We wish to thank Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, for much of the information on this page. We share information and images with Wikipedia. The Sharlot Hall Museum is an open air museum located in Prescott, Arizona. It is about 1.5 acres in size. The Sharlot Hall Museum was opened in 1928 by Sharlot Mabridth Hall when she opened a building she had acquired; which was the "Old Territorial Governor's Mansion." She named it the "Old Governor's Mansion Museum." The Sharlot Hall Museum is dedicated to preserving the history and folklore of Yavapai County, Arizona. The "Old Territorial Governor's Mansion," is a large one and one-half story rustic log building, that was constructed in 1864. It served as the residence for the Territorial Governor, and it also served as the meetings session hall, for the Arizona Territorial Government. The building was later on used as a home by Sharlot M. Hall, a State Historian and poet. Its surrounding grounds are beautifully landscaped with fruit trees and rose gardens. Planted in the front of the "Old Territorial Governor's Mansion," are roses, of the French "Boursalt" type. They are descended from plantings in 1865 by Margaret McCormick, the wife of Richard Cunningham McCormick, the 2nd governor of the Arizona Territory. The "Old Territorial Governor's Mansion" is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It was listed September 10, 1971. Other structures and buildings were later on moved to the museum grounds. They include "Fort Misery," (the oldest log cabin in Arizona, built in 1864, moved to this property in 1934). "Fort Misery," has nothing to do with military history. Fort Misery got its name in a March 23, 1934 Prescott Journal Miner article by Judge John Howard; when he was able to leave the log cabin for another home. It was also called by that same name by other barristers, who had eaten meals in the old log cabin, that was wearing out. The "Iron Turbine Windmill," also on the National Register of Historic Places. The windmill was built in 1876 and added to the National Historic Register in 1981. The "Ranch House," a log cabin. The "Ranch House" was built by volunteers under Sharlot Hall�s supervision in the 1930's to represent the ranch homes of the Prescott area. The "Sharlot Hall Building," was constructed in 1936 as a project of the Civil Works Administration, and once home to Miss Sharlot Hall, houses most of the Museum�s primary exhibits And the "Bashford House," which is a fine example of the Victorian Style of architecture. It was built in 1875 and in 1974 the Bashford House was doomed to demolition if it was not moved.. The owner, Delbert Pierce, donated the building to the Sharlot Hall Museum, and, after three months of hard work and every conceivable type of community fundraising, the house was moved in seven sections to the museum grounds on April 19, 1974. After a two-year rehabilitation and restoration, the house was opened to the public amidst much celebration on May 15, 1976. Today, the "Bashford House," houses the Sharlot Hall Gift Shop. It is full of many very interesting gifts. One of our favorite exhibits is the Transportation Building which was constructed in 1937 and served as an automotive repair shop. The Transportation Building holds the Museum�s vehicle collection, which includes a stagecoach used in Tombstone, Arizona (and held up at least one time), a Conestoga wagon once driven from Yuma, Arizona to Massachusetts, and Sharlot Hall�s personal Durant Star Touring car. This 1927 �convertible� still runs well and is often a featured attraction in the Prescott parades. A Note About Arizona's Territorial Capital: First, there was a lot of contention about where the territorial capital, & eventual state capital should be. That was because most of present day southern Arizona, including the populated city of Tucson, had sided with the Confederacy for military protection, while the Cival War was taking place. Phoenix, eventually became the capital, since it was a rapidlly growing city, midway in the territory, soon to become a state. The first territorial capital of Arizona was Fort Whipple, an army post near Prescott. The territorial capital was later moved to Prescott. In 1867 the territorial capital was moved to Tucson. In 1877, then the territorial capital moved back to Prescott. Phoenix became Arizona's permanent capital city in 1889 and, in that year, the construction of the Phoenix state capitol building began. Here is a brief story of how that happened, as told by Bob Cornett of Sharlot Hall Museum: "The night before opening the January 1889 Prescott legislative session, there was much �creative lobbying� by Phoenix advocates. Next morning, bleary eyed legislators considered House Bill 1, an Act to Remove the Capitol of the Territory to Phoenix. The Assembly held all the required readings, voting and passing it easily and within one hour of the Council (Senate) readings and voting affirmatively, Governor Meyer Zulick signed the Act into law. Rather than have the move apply to the next year, as was the custom, they merely recessed that January day in 1889 and moved to Phoenix." The Phoenix state capitol building was completed in 1900, the cost of the building was about $136,000. The Arizona State Capitol Building was dedicated on February 25, 1901. It was designated a museum in 1977. Sharlot Mabridth Hall (October 27, 1870 � April 9, 