The Museum is honored to provide the venue for the NEA Big Read Art Show sponsored by the Friends of the Patagonia Library and the Patagonia Creative Arts Association in conjunction with a recently awarded NEA grant.

4th generation Patagonians Glen “Gooch” Goodwin and Kayla Lewis-Simpson will present their photography highlighting the landscape, wildlife, people, and history of the area. This will be a three-week exhibition held at The Patagonia Museum and will be open for public viewing during museum open hours, Thursday-Saturday, 2-4 PM. The grand opening is Friday, November 5th at 6 PM.

A huge round of thanks goes to the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona for the grant provided to the Patagonia Museum by the South32 Hermosa Community Fund.

Trust us, we have lots of projects lined up that will be completed with this generous donation. It will primarily fund the creation and installation of a mural for the Lochiel Schoolhouse Welcome Center by Patagonia Schools students under the direction of the Patagonia Creative Arts Association. We’re also planning the creation and installation of a roadside sign at the Lochiel Schoolhouse so travelers can get an idea of the remarkable history of this little red building.

This photo shows you where we stand now in terms of the restoration project on the 100+-year-old building that is located southeast of Patagonia in the San Rafael Valley. Looking pretty good, isn’t it? We can’t wait to show you the “after”  that will come from the next round of changes.

In addition, Old Main will benefit from the grant as we’ll be able to fund the completion of the ADA ramp on the entrance to the building, pay for the restoration of the high school art class territorial school signs on the museum grounds that has faded in the Arizona sun and invest in new lawn care equipment to be utilized both at the museum and Lochiel. If you’ve been visited us recently, you know mowing the grounds by hand is a huge undertaking so our volunteer groundkeepers will appreciate the upgrade to a riding mower.

Once again, the board and members of the Patagonia Museum send a hearty round of thanks to the CFSA and the South32 Hermosa Fund for their generous donation that will allow us to continue the work of preserving the memories of eastern Santa Cruz County.

The venue that is now home to the Patagonia Museum closed its doors in 2015 as the “longest in contiguous use” elementary school in Arizona. Hundreds of kids passed through its doors in the 101 years it was in service as a school. The halls are much quieter now so it’s no wonder that we were happy to arrange a private tour for 12-year-old Cole & 9-year-old Natalie, at the request of their aunt who writes our favorite “Glimpses of the Past” series for the local newspaper.

Like most kids, they loved the playground and the bright mural painted by talented local artists but they also enjoyed exploring the current exhibits in the Museum.  The Cowbelle’s room is dedicated to the rich history of ranching in Santa Cruz County and is full of western artifacts that intrigued Cole & Natalie. When they learned there were 7 saloons located on the main street between 1900 – 1910. they agreed it’s likely that some of those cowboys spent the night chained to “the Patagonia jail tree” when they were too intoxicated to ride home safely. Note: The re-enactment was thoroughly enjoyed by the adults on the tour.

Educating people about the rich and diverse history of the people, places and things that typified eastern Santa Cruz County is the reason the Museum exists. Based on the note our curators received after their visit, we’d say our mission was accomplished.

The Museum is open Thursday – Saturday from 2 to 4, year-round. Drop us a note if you’re in the area outside those hours and we’ll do our best to ensure you too can see the sights.

Article and photo by Marion Vendituoli. Reprinted by permission of the Patagonia Regional Times.

Descendants of Mary Kane, who was one of the first women to vote in Arizona, gather in front of the suffrage sign at the Patagonia Museum.

Thirty people gathered at the dedication of the suffrage marker at the Patagonia Museum on May 15. After a short business meeting, Museum President German Quiroga introduced historian Mary Melcher. Melcher was the lead historian for the Arizona Women’s Heritage Trail and served on the committee for the National Votes for Women Trail (NVWT), which “seeks to recognize and celebrate the enormous diversity of people and groups active in the struggle for women’s suffrage.,” according to its website.

Melcher described the struggles of early suffragists in Arizona, which culminated in an initiative to give women the vote that passed in 1912, shortly after Arizona gained statehood.

The historical marker at the Patagonia Museum, one of approximately 250 markers throughout the U.S., names two of the 23 women who voted at the site in 1915, Amalia Valenzuela and Mary Kane. In the audience at the dedication were several descendants of Mary Kane, who was born in Mexico in 1863. The women must have been able to read, according to Melcher, as a requirement for voting was the ability to read a line of the constitution in English.

“Today we honor these women,” Melcher said, noting the importance of continuing the fight for “voting rights for all”.

The 2020/2021 recipients of the Museum’s Student Docent scholarships, Brianna Young, Carolina Quiroz and Hannah Woodard.

Despite the less than ideal conditions over the past two school years, these young women worked tirelessly with our curators, Tom and Linda Shore, on a variety of projects around the school. None of them glamorous, all of them necessary and for that effort, the members of the Patagonia Museum Board thank them.

Their commitment to helping us keep the history of Eastern Santa Cruz County alive speaks well for the future of these outstanding representatives of the Lobo community.

What does it take to turn a blah beige handball wall into a work of art? A vision, a few gallons of paint and the help of some talented local artists. Voila, a few months later, the Museum can now boast that we have the spiffiest spot in town for a special photo op right outside our front doors.

The project was conceived of by our curator and approved by the board but the real work was done by the artists.  The art teacher at Patagonia Union High School led the way supported by the director of the Patagonia Creative Arts Association and a band of volunteers.

As a reminder, the Museum is open from 2 to 4 Thursdays – Saturday but the photo op in the front yard is available anytime.