Wednesday, September 4, 2013

A Blickensderfer in the Pines of Prescott


This is a picture of Sharlot Hall sitting at what appears to be a Blickensderfer 7 at her family home at Orchard Ranch 20 miles south of Prescott. Who was Sharlot Hall?

Sharlot M. Hall (1870-1943), who became well known as a poet, activist, politician, and Arizona’s first territorial historian. Sharlot Hall was one of the West’s most remarkable women. As early as 1907, Ms. Hall saw the need to save Arizona's history and planned to develop a museum. She began to collect both Native American and pioneer material. In 1927, she began restoring the first Territorial Governor’s residence and offices and moved her extensive collection of artifacts and documents opening it as a museum in 1928.
This great treasure of Arizona sits at a Blickensderfer 7 at Orchard Ranch 20 miles south of Prescott. Sharlot was very concerned with protecting Arizona's new history and filled an inhereted home (which was the territorial governor's mansion at one time) with artifacts and objects from Arizona's early years.

For Sharlot Hall, Prescott was far more rugged than the hip boutiques would suggest today. The simple and reliable Blick would have been invaluable to those living in these rugged wildernesses.