Miniature Museums

TEXT BY SAM NEGRI PHOTOGRAPHY BY JACK DYKINGA

Montezuma's headdress adorns a museum in Vienna, Austria. Van Gogh's masterpieces hang in Amsterdam. King Tut's jewels grace Cairo. But if you want to see Sid Wilson's boots and saddle, you will have to visit a rustic little building in Benson, Arizona. The building houses the San Pedro Valley Art and Historical Society. It recently was added to the growing list of small museums that dot Arizona. Sid Wilson, who died in 1981 in nearby Tombstone at the age of 102, was a rancher, rodeo performer, former mayor of Tombstone, and cantankerous storyteller. Wilson, a cowboy who claimed to have had three months education, was elected mayor of Tombstone in 1957 and afterwards quipped: "It was the first time I ever stuck my nose in other people's business, and to make things right I had to learn to write my name so's I could sign those cussed checks." His shortest and most famous story goes like this: "I never turn down a drink of whiskey. I never chase women unless they're going downhill." It is fitting that some of his gear is stashed in an old building in Benson. Long years ago, Wilson drove the last stagecoach between Tombstone and Benson. Small museums serve as repositories of the not-so-obvious characteristics of an area. By focusing on the character of one community or one valley or one Indian tribe, they provide authentic, noncommercial connections for the visitor. For example, no visit to Yuma is complete without a stop at the Century House Museum. Lacking that, Yuma might be judged as a place with mild winters and hot summers; a place with a military base, the remnants of a territorial prison, and numerous citrus groves. A person might be amused to hear that residents call themselves Yumans. But, if a visitor tours the Century House, which consists of two main adobe buildings and an aviary filled with exotic birds, he learns, among other things, that Yuma once was a thriving port city, that shallow-draft, stern-wheel steamboats delivered passengers and goods to the emerging Arizona Territory between the years 1852 and 1909. The arrival of the Southern Pacific Railroad in 1877, and later the construction of dams along the Colorado River, doomed Port Yuma. Today few hints of the harbor remain, except in the photos and other memorabilia displayed at Century House Museum. In Nogales, Arizona, on the Arizona-Mexico border, the Pimería Alta Historical Society Museum serves a similar function, but with a slightly different twist. The border between any two countries commingles languages, customs, architectural styles, and historical developments. The museum in Nogales bridges two cultures-American and Mexican-and links these modern societies to the Indians who preceded them. The museum, which has supported archeological excavations in Nogales, contains elaborate cremation vessels used by Hohokam Indians of the area between A.D. 700 and 1100. On display also are pioneer ranch artifacts, antique fire engines, and a fascinating exhibit of borderland folk healing remedies. Small museums abound in Arizona. Some, such as those in Yuma and Nogales, are professionally managed; others seem more like an old attic where remnants of the past are stored with affection. Almost all of these museums are small enough to allow their curators time to converse casually with visitors. Several in the following list contain gift shops offering local crafts and other merchandise

SID WILSON IS DEAD, BUT HIS BOOTS ARE IN BENSON

that may not be available elsewhere. This one man's sampler, by no means complete, is organized alphabetically by towns. Before visiting, call ahead to ensure the museum of your choice will be open when you get there.

BENSON

San Pedro Valley Art and Historical Society, at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and San Pedro. Guided tours are available, by reservation. Features include a gift shop, art gallery, art classes, and films. The museum occupies the Ivey Building, a general mercantile store built around 1924. Donations accepted. For information, contact the Benson Chamber of Commerce, (602) 586-2842.

BISBEE

Mining and Historical Museum, 5 Queen Plaza. Phone: (602) 432-7071. The collection contains artifacts of Bisbee's mining industries and ethnic communities from the period 1877-1920. Free. Bisbee Restoration Pioneer Museum, 37 Main Street. Artifacts of Bisbee and Cochise County pioneers. Free. For information, phone the Bisbee Chamber of Commerce (602) 432-2141.

