Sharlot Hall Museum, Prescott ~ September 30, 2006
The Smithsonian Institution and other participating museums celebrated Museum Day, September 30, by offering free admission. I’d been wanting to go to Sharlot Hall Museum for a long time, so we decided to go there on that day. However, even their regular admission prices are quite reasonable at $5 for adults and free for anyone under 18. That makes it a great place to go if you have a large family!
Sharlot Hall (1870-1943) was a ranch woman, poet, newspaper reporter, historian, and founder of the museum that bears her name. In other words, my hero! She had traveled from Kansas to Arizona by wagon train with her family when she was 12. Largely self-educated and highly literate, most of her learning took place on the ranch. However, she did attend a few terms in a log-and-adobe schoolhouse near her family’s Lynx Creek homestead and boarded in Prescott for one year of school in town. Hall was appointed Territorial Historian in 1909, making her the first woman to hold a public office in Arizona. In 1927, she started a museum in the Governor’s Mansion to store her extensive collection of documents and artifacts, thus preserving the history of territorial Arizona.
The Sharlot Hall Museum has since been expanded to include an assortment of buildings on three acres, making it the largest museum in the central territory of Arizona. Structures include: the old Governor’s Mansion (1864); Fremont House (1875); the Victorian style Bashford House (1877); Fort Misery (1863); a Ranch House replica; an heirloom vegetable/herb garden; a Rose Garden; a replica of Prescott’s first schoolhouse; a print shop; an 1885 Iron Windmill; a transportation building (1937); the Sharlot Hall Exhibit Building; and the Visitor Center.
The large log mansion and Fremont House are filled with period furnishings. It’s amazing to see the difference in sophistication between them considering the fact that they were built only ten years apart. The mansion is rather austere and rustic but walking into the Fremont House was like visiting my great-grandma’s house!
The Sharlot Hall Building contains extensive exhibits on Prescott history, along with Native American artifacts. The Transportation Building, once an automobile-repair garage, now houses the Museum’s vehicle collection. On display are Sharlot’s 1927 Star automobile, a stagecoach, covered wagon, high-wheeled bicycle, and more. The Victorian style Bashford House is now a gift shop. The rooms are small and there are breakables, so watch the kids or let them play outside while you go in. They do have a children’s section with museum-quality books and toys.
The Visitor Center houses a research library, offices, lecture hall, and additional exhibits. I was surprised to see at the back of the lecture hall they had a big exhibit on the history of prostitution in Prescott – do they really want to glorify and memorialize sin? I certainly didn’t appreciate that, but it was pretty easy to skip over and I would hope they don’t include it on the school tours!
You definitely won’t want to miss the Sharlot Hall display adjacent to the front lobby which features her famous copper dress. Whether you’re into fashion or not, you will admire the workmanship that went into that amazing dress! And if you’re wondering what a copper dress could possibly look like, just imagine delicate copper chain mail with fancy trim, or a copper version of Frodo’s mithril vest from The Lord of the Rings!
The museum is staffed by volunteers and living history re-enactors, so expect to be greeted when you visit the houses and feel free to ask them questions while you’re there. Also, at the information desk in the Visitor Center you can ask for a scavenger hunt paper for the kids to work on. It will keep them busy looking for things in each of the buildings and they’ll be sure to learn something while doing so.
The Sharlot Hall Museum regularly hosts special events such as lecture series, book festivals, living history programs and cowboy poetry gatherings, especially during the summer months. We just happened to be there when a speaker was presenting a slide show on the history of Colorado River rafting. So we got to sit in on that which was pretty interesting to see how the boats changed over the years from General Powell’s wooden barge to modern inflatable rafts.
The Sharlot Hall Museum is located at 415 W. Gurley Street in the heart of downtown Prescott, Arizona, two blocks west of the Courthouse Plaza. Visit the museum’s informative website at www.sharlot.org where you can find out about upcoming events, view photos, read descriptions, see maps, and study the online archives.
Sharlot Hall (1870-1943) was a ranch woman, poet, newspaper reporter, historian, and founder of the museum that bears her name. In other words, my hero! She had traveled from Kansas to Arizona by wagon train with her family when she was 12. Largely self-educated and highly literate, most of her learning took place on the ranch. However, she did attend a few terms in a log-and-adobe schoolhouse near her family’s Lynx Creek homestead and boarded in Prescott for one year of school in town. Hall was appointed Territorial Historian in 1909, making her the first woman to hold a public office in Arizona. In 1927, she started a museum in the Governor’s Mansion to store her extensive collection of documents and artifacts, thus preserving the history of territorial Arizona.
The Sharlot Hall Museum has since been expanded to include an assortment of buildings on three acres, making it the largest museum in the central territory of Arizona. Structures include: the old Governor’s Mansion (1864); Fremont House (1875); the Victorian style Bashford House (1877); Fort Misery (1863); a Ranch House replica; an heirloom vegetable/herb garden; a Rose Garden; a replica of Prescott’s first schoolhouse; a print shop; an 1885 Iron Windmill; a transportation building (1937); the Sharlot Hall Exhibit Building; and the Visitor Center.
The large log mansion and Fremont House are filled with period furnishings. It’s amazing to see the difference in sophistication between them considering the fact that they were built only ten years apart. The mansion is rather austere and rustic but walking into the Fremont House was like visiting my great-grandma’s house!
The Sharlot Hall Building contains extensive exhibits on Prescott history, along with Native American artifacts. The Transportation Building, once an automobile-repair garage, now houses the Museum’s vehicle collection. On display are Sharlot’s 1927 Star automobile, a stagecoach, covered wagon, high-wheeled bicycle, and more. The Victorian style Bashford House is now a gift shop. The rooms are small and there are breakables, so watch the kids or let them play outside while you go in. They do have a children’s section with museum-quality books and toys.
The Visitor Center houses a research library, offices, lecture hall, and additional exhibits. I was surprised to see at the back of the lecture hall they had a big exhibit on the history of prostitution in Prescott – do they really want to glorify and memorialize sin? I certainly didn’t appreciate that, but it was pretty easy to skip over and I would hope they don’t include it on the school tours!
You definitely won’t want to miss the Sharlot Hall display adjacent to the front lobby which features her famous copper dress. Whether you’re into fashion or not, you will admire the workmanship that went into that amazing dress! And if you’re wondering what a copper dress could possibly look like, just imagine delicate copper chain mail with fancy trim, or a copper version of Frodo’s mithril vest from The Lord of the Rings!
The museum is staffed by volunteers and living history re-enactors, so expect to be greeted when you visit the houses and feel free to ask them questions while you’re there. Also, at the information desk in the Visitor Center you can ask for a scavenger hunt paper for the kids to work on. It will keep them busy looking for things in each of the buildings and they’ll be sure to learn something while doing so.
The Sharlot Hall Museum regularly hosts special events such as lecture series, book festivals, living history programs and cowboy poetry gatherings, especially during the summer months. We just happened to be there when a speaker was presenting a slide show on the history of Colorado River rafting. So we got to sit in on that which was pretty interesting to see how the boats changed over the years from General Powell’s wooden barge to modern inflatable rafts.
The Sharlot Hall Museum is located at 415 W. Gurley Street in the heart of downtown Prescott, Arizona, two blocks west of the Courthouse Plaza. Visit the museum’s informative website at www.sharlot.org where you can find out about upcoming events, view photos, read descriptions, see maps, and study the online archives.
Labels: Living History, Museum, Prescott, Sharlot Hall
posted by Teri @ 12:02 PM
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