Fort Whipple Museum Reopens July 8

The Fort Whipple Museum, which tells the story of the Fort from military base to modern healthcare facility, will reopen Thursday, July 8, 2021.

With the COVID-induced lockdown at the Bob Stump Northern Arizona Veterans Affairs Medical Center, access to the Fort Whipple Museum had been closed for visitation.

Explore the Museum’s colorful exhibits as you learn the Fort’s history. From bayonets to surgeon’s scalpels ,the Fort has survived more than 150 years of Western history. Built in 1864, it was relocated to the banks of Granite Creek to protect miners and settlers near Prescott.

It served as military headquarters during the Arizona Territory’s Indian Wars, and later the Buffalo Soldiers and Rough Riders called it home until World War I and the 1918 influenza pandemic.

Soldiers gassed on WWI battlefields became particularly susceptible to tuberculosis, to the point that special hospitals were opened for their care—Fort Whipple in the high country of Arizona among them.

The fort became a medical center to save the lives of soldiers from across the nation. The Fort Whipple Museum chronicles that fascinating history with artifacts and historical panels housed in one of the 1900-era buildings that served as officer’s quarters.

Admission to Fort Whipple Museum is free; donations are appreciated. Hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Thursday to Saturday, with tours by appointment. The Museum is a joint project of the Sharlot Hall Museum and the VA Center. The Museum building is the only structure done in the historic color scheme of cream with green trim.