BUCKEYE

Buckeye Valley Historical and Archeological Museum, 116 Highway 85 East. Phone: (602) 386-4333. The collection includes prehistoric artifacts of the Southwest. Donations accepted.

CASA GRANDE

Casa Grande Valley Historical Society and Museum, 110 West Florence Boulevard. Phone: (602) 836-2223. The collection includes materials related to the history of Casa Grande Valley, articles of domestic use, period rooms, ranching implements, mining tools, and artifacts of the Pima and Papago Indians. Gift shop. If you get there on the first Sunday in June, ask about the Old-Timers' Picnic. Anyone with a strong connection to Casa Grande is likely to come home for the Old-Timers Picnic. It's a daylong potluck which begins at 9:30 A.M. at the Casa Grande Elks Club. Old friends are remembered, and stories of the old days are exchanged at this bucolic gathering. Free admission.

DOUGLAS

Cochise County Historical and Archeological Museum, 1116 G Avenue. For information, call the Douglas Chamber of Commerce: (602) 364-2477. Exhibits include prehistoric Southwestern Indian artifacts and domestic and commercial objects relating to the history of Douglas. Free admission.

FLORENCE

Pinal County Historical Society Museum, 2201 South Main Street. Phone: (602) 868-4382. Collection includes agriculture, ranching, and mining tools and Spanish and Indian artifacts. There are occasional lectures on Arizona history. The lectures, which frequently include a slide program, are held in the museum at 8:00 PM. on the second Wednesday of February, April, June, October, and December. Free.

FORT HUACHUCA (SIERRA VISTA)

Fort Huachuca Historical Museum is on the military base. Phone: (602) 5385736. The collection contains materials from the Indian wars and Southwestern Indian culture. There are uniforms and weapons dating from the fort's founding in 1877, a rare Laidley forge, used by the blacksmith for shoeing cavalry horses, a nineteenth century horsedrawn Studebaker wagon, and other materials used by the soldiers in their conflicts with the Apaches. Old Fort Huachuca is on the National Register of Historic Places. Period houses, including officers' quarters and barracks, are open to the public. Free admission.

GLOBE

Gila County Historical Museum, 1330 North Broad Street (State Route 60-70). Collections include artifacts of ranching and mining in Gila County, material culture of the Salado Indians (A.D. 1125 to 1400), and period rooms from 1900. The museum has seven excellent examples of Salado ceramic designs and colors, all of which came from the Besh-Ba-Gowah archeological site, 1.5 miles south of Globe, which was excavated in the 1930s by Irene Vickery. The museum also has a simulated mine tunnel in which visitors can experience the feel of an underground mining operation. There are very few glass cases in this museum. It's a "hands-on" education. Field trips occasionally are offered to sites of historical and archeological interest. Call (602) 425-7385 for details. The museum is in the Mine Rescue Building, erected in 1914. Free. Donations accepted.

KINGMAN

Mohave Museum of History and Arts, 400 West Beale Street. Phone: (602) 753-3195. In addition to history, archeology, and anthropology related to Kingman and Mohave County, collections include memorabilia of actor Andy Devine, who was born in Flagstaff and raised in Kingman. Gift shop. Free.

NOGALES

Pimería Alta Historical Society Museum, 223 Grand Avenue, in the old City Hall, easily identified by its clock tower. Phone: (602) 287-5402. Collection includes artifacts of prehistoric and historic Indians of the Pimería Alta; Mexican and American artifacts from pioneer days; mining, ranching, household items, and materials pertaining to the settlement of Southern Arizona and Northern Sonora, Mexico. There is also an 1881 Able and Willing hand-pumper fire engine, given to Nogales in 1890 by the town of Benson. Of particular interest is a large sarape with George Washington's face embroidered across the middle. In 1923 Mexican President Alvaro Obregon presented the sarape to the Nogales, Arizona, Chamberof Commerce as a token of good will. The museum is one block from the Mexican border. Free.

