Sharlot Mabridth Hall (October 27, 1870 – April 9, 1943) was an American
journalist
A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...
,
poet
A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or writte ...
and
historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the stu ...
. She was the first woman to hold an office in the
Arizona Territorial government and her personal collection of photographs and artifacts served as the starting collection for a history
museum
A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make these ...
which bears her name.
Background
Hall was born to James Polk Knox and Adeline Susannah Boblett Hall in
Lincoln County, Kansas
Lincoln County (standard abbreviation: LC) is a county located in the U.S. state of Kansas. As of the 2020 census, the county population was 2,939. The largest city and county seat is Lincoln Center.
History
For many millennia, the Great Pl ...
on October 27, 1870. In November 1881, her family followed the
Santa Fe Trail
The Santa Fe Trail was a 19th-century route through central North America that connected Franklin, Missouri, with Santa Fe, New Mexico. Pioneered in 1821 by William Becknell, who departed from the Boonslick region along the Missouri River, th ...
to
Arizona Territory
The Territory of Arizona (also known as Arizona Territory) was a territory of the United States that existed from February 24, 1863, until February 14, 1912, when the remaining extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the state of ...
, moving to the Orchard Ranch on the
Lynx Creek
Lynx Lake, Arizona, is a reservoir located within Prescott National Forest, approximately east of Prescott, Arizona, in the Bradshaw Mountains. The lake is located at elevation and is stocked for fishing. It is one of the most popular recreat ...
20 miles south of
Prescott.
During the trip, near
Dodge City
Dodge City is the county seat of Ford County, Kansas, United States, named after nearby Fort Dodge. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 27,788. The city is famous in American culture for its history as a wild frontier town ...
, she was thrown from her horse and suffered an injury to her back or hip. The pain of the injury would remain with her the rest of her life.
[Brown p. 39] Hall was educated in public schools, first near the present location of
Dewey, Arizona and later in Prescott. At an early age, Hall demonstrated an interest and talent in poetry. Upon graduation she went to
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
to attend the Cumnock School Of Expression. In 1921 Hall received an honorary
Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...
degree from the
University of Arizona
The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first university in the Arizona Territory.
T ...
.
At the age of 20, Hall sold her first article to a children's magazine for
US$
The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...
4.00.
By age 22 she was working as a journalist, poet, and essayist. Hall became a regular contributor to
Charles Lummis
Charles Fletcher Lummis (March 1, 1859, in Lynn, Massachusetts – November 25, 1928, in Los Angeles, California) was a United States journalist, and an activist for Indian rights and historic preservation. A traveler in the American Southwest, ...
' magazine ''
Land of Sunshine
"Land of Sunshine" is the opening track to '' Angel Dust'', the fourth studio album by the American rock band Faith No More. It was released as a promotional single in 1992 along with "Midlife Crisis" and has been compared in its opening style to ...
'' and in 1901, when two other poets were unable to complete their deadline, she wrote the poem which announced the magazine's new name of ''Out West''.
[Brown p. 40] In 1906, Hall was promoted to associate editor for the magazine.
In 1905, when legislation to admit Arizona Territory and
New Mexico Territory
The Territory of New Mexico was an organized incorporated territory of the United States from September 9, 1850, until January 6, 1912. It was created from the U.S. provisional government of New Mexico, as a result of ''Santa Fe de Nuevo México ...
as a single combined state was proposed in the
U.S. Congress
The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is Bicameralism, bicameral, composed of a lower body, the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives, and an upper body, ...
, Hall responded by writing the poem ''Arizona''.
[Brown p. 41] The poem, which mocked the proposal and made the case for Arizona's independent statehood, was published in several publications and a copy of the poem was given to every member of Congress.
In 1909, Hall was appointed Territorial Historian by
Governor Sloan.
This was followed the next year with the release of ''Cactus and pine: songs of the Southwest'', her first compilation. In 1911, Hall made a trip to the
Arizona Strip
The Arizona Strip is the part of Arizona lying north of the Colorado River. Despite being larger in area than several U.S. states, the entire region has a population of fewer than 10,000 people. Consisting of northeastern Mohave County and n ...
in an effort to raise awareness of the area's potential among Arizona residents and prevent
Utah
Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...
from obtaining the region as
Nevada
Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...
had obtained
Pah-Ute County in 1866.
[Brown pp. 42–43] In 1912 she resigned as Territorial Historian and returned to her family ranch to care for her parents.
Hall returned to the public view in 1923 with the release of an expanded version of ''Cactus and pine'' containing a selection of additional poems.
[Brown p. 44] This was followed by her selection as a
presidential elector
The United States Electoral College is the group of presidential electors required by the Constitution to form every four years for the sole purpose of appointing the president and vice president. Each state and the District of Columbia appo ...
, voting for
Calvin Coolidge
Calvin Coolidge (born John Calvin Coolidge Jr.; ; July 4, 1872January 5, 1933) was the 30th president of the United States from 1923 to 1929. Born in Vermont, Coolidge was a History of the Republican Party (United States), Republican lawyer ...
, in 1925. Hall wore a custom dress made of
copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkis ...
for the balloting ceremony. She also used her trip to
Washington D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, Na ...
to visit a variety of museums and learn about their management.
Following the death of her father, Hall acquired the cabin which had served as the "Governor's mansion" for Arizona Territory's first governors.
In addition to her living quarters, she used the building to house her collection of artifacts related to Arizona pioneers and pre-historic Yavapai county.
This move was followed, in 1928, with her founding of the Prescott Historical Society.
The same year she opened what she called the Old Governor's Mansion Museum, now known as the
Sharlot Hall Museum
The Sharlot Hall Museum is an open-air museum and heritage site located in Prescott, Arizona. Opened in 1928 by Sharlot M. Hall as the Gubernatorial Mansion Museum, the museum that now bears her name is dedicated to preserving the history and ...
.
[Brown p. 45]
Over the following years, Hall oversaw the expansion of her museum through the acquisition of a variety of additional historical buildings. She was also a popular speaker, giving talks on local history and folklore to schools and clubs throughout the state.
Hall died on April 9, 1943, and was buried in a family plot in Prescott's Pioneer Cemetery.
Two years after her death, the Prescott Historical Society changed their name to the Sharlot Hall Historical Society. Additionally, Hall was among the first to be inducted into the Arizona Women's Hall of Fame.
In 1984, the Sharlot Hall Award was established and is awarded annually to "an Arizona woman who has made a valuable contribution to the understanding and awareness of Arizona and its history."
Bibliography
* ''Cactus and pine: Songs of the Southwest'' (1910, 1923)
* ''Poems of a Ranch Woman''
Notes
References
*
Further reading
*
External links
Who was Sharlot M. Hall?fro
Sharlot Hall MuseumSharlot Madbrith Hall Arizona Women's Hall of Fame
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hall, Sharlot Mabridth
1870 births
1943 deaths
People from Lincoln County, Kansas
American historians
Poets from Arizona
People from Prescott, Arizona
Women in Arizona politics
Arizona pioneers
American women journalists
American women poets
American women historians