After hiking Thumb Butte Trail and Flume Canyon to Watson Lake Dam, we took a break at the Sharlot Hall History Museum to learn about the history of Historic Downtown Prescott.
The Sharlot Hall Museum is named after its founder, Sharlot Mabridth Hall (1870-1943), who was an, activist, politician, and Arizona’s first territorial historian. She was appointed Territorial Historian in 1909 and became the first woman to hold a salaried territorial office.
The museum’s parking lot contains several large pieces of mining equipment.
The entrance to the museum resembles a railroad depot and actually protects a restored 1887 Porter steam locomotive from the old Congress gold mine.
Rope from the hanging of Hilario Hidalgo and Francisco Rentaria in 1903. They were the last men legally hanged in Yavapai County. They were executed for the murders of Charles E. Goddard and Frank Cox.
Gallows platform used in the last hanging.
All about Prescott’s law enforcement history.All about Prescott’s law enforcement history.
The Old Governor’s Mansion, built in 1864. This was built on this site in 1864 and housed the first territorial governor, John Goodwin. In 1927, Sharlot Hall moved into the mansion and opened it a year later as a museum.
The next building we visted was the Sharlot Hall Building. This is the museums’s primary exhibit hall.
An 1885 iron turbine windmill.
The headmaster is in the school house. It’s a 1961 replica of the first public schoolhouse in the Arizona Territory.
Next to the schoolhouse is Fort Misery, the oldest log building associated with the territory of Arizona (built in 1863).
1870s kitchen garden….
“This is a representative of a typical Prescott garden of the mid-1880s.” My garden looks like that too…
Interior of the nearby Ranch House built in the 1930s.
It wasn’t the season for it when we were visiting but we were told the rose garden blooms beautifully in the summer.
Inside the Fremont House. Built in 1875, this was the home of the fifth territorial governor of Arizona.
In the past, women and men would send a lock of hair as a momento of affection and remembrance. In the late 1800s, businesses began cashing in on this by offering their services to create jewelry and art out of human hair. Here is a hair wreath inside the Fremont House. It is believed the hairs are from various friends and family of Caroline McCluer. Lovely…
Sharlot Hall Museum Overview
- Addresss: 415 W Gurley St, Prescott, AZ 86301
- Fees: $8/person
- Difficulty: Easy
- Usage: Moderate
- Hours: 10am-4pm Mon-Sat; 12pm-4pm Sun
- Pets allowed: No
- Website: sharlot.org