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John Wesley Powell Memorial Museum, 6 North Lake Powell Boulevard. Phone: (602) 645-2741. The museum contains a great deal of archeological and anthropological materials; displays focusing on geology and zoology, and memorabilia of the one-armed explorer who first mapped the Grand Canyon of the Colorado River. The museum boasts more than 100 original photographs of Powell and his wife, as well as a large library of books written about Powell's explorations of the Colorado River. In addition, there are original lithographs by Rudolph Wendelin, the man who created the familiar Smokey Bear emblem, depicting scenes of Powell's expeditions at various points in the Grand Canyon. Shown are films and documents related to Colorado River runners. The museum sponsors a fundraising auction every October. Free.

PARKER

Colorado Indian Tribes Museum, Mojave Road, two-and-a-half miles south of Parker. Phone: (602) 669-9211, extension 213. Materials in the museum represent various Indian cultures: Anasazi, Hohokam, Patayan, and Mogollon, as well as history and traditional crafts of Mojave, Chemehuevi, Navajo, and Hopi Indians. By reservation, guided tours of the museum and the Indian reserve are available. Lectures and classes are also offeredon archeology and anthropology, as well as workshops in traditional crafts of the Mojave, Chemehuevi, Navajo, and Hopi Indians. Donations accepted.

MUSEUMS PATAGONIA

Stradling Museum of the Horse, 200 McKowen. Phone: (602) 394-2264. Objects, artwork, vehicles, everything related to the horse. Also Indian artifacts, glass, china, silver, photographs. The museum includes a large carriage room with a Tally-Ho British coach, an Arizona buckboard, a mountain wagon, and a peddler's cart, all dating from the nineteenth century. Best of all is a large workshop where two craftsmen restore horsedrawn carriages while visitors watch. The museum also has an extensive art collection including original work by Frederic Remington and Charles Russell. Admission is two dollars for adults, fifty cents for children six to twelve. Children under six admitted free.

PHOENIX

Central Arizona Museum of History, 1242 North Central Avenue. Here is a collection of costumes, a turn-of-the-century drugstore, a general store, a toy store, theater, and mining exhibits. Workshops and lectures on topics of historical interest are occasionally presented. Phone: (602) 255-4479. The museum occupies the Ellis-Shackelford House built in 1917. It is also on the National Register of Historic Places. Admission free.

Judaica Museum of Temple Beth Israel, 3310 North 10th Avenue, Phoenix. Phone: (602) 264-4428. The collection focuses on Jewish arts and ceremonial items from 1600 to the present; exhibits on archeology in Israel, and an Israeli stamp collection. The collection includes a wine cup from Yemen, made in 1850, Ann Froman's dramatic holocaust sculpture Out of the Ashes, and a unique (in the U.S.) Elijah Chair, a richly adorned chair traditionally reserved at the covenant of circumcision ceremony for Elijah (the protector of children) or for the godfather of the new male child. In addition there is a special photo exhibit memorializing pioneer Jews of Arizona. Occasional lectures, films, and concerts. Admission free.

Pioneer Arizona, Interstate 17 at Pioneer Road, twelve miles north of Bell Road. Phone: (602) 993-0210 (recording). Guided tours of approximately twenty-six buildings depicting homes and shops of nineteenth century Arizona are regularly scheduled. There are continuous demonstrations of pioneer skills. Weekends, mock shoot-outs, and melodrama. Restaurant and picnic facilities on the grounds. Admission is two dollars for senior citizens, three dollars for adults, two dollars for students, one dollar for children six to twelve.

Rosson House, at the intersection of Sixth and Monroe streets, Phoenix. Phone: (602) 262-5029 (recording). The Rosson House was built in 1894-95 and is on the National Register of Historic Places. The house forms part of Heritage Square, an urban park encompassing restorations and an outdoor garden pavilion. There also is a restaurant. Admission is

(LEFT) Polished oak wainscotting and furniture and an oriental rug reflect the elegance of Bisbee's yesteryears in the Founders' Room at the Bisbee Mining and Historical Museum. Once the "Queen of the Copper Camps," Bisbee boasted an opera house, a stock brokerage, and a population that peaked near 20,000.

