Hubbell Trading Post

The t rading post "bullpen" in 1949 . Except for a change of stove and products on the shelves, the bullpen remains t he same. John Lorenzo Hubbell trades for a Navajo blanket in front of the trad ing post in the 1890s. Hubbell Trad ing Post in 1-915. The Hubbell Trading Empire John Lorenzo Hubbell: Trader and Friend to the Navajo Reservation trading posts were often the only direct point of contact between Native and non-Native Americans until well into the 20th century. Traders facilitated rapid changes in the material culture of American Indian communities. •Marble Canyon NAVAJO ·--.c::= •Big MO!Aitain •Blue RESE R Vll\TIO N Canyon • BIDck• C1*lle •Manuetito'• Camp H 0 p I .New Oraibi RES E A VA TI 0 N ·K~ • Sand Spring~ John Lorenzo Hubbell's contribution as a trader was significant. During his half century on the reservation, he was known for his honesty in business dealings, for his hospitality, and for his wise counsel to the Navajo. •Mud Springs •Greasewood •Na-Ah-Tee ·Ced«- sick. When a smallpox epidemic swept the reservation in 1886, he worked night and day caring for the sick and dying, using his own home as a hospital. "Out here in this country," said Hubbell, "the Indian trader is everything from merchant to father confessor, justice of the peace, judge, jury, court of appeals, chief medicine man, and de facto czar of the domain over which he presides." While his goal was to make money, he believed that if he prospered, the Navajo would, too. "The first duty of an Indian trader," Hubbell believed, "is to look after the material welfare of his neighbors; to advise them to produce that which their natural inclinations and talent best adapts them; to treat them honestly and insist upon getting the same treatment from them . . .to find a market for their products and vigilantly watch that they keep improving in the production of same, and advise them which commands the best price." to Ganado when they were struggling to adjust to reservation life after returning to their country following the brutal ordeals of the 1864 "long walk" to Hwee/di (Fort Sumner) in New Mexico Territory and subsequent four-year confinement at Bosque Redondo on the Pecos River. When John Lorenzo Hubbell Hubbell-"Don Lorenzo" to local died on November 12, 1930, he hispanics, Naakaii Sani ("Old was buried on Hubbell Hill overMexican") or Nak'ee sinili (" Eyelooking the trading post. Buried glasses") to the Navajo-began next to him are his wife, Lina trading here in 1876. From the Explorers, artists, writers, and Rubi, and his closest Navajo Hubbell was born in 1853 at beginning, Navajo people gathscientists enjoyed the atmosfriend, Bi'lii Lani (Many Horses). Pajarito, in what was then New ered at the post, where Hubbell phere at Hubbell's Ganado tradFollowing Navajo custom, HubMexico Territory, the son of a acted not only as their merchant ing post and the hospitality of bell 's grave is not marked. John Lorenzo himself. His caConnecticut Yankee who had but served as their liaison to the gone to New Mexico as a sol- world beyond the reservation . reer as a trader spanned critical - --l!P.!oli!l"t• --~-~----y.ears for the Navajos. l:le-cam1.,___ ________________ _ diet aod.marriedJ nto a family,__.__,._.,LJ..l_..sted friend, he translatof Spanish descent. John ed and wrote letters, settled family quarrels, explained government policy, and helped the •5=n • Winslow Lorenzo learned the ways and the language of the Navajo while traveling in the southwest and while employed as a clerk and interpreter at various military and trading posts. In 1879, he married Lina Rubi of Ceboletta, New Mexico. They had four children: two daughters, Adela and Barbara, and two sons, John Lorenzo, Jr., and Roman . The trading post wareroom, shown here about 1885, stored tobacco, coffee, crackers, ax hand les, blankets, harnesses , and other dry goods. Hubbell is at left. •SL Johns John Lorenzo Hubbell was one of the most respected and well- known Navajo trad ers of his day. At various times, together or separately, he and his two sons owned 30 trading posts (23 of which are located on the map above), wholesale houses in Gallup and Winslow, several ranches and farms, business properties, and stage and freight lines. John Lorenzo Hubbell, about 1895. Hubbell'& trading post in California, the most distant of his business enterprises. The year is 1 g27. Hubbell's freight wagons, often loaded with sacks of wool and hides, traveled between his Roman Hubbell, shown here between Navajo friends Ganado and Chis Chili, operated a trading post in Gallup. He also ran a tour service for visitors to Navajo country to supplement his in- various trading posts and his wholesale ware· house in Gallup, New Mexico. Hubbell sits between former President Theodore Roosevelt and an unknown photographer at Walpi , John Lorenzo Hubbell , Jr., standing at right with a Navajo family in 1915 , managed several posts that traded to both t he Navajo and the Hopi. Like his father, he, t oo, was not ed for his hospitality to trave lers. A rt.:vn a , hi 1S13. Henry Chee Dodge, shown at right with his grand daughter, was an agency interpreter and the first Navajo t ribal chairman. He was a close personal friend of Don Lorenzo. After Hubbell, who was very active in Arizona local politics, lost his 1 g14 bid for the