Saving the Great American West:  The Story of George Bird Grinnell

Robson Branch Library, Lecky Room 9330 E. Riggs Road, Sun Lakes, AZ, United States

The great West that George Bird Grinnell first encountered in 1870 as a 21-year-old man was shortly to disappear before his eyes.  Nobody was quicker to sense the desecration or was more eloquent in crusading against the poachers, the hide-hunters, and the disengaged U.S. Congress than George Bird Grinnell, the “Father of American Conservation.”  Grinnell […]

Free

Arizona’s Historic Trading Posts

Joyner-Green Valley Library 601 N. La Canada Drive, Green Valley, AZ, United States

Early traders traveled through Arizona Territory, selling goods from their wagons, but they soon built stores that evolved into trading and social centers where wool, sheep, and Native arts were exchanged for sugar and salt, pots, pans, bridles, and saddles. Navajo trading posts are best known, but trading posts existed on every reservation in Arizona. […]

Free

Honky Tonks, Brothels and Mining Camps: Entertainment in Old Arizona

Prescott Public Library 215 E. Goodwin St., Prescott, AZ, United States

In pioneer Arizona, among the best places to experience the performing arts were in the mining towns. Striking it rich meant having disposable income and miners, like the well-heeled of the Gilded Age, wanted to demonstrate their sophistication with culture. From the early popular music of ragtime and minstrelsy evolved orchestras, operas and glee clubs […]

Free

Oh Heavens! Saviors and Saints on the Arizona Frontier

Casa Community Center 780 S. Park Centre Avenue, Green Valley, AZ, United States

Women of many faiths cared for the bodies and souls of Arizona’s early inhabitants. Meet five of these altruistic women who influenced the history of the territory. Theresa Ferrin’s holistic practices and comprehensive understanding of healing herbs earned her the title “Angel of Tucson.” Florence Yount is recognized as Prescott’s first woman physician. Teresita Urrea […]

Free

Arts and Culture of Ancient Southern Arizona Hohokam Indians

Sierra Vista Public Library 2600 E. Tacoma St., Sierra Vista, AZ, United States

The Hohokam archaeological culture flourished in southern Arizona as early as the sixth century. Hohokam artifacts, architecture, and other material culture provide clues allowing archaeologists to identify where the Hohokam lived, interpret how they adapted to the Sonoran Desert for centuries, and explain why their culture collapsed in the mid-1400s. This presentation illustrates Hohokam material […]

Free

Business Not as Usual: Arizona’s Early Women Entrepreneurs

Sedona Winds Retirement Center 405 Jacks Canyon Rd., Sedona, AZ, United States

Women have always been in business of one type or another. Meet five of Arizona’s early female entrepreneurs. Prospector Nellie Cashman established restaurants in towns across the territory. Sarah Bowman, a shrewd businesswoman with a tarnished reputation, operated dining establishments for the soldiers of Fort Yuma. Trading post owner Louisa Wetherill replicated intricate Navajo sand […]

Free

The Vulture Gold Mine

Litchfield Park Branch Library 101 W. Wigwam Boulevard, Litchfield Park, AZ, United States

Discovered in 1863 by Henry Wickenburg, the Vulture Gold Mine was the first big gold mine in Arizona.  The mine and its colorful cast of characters, along with the town of Wickenburg, were instrumental in stimulating considerable growth and development in Central Arizona. This presentation will share the multi-layered story of the gold mine, thus […]

Free

Cowboys and Cowgirls: Icons of the American West

Phippen Museum 4701 U.S. HWY 89N, Prescott, AZ, United States

Few symbols have been more durable than the American cowboy. This program will give an overview of this populist figure, whose image was first defined by painters Frederic Remington and Charles M. Russell. Also important to the story are brave cowgirls and the Mexican vaqueros. Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show showcased mythic cowboy culture, with […]

Free

How Wild Was It? Crime and Justice in Arizona Territory

Sharlot Hall Museum 415 W. Gurley Street, Prescott

Arizona’s territorial era has the reputation of being a violent and crime-ridden place with ineffective criminal justice institutions.  This presentation provides an overview of crime and justice in Arizona Territory.  Based on data from court cases and newspapers, it describes the types of crimes most commonly committed and the justice system’s response to them.  Contrary […]

Free

Resistance: Untold Stories of Jewish Partisans

Cutler-Plotkin Jewish Heritage Center 122 E Culver St., Phoenix, AZ, United States

Join the Cutler Plotkin Jewish Heritage Center in downtown Phoenix for a screening of Resistance: Untold Stories of Jewish Partisans During World War II. Visit their website for more information and to RSVP. This event is funded in part by an Opportunity Grant from Arizona Humanities.

Free

Fill out the info below to sign up for our E-Newsletter.