‘Exploring Arizona’ Exhibit

For God, gold and glory, they came… they saw… and they conquered!

Whether trapping for beaver pelts, seeking a navigable waterway, mapping a route to the west, or searching for the geologic riches of the area, they came to a land called Arizona.

Who were they? What did they find? And why was the specific area we know today as Prescott “undiscovered country” until the middle of the Civil War?

A new exhibit opens to the public on Saturday, January 25 at the Museum — one that invites you to join in “Exploring Arizona” …from its rich topography and geology to its historical impact on the settling of the wild, western frontier.

The exhibit showcases the earliest Spanish explorations seeking gold and riches …the mountain men and adventurers seeking pathways to riches …the miners seeking mineral wealth or ranchers and farmers seeking new beginnings… all this is found by “Exploring Arizona.”

The exhibit spans the chronology from the 1540s to the late 1800s and identifies how Arizona is defined by its terrain and measured by its mineral resources… how it was surveyed and mapped to document its topographical opportunities for progress. It continues today as a vast oasis of adventure.

Learn how “Arizona” got its names, the trials and trevails of its earliest Spanish explorers including Cardenas, Oñate, Coronado, Kino and Anza …to the American explorers of Sitgreaves, Ives, Powell, Whipple, Bartlett and others. Learn about the challenges faced by those who chose to settle and build while “Exploring Arizona.”