By Jody Drake
Sharlot Hall, a child raised on the frontier, was a true pioneer shaped by westward expansion. She was among the courageous early explorers who dared to reach for a better life. Migrating from Kansas to Arizona, she had firsthand experience in the early exploration of the West. Her fascination and understanding of preservation were truly remarkable.
Did this new territory afford her the freedom she was seeking? Perhaps not. Sharlot was tormented by the few attainable options offered to women of her time. She was graced with a brilliant mind that wanted to interpret and explore everything around her. Miss Hall saw firsthand how quickly the early history of the West was vanishing.
She expressed her frustration and stories of Western life in rich, well-written poetry. Her early study of Samuel Putnam’s Four Hundred Years of Free Thought furthered her torment. She began desperately searching for answers as to the human condition. Sharlot was a visionary, a woman who believed that preserving the past was her civic duty. Her dream was a museum that would house the past, a place where people could come together and create a haven for the relics and stories of our forefathers.
The Prescott Chapter of the Monday Club was an extremely esteemed, successful group of women who were movers and shakers. The club is still in existence. In 1907 Sharlot Hall and the Monday Club allied to build a fund for a clubhouse and museum. The club would sponsor the event, and Sharlot Hall, as a poet and historian, would create an elegant evening featuring her poetry enriched by music and dance. Thus, Hassayampers’ Evening came to life. The title was whimsical yet appropriate. The name originated with early miners along Hassayampa Creek. The tales of gold were so grand that no one believed them, and it was said that if you drink from the water, you will never tell the truth again.
The beautiful Elks Theater would provide the setting for this elegant evening, featuring, of course, Sharlot’s poetry and original piano compositions rendered by Mrs. B.H. Smith. The evening was further enhanced with piano compositions written by Harry W Loomis and again rendered by Mrs. B. H. Smith. Dance would further elevate the evening.
Local businesses were more than happy to advertise in the program. The event was a smashing success. The funding for the clubhouse and museum had a healthy start, and all involved reported that the evening was spectacular.
Unfortunately, Sharlot’s museum would not come into fruition for another 20 years. However, the event would highlight the importance of preserving our history before it vanishes. Miss Hall made a passionate plea for the importance of collecting and preserving artifacts so that future generations can understand what our forefathers endured to settle this wild land. Indeed, it was crucial to the Territory of Arizona.
An excerpt from one of her closing poems, Arizona: “No beggar she in the mighty halls where her bay crowned sisters wait; No empty-handed pleader for the right of a freeborn state; No child, with a child’s insistence, demanding a gilded toy; But a fair-browed, queenly woman, strong to create or destroy. Wise for the need of the sons she has bred in the school where weaklings fail. Where cunning is less than manhood, and deeds, not words, avail.”
On January 17th, 3:00 P.M., at the Elks Theater, with great pride, we have reimagined this enchanted evening. Please join Jody Drake, Ines Vitols, Jacob Devany, Pam Kellogg-Merkel, and mother and daughter Kimberly and Verity Freeman in our historical journey at the Hassayampers’ Evening Echoes of Time. For details, visit sharlothallmuseum.org/event/the-hassayampers-evening-echoes-of-time/
“Days Past” is a collaborative project of the Sharlot Hall Museum and the Prescott Corral of Westerners International (www.prescottcorral.org). This and other Days Past articles are also available at www.archives.sharlothallmuseum.org/articles/days-past-articles/1. The public is encouraged to submit proposed articles and inquiries to dayspast@sharlothallmuseum.org Please contact SHM Research Center reference desk at 928-277-2003, or via email at archivesrequest@sharlothallmuseum.org for information or assistance with photo requests.