1943): Sharlot Mabridth Hall was an American journalist, poet and historian. She was also the first woman to hold an office in the Arizona Territorial government and her personal collection of photographs and artifacts served as the starting collection for a history museum which bears her name. Sharlot Mabridth Hall was born to James Polk Knox and Adeline Susannah Boblett Hall in Lincoln County, Kansas on October 27, 1870. In November 1881, her family followed the Santa Fe Trail to Arizona Territory, moving to the Orchard Ranch on the Lynx Creek 20 miles south of Prescott. During the trip, somewhere near Dodge City, she was thrown from her horse and suffered an injury to her back or hip. The pain of the injury would remain with her the rest of her life. Sharlot Mabridth Hall was educated in public schools, first near the present location of Dewey, Arizona and later on in Prescott. At an early age, Hall demonstrated an interest and talent in poetry. Upon graduation she went to Los Angeles to attend the Cumnock School Of Expression. In 1921 Hall received an honorary Bachelor of Arts from the University of Arizona. At the age of 20, she sold her first article to a children's magazine for US$4.00. By the age of 22 she was working as a journalist, poet, and essayist. She became a regular contributor to Charles Lummis' magazine Land of Sunshine and in 1901, when two other poets were unable to complete their deadline, she wrote the poem which announced the magazine's new name of Out West. In 1906, Hall was promoted to associate editor for the magazine. In 1905, when legislation to admit Arizona Territory and New Mexico Territory as a single combined state was proposed in the U.S. Congress, she responded by writing the poem Arizona. Her poem, which mocked the proposal, and made the case for Arizona's independent statehood, was published in several publications and a copy of the poem was given to every member of Congress. Then in 1909, Hall was appointed Territorial Historian by Governor Sloan. This was followed the next year with the release of Cactus and Pine: songs of the Southwest, her first compilation. In 1911, Hall made a trip to the Arizona Strip in an effort to raise awareness of the area's potential among Arizona residents and prevent Utah from obtaining the region as Nevada had obtained Pah-Ute County in 1866. IIn 1912 she resigned as Territorial Historian and returned to her family ranch to care for her aging parents. Sharlot Mabridth Hall returned to the public view in 1923 with the release of an expanded version of Cactus and Pine containing a selection of additional poems. She was selectied as a presidential elector, voting for Calvin Coolidge, in 1925. She wore a custom dress made of copper for the balloting ceremony. She also used her trip to Washington D.C. to visit a variety of museums and learn about their management. Following the death of her father, she acquired the cabin which had served as the "Governor's mansion" for Arizona Territory's first governors. In addition to using it as her living quarters, she used the building to house her collection of artifacts related to Arizona pioneers and pre-historic Yavapai county. This move was followed, in 1928, with her founding of the Prescott Historical Society. The same year she opened what she called the "Old Governor's Mansion Museum," now known as the Sharlot Hall Museum. Over the following years, she oversaw the expansion of her museum through the acquisition of a variety of additional historical buildings. She was also a popular speaker, giving talks on local history and folklore to schools and clubs throughout the state. She passed away on April 9, 1943 & was buried in a family plot in Prescott's Pioneer Cemetery. Two years after her death, the Prescott Historical Society changed their name to the Sharlot Hall Historical Society. Additionally, she was among the first to be inducted to Arizona's Women Hall of Fame. In 1984, the Sharlot Hall Award was established and is awarded annually to "an Arizona woman who has made a valuable contribution to the understanding and awareness of Arizona and its history." Sharlot Hall Museum Hours & Fees: Museum Hours May through September Mon - Sat: 10:00 - 5:00 Sun: Noon - 4:00 October through April Mon - Sat: 10:00 - 4:00 Sun: Noon - 4:00 ADMISSION Free with membership $5 adults Under 18 free Note: Prescott is the home of three museums that describe the culture of the area. Here are Links to their websites. They are the Phippen Museum, the Sharlot Hall Museum, and the Smoki Museum.

If you are planning to visit Prescott and the Prescott area and you are coming from outside of Arizona, you could fly into Phoenix and then rent a car. Prescott is a little over a 2 hour drive from Phoenix off of the scenic I-17 route by taking Arizona 69. There are hotels and motels all along the way in nearby towns. We have some links to Priceline.com on this page since they can arrange all of your air flights, hotels and car. You may need some outdoor clothing and equipment, if you plan to visit the Prescott or Sedona area. We have some links to Altrec on this page since they are a good online source for outdoor gear. The IHG Link will take you to hotels within the Prescott City Limits. We of course, appreciate your use of the advertising on our pages, since it helps us to keep this page active.

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