United States Senate, Chee Dodge loaned him money to help pay off his campaign debts. He held a mortgage on much of Hubbell's property for many years . come when trading revenues declined during the Depression years. jo medicine man born in 1895, worked at Hubbell Tr ading Post most of his life. He was th e post's gardener from 1915 until he retired in the late 1g8os. Of Bullpen Bargaining and Southwest Hospitality The Navajo looked upon the trading post as a place to socialize, to meet old friends and relatives, as well as to conduct business. To reach it they traveled long miles by horse and wagon or on foot over dry and dusty trails, slick with mud in wet weather. At the post, they traded their blankets, wool, sheep, pelts, and turquoise and silver jewelry for groceries, tobacco, tools, cloth, and other items. The post was a center for news and gossip, and no effort was made to hurry trade. Hubbell Trading Post is typical of the old trading posts. The main trading area (above), with its rectangular iron stove, is called the "bullpen " and its appearance has changed little in the last 100 years. Shelves filled with coffee, flour, sugar, calico, pocketknives, and canned goods stand behind tall counters. Hardware and harnesses hang from the ceiling. Besides introducing many new products to the Navajo, traders were vital intermediaries between the tribe and the non-Indian community. The traders' support of government programslike education, livestock improvement, and modern medical care-was essential to their acceptance. Some traders, like Hubbell , helped the Navajo obtain government aid in building dams and irrigation projects. Hubbell hired many Navajos to drive his freight wagons, help plant crops, and clerk in some of his stores. He donated a small parcel of his land for the construction of a Navajo school. Hubbell had an enduring influence on Navajo rug weaving and silversmithing, constantly demanding and promoting excellence in craftsmanship. The Hubbell rug room (above) contains many stacks of varicolored blankets and rugs displaying the skill of Navajo weavers. From the large ceiling beams hang baskets made by many southwestern tribes, saddles and saddle bags, bridles, and Indian water jugs. On the walls are small framed paintings of Navajo rug designs, commissioned by Hubbell from his artist friends, as examples for the weavers to fol low. cases overflow with rare and invaluable collections of Americana. Navajo rugs lie everywhere. The rooms are filled with priceless reminders of a courageous pioneer family, their remarkable customers, and the Native American culture within which they lived. Elbridge Ayer Burbank, whose red conte-crayon portraits of Navajos and Ganado residents grace the walls of many roo ms in the Hubbell home. He first visited Hubbell Trading Post in 1agg. A frequent houseguest, he is well-represented in the Hubbell coll ection of southwestern art. Nearly every person of note who traveled in or through northeast Ari· zona stopped at the Hubbell Trading Post at Ganado: politicians, generals, archeologists anthropologists, artists, writers, and photographers. Theodore Roosevelt, Nelson A. Miles, Lew Wallace, Maynard Dixon, and Mary Roberts Rinehart were among the many distinguished visitors to whom Don Lorenzo provided free room and board. The photograph above shows one of several guest bed· rooms in the Hubbell home. 'tr!;iPO 1997- 417-648/60130 Pnnted oo recycled pap@!' Welcome to Hubbell Trading Post Hubbell Trading Post is the oldest continuously operating trading post in the Navajo Nation. It is located one mile west of Ganado and 55 miles northwest of Gallup, New Mexico. It can be reached by Arizona 264 from the east and west and by U.S. 191 from the north and Take your time exploring the site. There is much to see here. Begin at the visitor center, where National Park Service rangers can answer your ~stions about what to see at Hubbell and nearby areas. A bookst~ eihibits and demonstrations of rug avio!Ulnd olhlir native arts . . . ~mjy also be seen at the south. Q i' 51r-dl!ftler. .., - ,_ Tours of the Hubbell Home are offered daily by park rangers and a booklet is available for a self-guided tour of the Hubbell Homestead (see the drawing below). Inside the trading post, explore the jeWelry room, the rug room, and the - " bullpen." Listen as the Navajo and English languages combine with those of visitors from all over the world In a continuation of the Hubbell tradition as a meeting place of cultures. The park provides public restrooms, a drinking fountain, and picnic tables. No camping or overnight facilities a-re available. For Your Safety Do not allow your visit to be spoiled by an accident. Be cautious when walking around the grounds. In many cases the floors and steps are uneven. Please maintain close supervision of your children. .,.. - tional Park Service. The site is open dally from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. (8 a.m. to 6 p.m. in summer) except January 1, Thanksgiving, and December 25. Groups may request special tours by writing the superintendent In advance at Box 150, Ganado, AZ. 86505, or calling (520) 755-3475. ln- formatlolfls also available at http:// wwa:il;:e~v on the Internet. 50 Miles ---Barn -=- - _ .- Entrat_l'Ce-to~.__~ _ _ Trading Post '- ~ _ -· Visitor Center and Bookstore