Sedona Heritage Museum

The Sedona Heritage Museum is located at 735 Jordan Road (phone: 520-282-7038). The Museum sits on city property, but it operates under the auspices of the Sedona Historical Society. It is dedicated to preserving and presenting artifacts and documents relevant to the history of Sedona in particular and the Verde Valley in general.

Several areas of the collection are especially noteworthy. The museum has a very large collection of photos of local residents and events; it also has more extensive information on two local families-the Jordans and the Rigbys. The Jordan family, pioneer settlers and fruit growers, owned the property on which the Museum stands. Elizabeth and Douglas Rigby were authors who came to the area in the 1950s and lived there until they died.

Elizabeth Rigby, a 1927 graduate of Smith College, wrote for various local and national magazines and newspapers, including Arizona Highways, Southwest Art, Arizona Daily Sun, and the Arizona Republic. She was the Sedona Editor for the Verde Independent from 1963 to 1973 and was a regular correspondent for the Red Rock News for several decades (1960s-80s). Douglas Rigby was a free lance writer who contributed to local and national publications. He also published several books. The couple saved a wide variety of materials connected to their writing, including manuscripts as well as research notes, pertinent articles by other authors, and correspondence with publishers. Most of their materials, at least from the Sedona years, appear to be housed in the museum. This includes approximately 12,000 photographs taken by Mrs. Rigby in the course of her life as a professional journalist in the area.

Unique Books and Manuscripts

Blauert, Billie. "History of the Steele Homestead and Surrounding Sedona Area," manuscript, March 1988 (approximately 30 typed pages).
Bliss, Patricia. Research notes on the history of the Sedona area.
McBride, Laura. "Historical property inventory."
Moser, Donna. Life in the Lobby. Manuscript, 1986 (short stories and pieces on Sedona history written in 1960s through 1980s).
Pendley, Kathleen A. Oak Creek Canyon Multiple Resource Area, Dept. of Anthropology NAU, Sept 1981.
Rigby, Elizabeth. "Oak Creek Canyon, Red Rock, Sedona, then and now," 3,000 word manuscript.
Rigby, Elizabeth. "She had to Sleuth to Make Census" (about Faith Fuller), 3500 word manuscript, 1960.

Newspapers:

Hardscrabble News: September, 1962, and all of 1963
Various copies of other local newspapers

Documents
Red Rock School District No. 27 information and index: journals 1897, 1904, registers from 1892-1928 (copied 1996).

File Drawers

Three file drawers contain clippings on the area, mostly from the 1960s through the 1980s. They are arranged by subject.
Folders on Stage Coach Players, late 1952-66 and half a drawer more of clippings of articles on Sedona and the Sedona area

Boxed Collections:

Box: Most of the magazines in which the Rigbys published their work.
Box of Lucy Copestake news releases and photos 1979-84
Box: Rigby information, letters and articles filed according to subject.
Approximately ten boxes, each containing six to eight notebooks that belonged to Elizabeth or Douglas Rigby. They both collected information from secondary sources on things they wanted to write about; the notebooks contain this information as well as some manuscripts written about the subjects they researched. There is frequently the authors' correspondence with the newspapers and magazines that accepted or rejected their manuscripts.

Oral History: transcripts

Transcript of oral histories by pioneers, 1990-91: Gene Ash, Oma Bird, Edith Denton, Nick Duncan, Alice Etter, Faye Crenshaw Hughes, Ruth Jordan, Anne Jordan Jackson, Clare Jones, Grace Jones, James Jones, Bob Kited, Laura McBride, Tom Pendley, John Samsky, Fred Schuerman, Elsie Smith, Earl Van Deren, Ella May Wilson and Mary Wyatt, 1990s copyrighted, 29 pp.
Verde Valley Horsemen's Council oral histories, including Clingon "Tuffy" Peach and Nettie Goodard Peach (1980) 20 pp.
Dave Murdock, who was 94 in 1980, 21 pp.
Nellie May Smith Hard (transcribed in the 1980s)

Scrapbooks

The scrapbook in the front room of the Museum contains numerous photos from the late 1800s and first quarter of the twentieth century. Subjects are people from the area engaged in forestry activities, farming, ranching, and recreation.
Memorial Volume (scrapbook): 3 ring binder
The introduction reads: "Here's a way to remember your friends and relatives while helping the Sedona Heritage Museum. Add their biography information to our Memorial Volumes, for a permanent record and remembrance. For a donation, you can submit a page or more, with a person's history and photo if desired. Just provide typed or legible handwritten text; we'll make it presentable and keep the originals safe. Your pages will always be available for reference here."