One dollar for adults and fifty cents for children seven through twelve.

SECOND MESA

Hopi Cultural Center Museum, State Route 264. Phone: (602) 734-2401. The museum is within the Hopi Cultural Center, adjacent to lodging, campgrounds, and the Hopi Arts and Crafts Guild sales shop. Exhibits focus on all aspects of Hopi life. Donations accepted.

THATCHER

Eastern Arizona College Museum of Anthropology, 626 Church Street, one block south of U.S. Route 70 on College Avenue. Phone: (602) 428-1133, extension 310. The focus is on remnants of prehistoric societies of Graham County and contemporary Indian culture of the American Southwest. The guides are fluent in English, Spanish, and Native American languages, but arrangements for guides must be made in advance. Admission free.

TSAILE

Ned A. Hatathli Center Museum, Navajo Community College, Indian Route 12. Phone: (602) 724-3311. Navajo history, art, and Indian ethnology emphasized. Admission is free.

TUCSON

Fort Lowell Museum, Craycroft and Fort Lowell Road. Phone: (602) 885-3832.

There are period rooms, furnished circa 1886, uniforms and equipment of frontier soldiers, maps, photographs, and documents of the infantry and cavalry stationed at Fort Lowell. The museum is in Old Fort Lowell County Park, site of the fort from 1873 to 1891. Several ruins of the fort structures are still standing. A prehistoric Hohokam village is partially excavated. Picnic facilities are plentiful. Admission is free.

John C. Frémont House, also called La Casa del Gobernador, west side of Tucson Community Center, between the Music Hall and Arena in downtown Tucson. Phone: (602) 622-0956. The museum features furnishings and decorative arts of the mid-nineteenth century; it is named for the fifth territorial governor of Arizona, who likely resided here in 1881.

The Frémont House was built by José María Sosa in 1858. Admission free.

Pima Air Museum, 6400 South Wilmot Road, Exit 269 off Interstate 10, north on Wilmot Road two miles. Phone: (602) 574-0462. Closed at 4:00 PM. Huge collection of aviation memorabilia, more than 100 vintage aircraft from early 1930s to 1960s. World War II barracks contain aviation artifacts, many photographs. Fabric and wood aircraft engines displayed. See the DC6 used by Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson, as well as a fastidiously constructed model of the airplane used by the Wright brothers in 1903. The full-scale replica is the work of Sun City retiree Lester Clean. The museum also contains one of the few remaining B24's built during World War II (18,000 were built; only six are left in the world today). Admission: Adults, $3.75; Children ten to seventeen, two dollars; under ten, free. Active military personnel and senior citizens (over sixty-two), $2.50. Picnic area adjacent to museum.

WICKENBURG

Desert Caballeros Western Museum, Maricopa County Historical Society, intersection of U.S. Route 60 and Frontier Street. Phone: (602) 684-2272. Materials pertaining to Maricopa County history, period rooms circa 1900-1910, prehistoric Indian artifacts, bronze sculpture, and paintings. The collection includes three bronze sculptures by Frederic Remington, an original painting by Charles Russell, and Lon Megargee's original oil painting of The Cowboy's Dream, which subsequently became famous on A-1 beer signs throughout the world. There also is an outstanding collection of Hopi Kachina dolls and minerals from around the world. Admission: Adults, $1.50; children under sixteen, free.

Arizona's small museums are an extension of the general store and the social life around a pot belly stove. The museum staff may turn out to be a lady from down the road who runs by to unlock the door when she sees a car arrive. As the curator at the Clara T. Woody Museum in Globe put it, "Things aren't so formal here; the atmosphere is kind of homey. I don't know what other museum people would think about that, but visitors seem to feel right at home."

MUSEUMS