Hubbell Trading Post National Historic Site ⓘ

John Lorenzo Hubbell purchased the trading post in 1878, ten years after Navajos were allowed to return to their homeland from their terrible exile at Bosque Redondo, Ft. Sumner, New Mexico. During the four years spent at Bosque Redondo, Navajos were introduced to many new items. Traders like Hubbell supplied those items once they returned home.

Hubbell had an enduring influence on Navajo rugweaving and silversmithing, for he consistently demanded and promoted excellence in craftsmanship. He built a trading empire that included stage and freight lines as well as several trading posts. At various times, he and his two sons, together or separately, owned 24 trading posts, a wholesale house in Winslow, and other business and ranch properties. Beyond question, he was the foremost Navajo trader of his time.

Hubbell family members operated the trading post until it was sold to the National Park Service in 1967. The trading post is still active, and operated by the non-profit organization, Western National Parks Association , as a partner with the National Park Service. They continue the trading traditions the Hubbell family started.

Hubbell Trading Post NHS Administrative History - The movement to bring Hubbell Trading Post into the National Park System started in 1957. Hubbell Trading Post National Historic Site was established by Act of Congress on August 28, 1965. Public Law 89-148 authorized the purchase of the "site and remaining structures of the Hubbell Trading Post at Ganado, Arizona, including the contents of cultural and historic value, together with such additional land and interests in land ... needed to preserve and protect the post and its environs for the benefit and enjoyment of the public." This report provides the detailed history of the Site prior to its establishment up into the mid-1990s.

OTHER DOCUMENTS AVAILABLE FROM THE PARK ON REQUEST INCLUDE: Homestead and Farm History - A detailed history of the Ganado Irrigation System and the Hubbell Homestead agricultural practices. Pawn: A Misunderstood Traditional Trading Practice - This report explains the history of the pawn process in the Navajo Culture and how it continues to be conducted today.

Nearly everything the Hubbell family owned is preserved for your enjoyment. The buildings are furnished with their belongings and the artifacts are available for researchers. The collection contains over 350,000 individual items including the family archive of 264,000 business records. The catalog database and archive finding aid are both available on-line.

To access the on-line database, click here. You will be taken to the National Park Service's portal to all of the museum collections in the NPS. Select Hubbell Trading Post National Historic Site and begin your discovery of our museum collection holdings. To access the Hubbell Trading Post archive finding aid, click here.

Culural Landscape Report: Hubbell Trading Post NHS Ganado, Arizona - This cultural landscape study documents the past land use and records the existing landscape conditions associated with John Lorenzo Hubbell's trading post, home site, and farming operation in Ganado, Arizona.

Explore selected artwork by Elbridge Ayer Burbank from the Hubbell Trading Post National Historic Site museum collection. They were featured in the Portraits of the People: E.A. Burbank at Hubbell Trading Post exhibit at the Navajo Nation Museum , Window Rock, Arizona from August 9-December 21, 2002. Many of the artworks can be seen at Hubbell Trading Post National Historic Site.

Natural resources have influenced Hubbell Trading Post. When Mr. Hubbell chose this site for his business he recognized the importance of water and set up his business here because the Pueblo Colorado Wash flows through the site.

This 160 acre historic site is surrounded by the Navajo Nation within the Colorado Plateau geographic region in Northeast Arizona at approximately 6300 feet in elevation. The environment is considered high desert and is dominated by Colorado Plateau shrub land and Pinon-Juniper woodland vegetation. Much of the natural landscape has been manipulated by humans especially since the arrival of European settlers in the mid to late 1800s. These settlers introduced domestic animals including horses, cattle and sheep to this region. Navajo people soon became very adept ranchers and maintained large herds. These herds heavily grazed the landscape, and introduced non-native plant life that competed with the native grasses interspersing alien plant species among native vegetation. In an attempt to protect the herds, coyotes, badgers and foxes were hunted and their numbers greatly reduced.

At the turn of the 19th century when irrigation became a reality in this part of the Navajo Nation, larger plots of land were cultivated. John Lorenzo Hubbell cleared over a hundred acres of his land and grew alfalfa, further reducing native vegetation at this site. During the late 1950s Hubbell's agricultural fields were no longer cultivated and native as well as non-native plant species once again took over the cultural landscape. In addition, many native animal populations returned to the site.

After the National Park Service fenced out livestock, the native plants and animals are becoming more abundant. The National Park Service has, in recent years, actively removed non-native tamarisk and Russian olive from the Pueblo Colorado Wash and planted native willows and cottonwood trees. With the reintroduction of agriculture in the once dormant alfalfa fields, the Hubbell ranch is once again alive with crops.

To see animals that live on the Navajo Nation, visit the Navajo Nation Zoo and Botanical Park located in Window Rock, Arizona. This facility is the only tribally-owned and operated zoo in America. Since 1962, it has served as a sanctuary for nature and the spirit. Their core mission is to provide quality plant and animal exhibits that foster the understanding, appreciation, knowledge and respect of plants and animals found on the Navajo Nation and in the Southwestern United States. A primary goal for the park is to offer an educational and enjoyable experience for all visitors. They achieve this by displaying animals and plants important to the history and culture of the Navajo people. You may visit their website by clicking here .

Although Hubbell Trading Post NHS is a relatively small site, it still provides important habitat for a variety of animal species. Prairie dogs are the most abundant mammals seen during the summer months. Prairie dogs, considered pest species in the not too distant past, are now being seen as an indicator species-they give us an idea of the overall health of the environment. Other resident small mammals include jackrabbits, cottontail rabbits, bats, and deer mice. Coyotes and gray foxes are found here due to the plentiful food source of smaller mammals and water supplied by the Pueblo Colorado Wash. Occasionally, deer traverse through the area as well as striped skunks. Summer also brings out reptiles including gopher or bull snakes that resemble rattlesnakes but are harmless. Western rattlesnakes are residents too, but are encountered on a much less frequent basis than gopher snakes. Garter snakes live in the area but are infrequently noticed by visitors probably due to their small size. A variety of lizards are at home here including the sagebrush lizards and eastern fence lizards. Ravens are year round residents, but are joined by a variety of other birds when spring rolls around; robins, sparrows, Say's phoebes, flickers and hummingbirds. Raucous Pinyon Jays shatter the morning peace as they flock in the fall. In recent years, white-faced ibises have stopped at Hubbell for several weeks at a time during their spring migration to the Great Plains. Lewis's woodpeckers make their home among Hubbell's cottonwood tree snags. A pair of Kestrels return to Hubbell every year to nest. The Pueblo Colorado Wash increasingly attracts a variety of waterfowl such as Great Blue Herons, mallards, and American coots.

A toad is from a species of amphibians in the order Anura (frogs) and is characterized by dry leathery skin, short legs, and a snout. A distinction between frogs and toads is made in popular culture, toads are associate with more terrestrial habitiats.The bumps on the skin speculated to help the amphibian to blend more effectively into its environment. At Hubbell it can be found in and around the kitchen garden.