There are several buildings connected with the museum, one of which is the Jordan family's former apple storage and packing shed. In that building, there are several metal storage cabinets containing a large collection of scrapbooks. Many contain Elizabeth Rigby's articles, photos and other materials. Others are dedicated to local families and specific civic activities. The following 23 are listed on the door of one of the metal storage cabinets.
1. History
2. History-pictures
3. Place names
4. Pictures
5. and 5A. Douglas and Elizabeth Rigby
6. Pictures people A-H
7. Cemetery
8. Pictures: people J-M
9. Pictures: people N-Z
10. Pictures Paw Prints-Eastern Star, Masons, Stash your Trash, Garden Club
11. Pictures: Scouts school, business & professional women, AARP, Pen Women
12. Pictures: Rotary-Kanyon Kids, Soroptimists, Stage Coach Players, Elks Kiwanis, Model A Car
13. Pictures: Airport, Chamber of Commerce, Library, Forest Service, Post Office
14. Pictures: business
15. Pictures: Coconino County-Search and Rescue, Fire, Dumps, Utilities, Taxpayers, Youth
16. Pictures: Westerners, Lions, Little League, Posse Grounds
17. Pictures: Churches
18. Places
19. Pictures, artists
20. Vegetation, ,animals
21. Purtymun Thompson
22. Newspaper stories
23. Movies

1. History: Some lose pieces-the Sedona Historical Society Newsletter and Tidbits, a local shopper. This 80 page scrapbook contains a 3,000 word history, "Oak Creek Canyon, Sedona, then and now," for the spring issue of Plateau, (MNA, 1986), clippings of articles that are on historical subjects, several pieces written by the Westerners for local publications, such as the Red Rock News. There are few photos.
2. History: Pictures (mostly Rigby)
3. "People, place names." This contains clippings and manuscripts for articles written between the 1960s and 1970s with titles like, "Sedona Old-timers Preserve Historical Sites and Names." Some are from the Arizona Daily Sun (Flagstaff). Not all articles are by Elizabeth Rigby.
4. Pictures (most are by E. Rigby): The scrapbook contains approximately fifty pages with a total of approximately 40 well-identified pictures of things like cleanup, litter picking, and civic events. The book also contains newspaper articles on these activities and some typed descriptions of the photos.
5 and 5A. Elizabeth and Douglas Rigby. These scrapbooks give a good picture of the Rigbys. There are about sixty pages in each book. The scrapbooks contain manuscripts, clippings, and photos.
6. Photos: people A-H: arranged alphabetical by last name, most of these pictures were taken by E. Rigby. There are approximately 130 pages containing posed portraits as well as more candid, news-type snapshots. Some of the photos are accompanied with a good explanation of the subject and date (1950s through 1970s). There are local people as well as visitors, including Barry Goldwater.
7. Cemeteries, streets, roads, real estate, SAC, miscellaneous, clubs, health activities. There are approximately 84 pages with about one photo to a page; some are well identified. Sometimes the text identifying the photo is from an accompanying article. Dates range from 1968 through 1982.
8. Pictures: people, J-M (mostly taken by E. Rigby)
Approximately 60 photos of noteworthy people are contained in this book. There are some snapshots
and some larger portraits from the late 1950s through the 1970s. One or two are older photos, and they are obviously not Rigby's. Some of the more recent photos are also not by her, e.g., one is by Bill Hamilton. Most but not all photos are identified by date and location.
9. Pictures: people N-Z (most were taken by E. Rigby)
There are about 100 photos and news stories from 1960 through early 1980s. Some of these noteworthy people are well identified and some are not. Some photos are on photographic paper, and a few are from clippings.
10. Pictures: Paw Prints, Eastern Stars, Masons, Stash your trash; Garden Club, KSB, VVRW.
There are about 80 pages with prints and a few pictures from newspapers (1960s-1980s). There is generally one photo per page, but some have three to six photos.
11. Pictures: Scouts, school, business and professional women, AARP, Pen Women
There are approximately 300 photos, mostly of groups of people taken between 1963-78.
12. Pictures: Rotary-Kanyon Kids, Soroptimists, Stage Coach Players, Elks Kiwanis, Model A Car. There are about 300 photos taken between 1964 and 1978.
13. Pictures: Airport, Chamber of Commerce, Library, Forest Service, Post Office
There are about 300 photos, mostly from the 1970s. Some are well identified; some are not.
14. Pictures: business: There are about 300 photos of businesses (people as well as people in front of buildings or buildings by themselves). They were taken between 1963 and 1978. Some are candid snapshots, others are more formal, and most are fairly well documented. Some photos show the construction of local buildings (First National Bank, Valley National Bank). This particular collection gives a good documentary overview of what places looked like on a given date.
15. Pictures: Coconino County-Search and Rescue, Fire, Dumps, Utilities, Taxpayers, Youth
There are about 150 pictures. Dates range from 1950 to 1978. There are also pre-renovation photos of
the fire engine that is in the museum before it was renovated.
16. Pictures: Westerners, Lions, Little League, Posse Grounds
There are about 300 photos, taken between the sixties and early seventies. Most are of the Westerners and the Posse.
17. Pictures: churches
There are about fifty photos, mostly from the 1960s and 1970s. Labeled "Processes," this book contains pictures of churches, church activities, growth of the Shrine of the Redrocks, St. Andrew's, local weddings, the Wayside chapel, and vacation bible.
18. Places: about 100 photos of landscapes in the Sedona area, mostly 8x10, taken between 1961 and 1978.
19: Pictures: Artists. There are approximately 75 photos of artists, their studios, houses, environments, and their works. Occasionally there is additional information about the artists and their work. Most photos are well identified as to date and subject. They were taken between 1962 and 1987.
19A. Pictures: Artists, arranged by artist's name. Not all were taken by Elizabeth Rigby.
20. Vegetation, animals. There are approximately 50 photos, some 8x10s and some snapshots taken between the late 1950s and 1970s.
21. Purtymun Thompson . (The Thompsons had the old Oak Creek homesite). This scrapbook contains early family photos and memorabilia, interviews, clippings, and some original photos. The clippings date from late 1950s onward; a few photos are by Rigby. There are about 30 pages plus some loose documents.
22. News stories
23. Elizabeth Rigby: Photos of movie making in the Sedona area as well as clippings. There are also several manuscripts of work may or may not have been published. The bulk of the material is on Stay Away Joe (1967).

