Sharlot Hall Museum

The Sharlot Hall Museum occupies a three-acre campus on the edge of downtown, preserving several historic structures from Arizona's territorial period. The centerpiece is the Old Governor's Mansion, a hewn log building from 1864 that served as the home and office of Arizona's first territorial governor, John Goodwin. It remains one of the oldest surviving government buildings in the state.

The grounds also hold the Governor's Mansion's original outbuildings, the 1877 Fort Misery cabin, and the Bashford House — a Victorian-era home brought to the site piece by piece. The Iron Turbine Windmill, a 19th-century structure on the grounds, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The museum does a good job contextualising Arizona's territorial years from the 1860s through 1912, including the role of Prescott as the first and third territorial capital. Allow at least 90 minutes to see the full campus.

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A story
Sharlot Hall was appointed Arizona Territorial Historian in 1909 — the first woman appointed to public office in Arizona Territory. She founded this museum in 1928 in the Old Governor's Mansion, a log structure that had served as Arizona's first government building. Hall lived in the mansion for twenty years, curating the collection herself while continuing to write poetry and history.

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