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. It was a time that brought the Museum to professional recognition by the American Association of Museums through its accreditation program. It was a time when many of the old time staff retired and fresh faces took their places. It was a time of growth and enlargement in many areas. 

Work on the grounds was one of the most visible things to take place. Two concrete block buildings west of the Bashford House and north of the Fremont House were demolished in 1982. These fronted on Gurley Street and were a definite intrusion into the historic atmosphere of the grounds. It was decided that they needed to go so that passersby would see the Museum as an inviting place, with attractive grounds and historic buildings in an appealing setting. Planning for this area resulted in a wooden gazebo being constructed by the staff two years later. This immediately became a local favorite for weddings as well as a backdrop for family photos. 

The removal of the Territorial Women's Memorial Rose Garden to the north side of the Governor's Mansion turned out to not be the best thing for the roses. Poor drainage in the granite soil caused a constant turn over of rose bushes in that space. In 1988 the remaining plants were removed to another area while two separate raised beds were built of native stone. Organically enriched soil was used to fill the container. Plants were re-introduced and a drip irrigation system added to insure healthier bushes and a better survival rate. 

The same year saw the area around the windmill landscaped with the addition of a water feature. A fishpond with short running stream was added. Aquatic plants were introduced as well as berry bushes on the south side. This became a favorite stopping place for families with young children. A set of outdoor restrooms in the general area were demolished in 1993 to make way for an outdoor amphitheater. The upper lot was graded at the same time to provide additional parking. 

1980 saw the expansion of festival programming with the addition of the Folk Music Festival. In its first year it had thirty musicians and over eight hundred in attendance. The next major festival was added eight years later. This was the Arizona Cowboy Poets Gathering, which has grown year by year and become a perennial favorite. 

The Gathering grew out of a 1984 National Endowment for the Arts grant that hired Warren Miller to record and preserve the cowboy lore of Yavapai County as well as present cowboy storytellers, poets and singers to public audiences. One of those public programs was the "Fiftieth Anniversary Reunion of the Grand Canyon Cowboy Band of 1935." This played to an overflow crowd in the Prescott Fine Arts Association Theater. Two years later a reading from the Cowboy Folklore Project garnered national television coverage. 

The Museum also sponsored a number of trips to various parts of Arizona including the Petrified Forest and the Arizona Strip. Float trips on the Verde River were given for several years. An annual "Dino Dig" was organized along with the Mesa Southwest Museum to work in the dinosaur fossil quarries of southern Utah. 

With an increase in programming came an increase in visitor attendance as well as donations to the archives and object collections. Archival holdings swelled with the donation of the Otis Young, Gus Davisson, Dr. Charles Franklin Parker book and manuscript collections and the 2,500-map collection of William J. Waara. Additional shelving was built in the reading room to accommodate this influx of material. Hundreds of objects flowed into the collections every year as well, nearly doubling the Museum's holdings. 

At the same time as the workload increased, funding was decreased. 1981 saw the loss of six employee positions as the Federal government cancelled its CETA (Comprehensive Educational Training Act) program. The next year the state reduced the Museum's budget by ten percent. This was followed by another six percent reduction in 1986 prompting the first ever board and staff retreat to focus on long range planning. Previous to this fund raising efforts were increased and membership dues were raised in an effort to offset the loss of government funding. 

Despite these setbacks, several grants were obtained that helped further the goals of the institution. One of these provided for the stabilization and renovation of the Governor's Mansion. Between 1981 and 1983, the Mansion was jacked up, had a foundation and crawl space created beneath it, had logs restored, new daubing added, and new floors installed. Archaeology was conducted as the old flooring was removed and the earth screened for artifacts. Over one thousand objects were found during this project. When the doors re-opened to the public during Folk Arts Fair 1983, the public was treated to period rooms based on Margaret McCormick's diary and other historical research. This was a radical departure from the "cabinet of curiosities" that it had been for many years. An additional exhibit on "Building the Governor's Mansion" was added in 1992. 

(Mick Woodcock is the Registrar and runs the living history program at the Museum) 



Sharlot Hall Museum Photograph Call Number: (Gazebo 1985). Reuse only by permission.
Two "modern" concrete block buildings at the Sharlot Hall Museum were demolished in 1982 to make a more historic atmosphere of the grounds. This wooden Gazebo, shown here under construction, replaced the buildings and immediately became a local favorite for weddings as well as a backdrop for family photos.