Un-numbered scrapbooks:
All scrapbooks listed below are three ring binders with plastic pages enclosing photos, clippings, and other documents.

Waddell:
John Henry Waddell ("Arizona's best-known sculptor"). It also contains information on Louise Kerr, the women who lived at Kerr Ranch where Waddell has his studio. There are approximately 75 pages of clippings, and commentaries about the artist and his work, mostly from local and state periodicals.
Galleries, founders, cultural
About 40 published articles, a few manuscripts, and pictures from local newspapers. Most, but not all, are by Elizabeth Rigby.
Loose: Elizabeth Rigby's manuscripts, approximately 100 -150 pages. Most of these were written about SAC in 1985.
Five huge binders containing negatives: these are probably most of E. Rigby's negatives.
Sedona historical Society, #1
There are approximately 125 photos of Historical Society members and activities. Volunteers are not always identified. The scrapbook contains Ray Anderson's photos taken in August of 1996 of the site before development as it is at present. Some are of the Sharlot Hall Museum as the Sedona group gathered ideas about how to put together their museum. There are also pictures of the opening on October 18, 1998.
Sedona Historical Society #2:
There are approximately 150 photos including: snapshots of the interior and exterior of the museum, people, contents of the museum, the Jordan family and property, the landscape in the area, development of the fire truck, and the old timers picnic. There are a few older black and white photos, but most photos are from the mid 1980s.
Scrapbook: Sedona
This is a collection of clippings, mostly from local sources, on Sedona specifically and also area history. It includes reproduced photos of the Schnebly home, an overview of the area, uptown Sedona, the old Post Office, and the Cornville Postal service. Some photos are of Cottonwood. Articles are mostly from the 1970s.
Photo Album: Sedona Historical Society
There are approximately 50 color snapshots of Sedona Historical Society activities, including Heritage Days 1995 and photos of Mrs. Jordan.
Scrapbook of old Sedona families:
Purtymun, Thompson early settlers and their descendants. There are approximately 100 photos. The earliest are reproductions from the mid 1880s, some are reprints, some could be originals. Most subjects are identified. This scrapbook includes pictures of the Smiths, Links, and Adda, Bear Howard, the Hedges family, Vera, Ruben, Bill, Billie, Charley and Liddy Nail Brewer (came to Sedona 1924). There are also photos of Ranger Fred Croxen and Edith Lampert Croxen, a teacher, and other old locals, including Elizabeth Ragsdale Howard, Myrtle Nail.
Scrapbook: Sedona PTA: this is a copy of a scrapbook that is in the Sedona Public Library
Photos and clippings, 1950, 1951.
Scrapbook, Churches, buildings
There are approximately 150 photos (some casual snapshots, some 8x10 posed portraits, some of individuals, some of groups, including Arizona State Highway Department, Phoenix, 1969, and the Sedona Westerners. There are photos of the local landscape, and some from local promotional brochures and calendars, 1960s through end of 1990s.
Scrapbook: Fire Department
This includes manuscripts of articles about the department as well as a newsletter from 1997, clippings and stories from the late sixties through the eighties. There are approximately 40 pages.
Purtymun/Thompson family album
There are at least 50 sheets; most have more than one photo per side. They range from late in the last century to the end of 20^th century. Some of the photos are well identified as to person and date, some are not. Some are copies, some are original prints. The newer photos are color snapshots.
Scrapbook: more information on Sedona settlers, Thompsons, Bear Howard, etc.
The scrapbook contains handwritten notes, newspaper articles about settlers, interviews and remembrances, Forest Service publications, and articles from The Journal of Arizona History. There are about 75 pages.
