Sharlot Hall

Prescott, Arizona, has been very impressive as a small American town.  This town of 50,000 has the slogan: 'Everybody's Home Town'.  We went to see an amazing museum for a town of this size.  Generally, American western towns have a pretty poor record at preserving their history.  Today, it was refreshing to see a town which actually has a great museum showcasing their history. A woman, Sharlot Hall, who arrived from Kansas to the territory of Arizona as a child in about 1880 was the driving force in that preservation.  She became the first Arizona historian, a paid government position.  She made it her life work to preserve and collect the Arizona history and artififacts not only for the Anglos but also the history and artifacts of the native population, the Yavapi.

Sharlot Hall

One of the first buildings she preserved was the Territorial Governor's Mansion built in 1864. This amazing building was hand built from Ponderosa pine logs and chinked with adobe clay.  The site of current day Prescott was chosen as the capitol city of the Arizona Territory in the midst of the Civil War because the more natural choice, Tucson, an actual town with people, was the center of Confederate sentiments.  Prescott came into existence when the new Territorial Governor declared it to be the capital.

The original floor was dirt, and the Territorial Governor worked on one side of the house, while the Territorial Secretary worked on the other.  This house was the center of the political and social life in the created town of Prescott.  Usually, towns are named for a famous person from the region or a natural landmark.  Ironically, the first serving Governor of Territorial Arizona named the new capitol for a 19th century American historian he admired, William Hickling Prescott.  Prescott wrote about the Aztecs and Incas and was a distinguished historian whose books are totally forgotten today, but whose name lives on.

In addition to the Territorial Governor's Mansion, there are three other collected historical buildings:   There is a 19th century 'one room' log schoolhouse as well as one of the first Anglo settler cabins

This cabin is referred to as 'Fort Misery'

built in Arizona in 1863.  It was built to house the newly appointed Governor, Mr. Goodwin, until his territorial mansion could be built.  As is often the case with tongue in cheek nicknames, the origin of the name 'Fort Misery' is lost.  

The other historical building on the grounds of the museum is the 1878 house John Charles Fremont and his wife Jesse Fremont lived in when HE was a territorial Governor of Arizona.  Man, only Kit Carson got around the 19th century west as much as Fremont did.

Jesse Fremont over the fireplace in the
clapboard Governor's Mansion 

Fremont was Governor of Arizona from 1878 to 1881.  He had already been Governor of California as well as the first Senator from California.  Fremont was only one of a long line of territorial governors.  Post Civil War Arizona stayed in its territorial staus until Valentine's Day, 1912.  It was the last territory in the lower 48 to be admitted as a state.        

There is a building put up in the 1930's to house Ms. Hall's growing collection of historical artifacts.  Today, one of its exhibits is 'the map room'.  We discovered that Phoenix, the capital of the State of Arizona is a big time johnny come lately.  It doesn't appear on any map of the Arizona area until the statehood map of 1912.  And, then, it's spelled 'Phenix'.  

In 1977, the museum with the help of the citizens of Prescott, put up a modern building to showcase prehistoric Arizona and the history of the Yavapi.    I especially loved the mural.  

Finally, the women of Prescott planted and now maintain the Territorial Rose Garden.  It was spectacular even in October.  

As always, if you want to see more pictures, click on the link

https://goo.gl/photos/Arhp1txq77EAyW8B8