By Mick Woodcock

(Seventy-five years ago on June 11 the first guest signed the Governor's Mansion register and the Sharlot Hall Museum began. We are running a series of articles that explore the people and events that have shaped the museum's long journey. Today we will investigate more recent history, 1980-1995)

If a word were to be given to the Museum between 1980 and 1995 it would be "change." This took the form of adding additional property, a better utilization of existing land, creation of new exhibits, increased size of collections, more public programming and change of leadership.

By Parker Anderson

Long-time Prescott residents undoubtedly recall that our most famous landmark, Thumb Butte, has been the scene of several tragic accidents and at least one unsolved murder. While these may seem like recent phenomena, the truth is Thumb Butte has always had its share of tragedies. One such incident from early Prescott will illustrate.

On January 22, 1911, two young men, Roy Richards and Henry Brinkmeyer Jr., went mountain climbing on the Butte. While up there, they happened to glance down into a particularly hidden and deep crevice, shocked to see the still form of a man at the bottom.

By Vicky Kaye

Hoover Dam, built between 1931 and 1935, was and continues to be the premier engineering marvel of the Southwest. During the height of the depression, several construction companies and thousands of people worked around the clock to bring the project to completion almost 2 years ahead of schedule. These workers came from all over the country looking for the opportunity of a steady paycheck. However, there was one unique "worker" who did his job and received no paycheck. He had no assigned housing, and no set time schedule. He came and went as he pleased, oversaw the project, and made the days of the workers more enjoyable. He was a little black dog who took his job of being the project mascot very seriously.

By Nancy Kirkpatrick Wright

I wonder how many people in the Prescott area have received the Medal of Honor? Awarded for "Gallantry in Action," this prestigious medal was authorized by Congress during the Civil War and was the first permanent U.S. military medal or decoration. Often called the Congressional Medal of Honor, it is the highest military decoration that the United States grants to members of its armed forces.

By William "Bill" Peck

In the 1930s and 1940s, Kirkland Creek at Yava was actually a stream. Water filled its bed and a good ditch of it irrigated the several tiny farms that filled the valley. Hay was the main crop although grain was raised to feed the horses that some still used as draft animals to plow and rake hay. Horses pulled the mowers and side-delivery rakes that windrowed the fresh-cut hay. Haycocks abounded put there by sulkey rakes that dumped it into piles to cure. The cured hay was hauled to the overshot stacker with buck rakes that literally threw the hay onto the stacktop where hands arranged it carefully to shed the rain.

By Norm Tessman

(Seventy-five years ago this coming June 11 the first guest signed the Governor's Mansion register and the Sharlot Hall Museum began. We have been running a series of articles that explores the people and events that have shaped the museum's long journey.  Today, we will cover the time period from 1973-1980.)

Prologue: Come with us now for an imaginary visit to the Sharlot Hall Museum of 1972. Using today's buildings as landmarks, we see that where the Bashford House now stands is Kindt Brothers Corner Gasoline Station. Past it westward on Gurley Street are two ugly block buildings housing a liquor store and a loan office.

By Helen Rue Lawler

(This is the second part of this two part article. This article first appeared on January 4, 1980 in the Prescott Sun. The author, Helen Rue Lawler, owns what is probably the only complete, Prescott-attributed, Wooten desk in the state. Her magnificent walnut "King" was first owned by John Fenton "Jack" Lawler, mining man, bank founder, and Prescott entrepreneur, for whom the "Lawler Block" on Cortez Street is named.)

When closed, the Wooton resembled a paneled cylinder-front desk with a cupboard base. The front opened vertically from the center. Two doors, or wings, spread to reveal the right wing full of pigeonholes, and the left wing divided into vertical and horizontal shelves.

By Helen Rue Lawler

(This is the first part of a two-part article. This article first appeared on January 4, 1980, in the Prescott Sun. The author, Helen Rue Lawler, owns what is probably the only complete, Prescott-attributed, Wooten desk in the state. Her magnificent walnut "King" was first owned by John Fenton "Jack" Lawler, mining man, bank founder, and Prescott entrepreneur, for whom the "Lawler Block" on Cortez Street is named.) 

It was almost an act of treason. In 1876, Queen Victoria's photo appeared in a British newspaper, showing Her Majesty working at the "King of Desks," Wooton's Patented Cabinet Office Secretary.

By Ann Hibner Koblitz

The Sharlot Hall Museum archives are well known as a repository of information about the lives of past and present residents of Yavapai County. The overwhelming majority of materials in the archives are in English, of course. But if one looks carefully, one can find interesting glimpses into the lives of Spanish-speaking Arizonans as well. For example, from the 1921 prescription records of Owl Drug & Candy Company, we know that at least one doctor, Nelson Burdick, on occasion wrote medical instructions for his patients in Spanish.

By Michael Wurtz

Sharlot Mabridth Hall died on April 9, 1943 and accolades about her life achievements rolled in from across the state. Dwight B. Heard, co-founder of the Heard Museum in Phoenix said, "In Sharlot Hall this country found the unusual combination of the sturdiness of the pioneer with the beautiful spirit of the poet. She will be long remembered for both characteristics." For the previous sixteen years she exhibited those traits in the Museums she founded - the Old Governor's Mansion Museum and Sharlot Hall Museum that sat directly behind it. In the next thirty years the two Museums became one and created a history of its own.