Amerind Museum and Texas Canyon Nature Preserve

Willcox/Cochise KOA

Willcox, AZ

October 8, 2024

October 12, 2024 

Such a big and colorful pyracantha bush...

Tuesday morning found us heading about 22 miles west on I 10 to Amerind Museum.  What a wonderful surprise this day turned out to be...

Between 1906 and 1917, a young man from Connecticut who was interested in archaeology made several trips to Arizona.  While visiting, past and present Native cultures captured his attention and his heart and his visits became more frequent and turned into months instead of weeks.  In 1930, he purchased the property for his Double F Ranch (later named the Amerind Museum) and built a home amid the boulder formations of Texas Canyon in the Dragoon Mountains.  

What began as a hobby for Fulton, rapidly turned into a full-time passion.  He started excavating on his property, his techniques improved, and he began publishing accounts of his findings.  With the incorporation of the Amerind Foundation in 1937, Fulton hired a professional archeologist and began supporting archeological research on a major scale.  Fulton is credited with creating one of the finest private museum collections of ethnographic and archeological materials in North America.  In the years that followed, the Amerind facility expanded to include the Museum, Library, Art Gallery, laboratories, storage, workshops, and staff housing .   

The entrance caught my eye...beautiful brass figures and unique windows. 

(I wish I could show you how pretty these windows are from the inside with the sunlight shining thru.)

All three figures were wonderfully detailed...

I love this...

NO PHOTOS signs are posted throughout the museum and the art gallery.  I was "lost" for a few minutes and had to regroup as I do love documenting and sharing beautiful things, history and information.  The "inside photos" posted below were taken from the Amerind Museum webpage. 

Zuni and Navajo jewelry is some of the most distinctive jewelry in the world.  The jewelry is displayed beautifully in cases depicting over three generations from the late 1800s to the late 1900s and included thousands of pieces by hundreds of artists.  The history and development of this jewelry and the artists who made these remarkable pieces is showcased.  This is a permanent exhibit.  

I wish I could show you some of the silver inlay pieces of birds, wildlife, and unique designs  

Another exhibit that interested us were the Indigenous dolls.  The selection of dolls come from all across America lovingly made by parents and grandparents.  This is a permanent exhibit.  

A few of the dolls were on sale at the gift store.

And the pottery...we both enjoy reading about the many artists from different cultures.  The photo below introduces potters from Chihuahua, Mexico who were inspired by the ancient potters of Paquime and created beautiful reproductions of that ancient craft.  They then began new pottery traditions with finely painted and incised pottery in new shapes and styles. This permanent exhibit shows how these potters are inspired by the past, but are creating new traditions for  the future. 

The Art Gallery is located in the building next door.  It is two stories with pastels, photos, oils, and a bit of history and information about the artists.  Some pieces were for sell.  Not for sale is a treasure...The Katsikodi Story Robe.  In a room all by itself is an elk hide painted with scenes of hunters, singers, and dancers created by the Eastern Shoshone artist Katsikodi.  He is believed to have been born in the 1860s and passed away around 1912.  Over 20 of his distinctive painted robes have survived the forces of history, now preserved in museum collections like Amerind's.  It is a permanent collection.

It is worth mentioning that the Amerind Museum campus is located on 1,900 acres of the Texas Canyon Nature Preserve.  For a separate admission fee ($10 for seniors), visitors can enjoy and discover more than 8 miles of trails that wind past balanced rocks and "fantastical" shapes and spires in a high-desert grassland.  The trail is self-guided.  This land was closed to the public for 85 years and was where Mrs. Fulton bred and raised championship registered quarter horses until 1968.  Thanks to generous donations after a multi-year campaign, the Texas Canyon Nature Preserve is open for all to enjoy.  After reading about the trails, we returned on Saturday morning prepared to hike with water and backpack.  As the map shows, some of the trails are easily accessed from the museum, but Joe and I chose to drive Circle Road and begin our hike at the Scholastic & Artist Trailhead in the far right hand corner on the map.  

Hiking trails are in red and the dirt roads are in brown...

The drive is on packed dirt...

and we passed the home that was built for the professional archeologist in 1939.  We were asked not to stop and get out along the way. 

Parking and the trailhead for our hike began at what might have been a home a ranch hand and a stable for the quarter horses. 

We found the trail to be easy with little elevation gain and amazingly beautiful.  It is pretty awesome to reach out and hug one of those magnificent boulders or rock spires as we meandered on trails named Coatimundi, Redtail Hawk, and Mule Deer.  

We enjoyed both our visits to the Amerind Museum.  The historic buildings are grand even without the exhibits.  The exhibits are thoughtfully displayed and informative and are dedicated to promote knowledge and understanding of the Native Peoples of the Americas.  Amerind combines American and Indian and at the museum, the cultures of the ancient and present American Indians comes to life.  And when hiking the trails, thoughts of earlier peoples walking these same hills, living their lives day to day come to mind.  

We made a stop at a Texas Canyon Pioneer Cemetery on the way out...its not on Circle Road and had signage.  The kiosk explains how a pioneer from Texas settled on the land and thru the early years was joined by more and more of his family and friends...thus the name Texas Canyon.  The fencing for the cemetery was ordered from Sears Roebuck & Co. and the community paid off the $116 in $9 monthly installments back in 1939.  In 1959 when the last of the pioneers died, the Fulton's bought the cemetery and did the upkeep and maintained the records and upon their death, the responsibility went to Amerind Foundation.

 

Back at the KOA, life is good. 

 

Sally seems to enjoy her walks and sunsets make for the perfect time of day.  Nothing quite as pretty as the late afternoon glow. 

Until next time...
 

HAPPY TRAILS!