on everything from flour sacks to weavings until things changed during WWII. Photo by Elizabeth R Rose
The Sharlot Hall Prescott Museum
Another amazing woman, Sharlot Hall (1870-1943), also happened to be a friend of the pioneering artist, Kate Cory. Sharlot, a self-taught writer, journalist, and lover of history was the daughter of settlers who mined for gold and established a ranch. She was the first woman to hold office in the Arizona Territorial government serving as Arizona’s territorial historian from 1909 until 1912.
She collected Native American artifacts, Arizona history, and stories of settlers she hoped to preserve. Unfortunately, in her time, looters from the East removed treasures from Arizona and the tribes. In 1927, Sharlot moved her collection of artifacts and documents into the Old Governor’s Mansion and opened it as a museum. When you visit the Sharlot Hall Museum, you’ll see this simple “mansion” in the middle of the open-air complex.
Inside the Gates of the Sharlot Hall Museum
Just a block or so from Whiskey Row, you can explore what it was like during Arizona’s territorial days in this Prescott museum. While you’ll find good collections of Native American artifacts, I was drawn to the gardens, cabins, and the 11 historic buildings on the site. The original log building that served as the Arizona Territorial Governor’s Mansion stands in the same place it was built in 1864.
The original Territorial Governor’s Mansion. Photo by Elizabeth R Rose
Docents in period dress often greet you when you enter the buildings to walk you through early Arizona history. The Ranch House, built in 1936, provides a way to experience what homes for early Arizona settlers would have been like. Imagine a one-room for sleeping arrangements for parents and kids as well the kitchen, all warmed by one fireplace.
I guess the children slept on the floor! Photo by Elizabeth R Rose
And then there’s “Fort Misery,” thought to be the oldest surviving log cabin in Arizona as well as a one-room schoolhouse. Life on the frontier was not easy.
Get a sense of what it would be like to go to a one-room schoolhouse. Photo by Elizabeth R Rose
You can wander into museum display buildings, through the beautiful gardens, and check out the Transportation Building that houses Sharlot’s original Durant Star Touring car.
Fort Whipple Museum
A branch of the museum located off-site out at the current-day Fort Whipple VA complex would be of interest to military history buffs. The Sharlot Hall Museum and VA Medical Center collaborate in maintaining the Fort Whipple Museum that chronicles the history of the 1864 fort.
Military Headquarters
Fort Whipple served as a military headquarters during the conflict with the Apache people as settlers took over the Apache lands to raise livestock, crops, and mine minerals. Later, Fort Whipple housed the Buffalo Soldiers and Rough Riders.
Military Hospital for TB Patients
During World War I, soldiers gassed on battlefields in Europe were susceptible to tuberculosis. The military sent soldiers to Fort Whipple for care, where doctors believed the dry desert air helped in recovery. Fort Whipple became one of the largest military hospitals in the U.S. caring for veterans with war-related respiratory illnesses.
Current VA Medical Center
Today, the site serves as a VA Medical Center. The museum, housed in an original 1909 building, is staffed by volunteers. Be sure and call before going out there – the museum was closed when I was visiting Prescott because of COVID.
The Fort Whipple Museum is located in a former’s officer’s home. Photo courtesy Wikimedia Commons
Shopping at the Sharlot Hall Museum
Last but not least, the Victorian-era Bashford House serves as the gift shop and well-stocked book store for Sharlot Hall Museum.
The beautifully restored building was moved from another location. Built in 1877, it was bought by merchant William Coles Bashford for his wife, Mary Louise Evans Bashford. I was taken with the formerly plant-filled conservatory with stained glass. The shop and house are open to the public without museum admission. Prescott is home to some beautiful Victorian-era homes, all worth stopping by.
This Victorian-era home (now the gift shop) had many beautiful touches including the conservatory. Photo by Elizabeth R Rose
Phippen Museum of Art and Heritage of the American West
The Phippen Museum is just outside Prescott and you’ll pass beautiful Lake Watson as you take the short drive through the countryside. Local western artist George Phippen captured cowboys and ranch life of the area, much of which is still an important part of the culture and economy. Phippen served as the first president of the Cowboy Artists of America. Although he passed away due to cancer at age 50, the museum continues the preservation of the art and culture of the ranching life of the American West.
Replica Art Studios
As I wandered the museum, I stood and looked at the details of the two studio replicas, one of George Phippen and then the other of Ray Swanson, who is known for his lifelike and endearing portraits of Navajo people and western life.
I’ve always enjoyed artist Ray Swanson’s Navajo portraits but visiting the studio replica at the museum gave me a sense of how he worked. Photo by Elizabeth R Rose
The studios are just like the artists would have left them after a day at work. That’s what intrigued me.
Surrounded by his paintings and sculptures was this replica of George Phippen’s studio. Photo by Elizabeth R Rose
Western Heritage Displays
There is much more to see than the western art that so beautifully and accurately depicts ranch life.
Learn about ranch life and western movies at the Phippen. Photo by Elizabeth R Rose
There are cowboy artifacts in the Heritage Gallery – check out branding irons, cowboy boots with spurs, horse tack, farrier implements, and more. The Arizona Rancher and Cowboy Hall of Fame is where you’ll find the annual awards presented to working cowboys, ranch hands, and rodeo cowboys who contribute to the history, heritage, and culture of this area.
Turn another corner and you’ll find walls with posters and memorabilia from the western film industry and some cowboy stars you may remember from your childhood.
Special Western Art Events
The Phippen Museum hosts special fund-raisers like the annual western art show and sale, which funds this Prescott museum, rotating art exhibits, and special events like the “Hold Your Horses” art show that I enjoyed during my visit. Any horse-lover would have loved this all-horse art show!
At the “Hold Your Horses” exhibit you could browse the art and even purchase a piece for your home. Photo by Elizabeth R Rose
Exploring More Arizona History and Culture Outside of Prescott Museums
While these Prescott museums are a great way to explore and learn about Arizona history, just walking the streets of downtown Prescott and poking your head into shops, saloons, and historic hotels will also bring history alive. All the historic buildings that played a role in downtown Prescott history have descriptive plaques.
Coming to Prescott during Frontier Days and watching the Rodeo (the oldest in the world, they say) will bring you in touch with the area’s ranching heritage. In fact, while you are on Whiskey Row, stop by the Western Heritage Center and check out their exhibits, chat with their costumed docents, and consider attending a special event hosted by the center.
Rodeo has been an important part of Prescott’s life over the years. Photo by Elizabeth R Rose
Native American culture is alive and well and celebrated in Prescott. The annual Prescott Pow Wow with its colorful Grand Entry, dance contests, and native vendors supports the continuance of Native culture.
Prescott Powwow. Photo courtesy Prescott Powwow Facebook Page
The Sharlot Hall Museum hosts an annual Native art market drawing Native American artists from all over the Southwest.
Prescott History Reading List
If you are intrigued as I am with the stories of the Wild West, you may like to read more before your visit to the Prescott Museums.
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When You Visit Prescott Museums
After you enjoy these Prescott museums, you’ll have a greater understanding of Arizona history and culture. Be sure to check out more great ideas for what to see and do when you visit Arizona.
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