RonnieAdventure #0118 - Arizona Historical Society, Tempe, Maricopa County, Arizona

The First Arizona Territorial Legislature realized it was important to preserve a record of their activities, so on November 7, 1864 the Legislature passed an Act that created the Arizona Historical Society (AHS) as a means for documenting and preserving “all facts relating to the history of this Territory.” Today, the AHS’s mission is to “Collect, preserve, interpret, and disseminate the history of Arizona and the West.” Since 1864 over three million objects have been cataloged and preserved at various locations throughout the State. Although all of the museums contain a variety of artifacts, there are four main sites that contain specific information.

Yuma contains territorial era items, which includes agriculture, military, railroad, steamboats, irrigation and the Yuma Prison.

Tucson contains southern Arizona and borderlands items, maps, genealogy, ranching, politics, mining, law, and grass roots organizations.

Tempe contains 20^th century items, architectural drawings, TV news reels, aviation, banking, healthcare, non-profit organizations, arts/culture, and photographs.

Flagstaff contains northern Arizona and the Colorado Plateau, lumber industry, local organizations, and Indian records.

Since I was in Tempe, I decided to visit the Tempe Museum at Papago Park. Although I did not go into any of the research rooms, it was interesting just to view the historical exhibits in the main museum building.

The transportation section of the museum includes items relating to Route 66, old automobiles, a U-Haul trailer, and a three-axle six-wheel1920/1935/1956/1990 vehicle that you don’t see too often.

The military section of the museum includes an old horse-drawn cannon, a WW II Jeep, an AT-6 aircraft, and a metal section from the USS Arizona.

A replication of early Arizona small town main street includes Bob’s Big Boy, Valley National Bank, Fox Theater, retail items of the era,  and who could ever forget Wallace & Ladmo. I remember when our kids were growing up, on their birthday they always wanted to go to the Wallace & Ladmo Show so that they could get a Ladmo Bag. 

On March 28, 1906, the Bureau of Reclamation’s first hydroelectric power plant was established at Roosevelt Dam on the Salt River. This was the Nation’s first multi-purpose reclamation project that combined electricity generation, water for irrigation, and a lake for recreation. One of the first generators used at the dam is now on display in the museum courtyard.

Now I have to put the other three AHS museums on my bucket list!