Scrapbook: Purtymun, family history, #3
There are approximately 125 pages containing clippings, photos (both older and newer-into the 1990s), and some manuscripts. Subjects include Lizzie Thompson, Margaret James, and Elizabeth Ragsdale. There are copies of articles written in the 1970s and 1980s.
Scrapbook: Edith Denton (manuscripts by her and other local writers)
This contains several stories and vignettes about the area written by Mrs. Denton. There are also stories by Albert E. Thompson, "Early Roads of the Sedona area", 12 pages; Bill Coburn, "High Low and the Pack," 6 single spaced pages, no date; Bill Coburn, (one page, no date but probably from the 1960s); Inez Lay, "Early Builders of Sedona," 8 printed pages (source? date?); Frieda Schwerman Loyl, "Pioneers of the Red Rock Precinct (Those early days? No date) 5 printed pages. Also from "Those Early Days," Ramblings of Clara Purtymun, 8 printed pages; Fay Crenshaw Hughes, " How it was then as Sedona's First Realtor, 1950," 1986, 18 typed double spaced pages; "The Personal History of Laura McBride," 6 typed pages; "Summary of SRSP cultural history Native Americans 1989": approximately 10 typed pages.
Scrapbook: on water
This 100-page scrapbook contains news clippings, photos, and written commentaries. It starts with information from Flagstaff newspapers, 1948, and includes a hand written chronology beginning in 1879. Many stories have accompanying photos. Most clippings are from the 1960s to the late 1980s.
File folder on Salt River Project with information from the 1970s. It contains some official documents, giving Sedona certain water rights 1970.
Scrapbook of Mayhew family
The Mayhews owned Mayhews' Oak Creek Lodge, which was destroyed by fire. The scrapbook includes: "Short history of Oak Creek Lodge," by Albert E. Thompson (3 pp typed), photos (some original photos from the teens and 1920s), personal write-ups with photos, more formal pictures.
Scrapbook, Bill Howard (about 150 pages)
Manuscript for book, Black Ranch? Or Tales of Then for the Now (Sedona reflections?) The manuscript goes through Chapter 5 and seems to stop. There are photos and articles by and about him. There is information on Ira and Elsie Smith, early pioneers of Sedona, written primarily between the 1960s and 1980s. This book contains some lovely photos.
Scrapbook on the history of the area
It contains 150-200 pages of notes, manuscripts, and clippings, mostly from the mid 1960s through the
1980s.
Scrapbook: Schuerman, and Joseph L., pioneer ranchers with property next to Red Rock Crossing
This 75-page scrapbook contains photos of the family and articles about them. Most were written in the 1960s and 1970s.
Scrapbook: Family of George Schuerman
There are approximately 50 pages of photos and copies of photos of houses and individuals. The book also contains copies of deeds and other information. Most subjects in the photos are well identified. The scrapbook includes information about the Owneby family.
Copy of Book: The Schuerman Family
This 64 page, typed manuscript is the finished product of information contained in the preceding scrapbook: It includes a narrative, maps, and copies of photos (2 copies).
Scrapbook: Jordan scrapbook
This contains an Oak Creek Canyon Apples and Peaches apple bag as well as other information and memorabilia (printed) for orchards. The articles and written information was published between 1900-and the end of the 1980s (30 pages).
Scrapbook: Jordan family
This has approximately 40 pages containing information on the family's history as well as clippings and write-ups of individual member of the family.
Jordan Scrapbook
This scrapbook contains approximately 100 pages, including the family tree, letters on the family, reconstructed history, 1950s through 1990s.
Jordan Scrapbook
