The Tuba Trading Post, founded by trader Charles H. Algert in 1891, is the oldest continuously operating trading post on the western Navajo Nation. The distinctive octagonal stone building, with its conical roof modelled after a Navajo hogan, replaced the original limestone shed in the early 1900s and has been a National Historic Landmark since 2004.
Inside, the front room still stocks Navajo rugs, sandpaintings, silver-and-turquoise jewellery, kachina dolls from the neighbouring Hopi mesas, and the usual practical groceries. Prices are higher than Cameron Trading Post 30 km south but the choice is good and the staff are knowledgeable about provenance — useful, because the Navajo and Hopi craft markets are full of factory-made imitations from elsewhere. The post sits beside the Quality Inn off Main Street, near the centre of town.