The Wells Fargo Museum in

Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

was one of eleven museums throughout the United States of the

Wells Fargo Bank Wells Fargo & Company is an American multinational financial services company with corporate headquarters in San Francisco, San Francisco, California; operational headquarters in Manhattan; and managerial offices throughout the United St ...

. The other museums were located in

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, Des Moines,

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and

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. The Phoenix museum was located in downtown Phoenix in the Wells Fargo Plaza. The museum highlighted the role which Wells Fargo played in the settlement of the

Territory of Arizona 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 ...

by the pioneers from the

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. The museum had various exhibits. Among the exhibits was a replica of a 19th-century Wells Fargo bank branch. Following its closure due to COVID-19 restrictions in early 2020, the museum was closed permanently in September 2020, along with most other Wells Fargo Museums.

Exhibits

Phoenix-Wells Fargo Museum-1920 Wells Fargo Bank-1

Among the exhibits in the museum were the following: *An authentic 1879 Wells Fargo stagecoach. *A replica stagecoach in which visitors can climb aboard. *Gold and precious minerals. *A working telegraph. *Two antique telephones in which visitors can communicate with each other.

The Isaias W. Hellman gun collection

Phoenix-Wells Fargo Museum-Colt Model 1861 Navy in the I W Hellman Gun Collection in the Wells Fargo Museum in PHX

Isaias W. Hellman was an immigrant from

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

who started his first bank in his store. He became a successful businessman and was the owner of the Nevada National Bank. His bank merged with Wells Fargo in 1905. Hellman was also a gun collector who owned an impressive gun collection. He served as president of Wells Fargo until his death in 1920. His gun collection was donated to the museum where it was exhibited.

Art Gallery

The museum had an art gallery which exhibits the art works of N.C. Wyeth and Frank Earle Schoonover among others.

N.C. Wyeth’s art work

The museum offers the visitor the opportunity to view and admire the world's largest collection of famed illustrator N.C. Wyeth’s western themed work. Wyeth collected information on mining and brought home costumes and artifacts, including cowboy and

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clothing. His early trips to the western United States inspired a period of images of cowboys and Native Americans that dramatized the

Old West The American frontier, also known as the Old West or the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of American expansion in mainland North America that began with European colonial ...

Frank Earle Schoonover

Schoonover was a contributor to books and magazines. He illustrated the stories of Clarence Mulford’s "Hopalong Cassidy" and Edgar Rice Burroughs's "A Princess of Mars". The painting "There’ll Be Hell to Pay" displayed in the museum is one which related to the Hopalong Cassidy series. Schoonover helped to organize what is now the Delaware Art Museum.

Trustrim Connell's Medal of Honor

Phoenix-Wells Fargo Museum-Trustrim Connell-1

There was a display in the museum dedicated to Captain Trustrim Connell, the recipient of the Medal of Honor. Trustrim Connell was a member of the Union Army during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

. During the Battle of Saylor's (Sailor's) Creek in Virginia, Corporal Connell captured a Confederate flag which at the time was considered enough to earn a soldier the

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valo ...

. He was awarded the Medal of Honor on May 10, 1865. The early medals were awarded without any specification of the heroic deed. After the war Connell was placed in charge of the Indian territory, including all of the Wells Fargo Company business, in Arizona. In 1898, the Connell family moved to the City of Phoenix. In October 1907, Connell received a Gold Medal in replacement with the inscription "For Valor". In Phoenix he was employed by the American Railway Express Company, until his retirement in 1925.Arizona Veterans Hall of Fame Society
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Gallery of museum exhibits

References

{{Commons category, Wells Fargo Museum (Phoenix) Museums in Phoenix, Arizona