This scrapbook contains approximately 40 pages with information on the Jordan family, some of which is by Elizabeth Rigby. It contains a family tree, Christmas cards, old photos, old cards, copies of photos, and clippings.
Jordan Photo scrapbook
This contains approximately 20 black and white copies of photos of the family, orchard, area, from early in the 20^th century to late 1980s.
Scrapbook: Sedona Center for the Arts
The first clipping is from June 1977. The scrapbook contains approximately fifty pages of manuscripts and clippings containing information about Center.
Sedona History Scrapbook, transferred from the Sedona Public library in May, 1998
This 50-page scrapbook contains old manuscripts and photos from the 1930s and 1940s (landscapes and lodges) as well as many photos from brochures produced in the 1930s.
Scrapbook: cowboys (old and new)
There are copies of stories about cowboys and ranch life from the 1970s and 1980s. The scrapbook contains about 100 pages.
Scrapbook: Westerners
This contains clippings from mid 1960s and 1970s. There are approximately 100 pages with articles from local newspapers.
Willard Family Association scrapbook
There are approximately 30 pages with information on this early pioneer family. There are remembrances and clippings through the early 1980s.
Scrapbook: History (mostly secondary information)
This very large scrapbook, (at least 200 pages) contains clippings, mostly from the Verde Independent, "Pioneer Profiles" published in the 1980s. The scrapbook contains general information on the town, local activities, anniversaries, etc.
Scrapbook: businesses
This contains at least 100 pages of photos and clippings through the 1980s.
Three very large scrapbooks for the National Cleanup contest: 1960s: clippings, mostly, about area, Chamber of Commerce, from Flagstaff Sun, etc. There is publicity information as well as letters. There are approximately 200 pages in each book.
Sedona PTA Scrapbook, 1949-50
This contains about 40 pages of photos and newspaper clippings.
Sedona PTA, scrapbook, 1950-51.
This contains about 30 pages with photos and other information.
Scrapbook
This contains copies of articles about Sedona as well as photos and copies of brochures on the area and area businesses. There are approximately 75 pages.
Scrapbook on the town containing information from late 1960s, mostly from newspaper clippings.
Scrapbook: Sedona
Alice B. Etter compiled this approximately 60-page scrapbook on Sedona by synthesizing information from local publications.
Binder with postcards to Mrs. J. J. Thompson, from early in the 20^th
Three ring binder (30 pages) on Chamber of Commerce, list of presidents 1949-82, clippings
Fifty-page scrapbook contains, "This is your life" Maud Hardman, Oct 25, 1973, by Elizabeth Rigby, 12 pp., as well as testimonials, letters, and photos.
Commemorative scrap book (1985) on Sedona's incorporation: leather bound, (offered for sale)
Laura Purtymun McBride First Lady of the SHS, approximately 30 pages of photos and clippings from the 1980s.
Album of Della Greenwell, 1985 collection and narrative, 9 pages of narrative interspersed with new and copies of old photos (oldest is about 1905) about 25 pp total.
American Legion History, clippings from the 1970s-80s, approximately 100 pages.
Sedona
This 100-page three ring binder contains clippings about the Chamber, Forest Service, growth, local news, and local promotion, 1957-69.

Photos
The museum is the repository for most or all of Elizabeth Rigby's photos, at least those taken in the Verde Valley area. Approximately 12,000 small prints are stored in negative boxes. The museum also appears to have negatives for all of these printed photos. Most are stored in the metal cabinets. Museum volunteers have made a fairly thorough catalog of the photos' subjects and dates. They are transferring this information to computer. Photos were taken between the 1950s and the 1980s. Most are of local people and/or civic groups; frequently they are of artist, and artists' activities.