Winslow Visitor Center & Hubble Trading Post

The Winslow Visitor Center & Hubble Trading Post was built in 1917 for trader Hubert Richardson, who sold it in 1920 to another trader, John Lorenzo Hubbell. It played a critical role in strengthening economic ties between Navajo Indians and the rest of the country. Here the Navajo traded sheep, meat, wool, blankets and jewelry for coffee, sugar, salt, canned food, clothing and other goods. The building also included a museum that displayed Indian artifacts and historical frontier items. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2002. It also houses the Winslow Chamber of Commerce.

For several decades beginning in the 1870s, trading posts were vital to the Navajo who depended on them for goods they needed. Unlike other tribes in the southwest, the Navajo fully adopted commerce and trade and produced large amounts goods. Traders seized the opportunity in establishing business relationships with the Navajo, believing that such ties could be profitable. These connections would also ensure a continual supply of wool and woven blankets. The Navajo and traders developed close relationships, so much so that the Navajo often asked traders to settle disputes and help bury relatives. Trading posts also became important community centers, sometimes operating as a bank, post office, church or hospital.

Richardson and his family established posts mostly in the northern and eastern parts of the Navajo reservation beginning around 1900. They eventually built the trading post in Winslow to have access to the Santa Fe Railroad to ship their goods. While the Richardsons worked in the area for around two decades, the Hubbell family had been in the area much longer. John Lorenzo Hubbell (he was also known as Don Lorenzo) arrived on the reservation in 1870 and bought a trading post in the community of Ganada, Arizona in 1878. He built several trading posts and operated a number of stage and freight lines. He owned other businesses and ranches as well. Hubbell also served in the state Senate from 1912 to 1914. His two sons, Lorenzo Jr. and Roman, became traders as well (Hubbell also had two daughters, Barbara and Adela). He developed a good relationship with the Navajo and became the largest trader with them. Hubbell and his family encouraged the Navajo to create rugs and jewelry.

In 1920, Hubbell bought the trading post and warehouse in Winslow from Richardson. During the Great Depression, the Hubbells and Navajo suffered from economic hardships brought by the economic downturn. One major problem was that flocks of sheep decreased drastically, some from 1,200 to just 70. This drop was disastrous as sheep were a source of food and wool. To stay afloat, the Hubbells started to raise cattle, founded a tour company, established a mail service, and even traded precious stones. Lorenzo Jr. also commissioned a Navajo family to weave the largest Navajo rug made to date in hopes that it would promote tourism and encourage visitors to buy rugs. It appears Lorenzo Jr. put the historic artifacts on display in the building around this time too. These included pottery, baskets, Kachina dolls, paintings, leatherwork and cavalry swords.

The family went bankrupt in 1952 and the company was sold to Kyle Bales, who, along with his daughter, operated the trading post until 1972. Tourists on the former Route 66 continued to stop at the building, allowing it to remain open. The building then became State Park's offices, an art gallery, and an office for the Affiliation of American Indian Centers. The city acquired it in 1998 and converted it into a visitors center.

"A Brief History of Hubbell Trading Post." National Park Service. Last Updated July 19, 2023. https://nps.gov/hutr/learn/historyculture/index.htm.

France, Vicki. "Winslow Visitor Center & Hubble Trading Post." National Park Service - National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form. November 21, 2002. https://npgallery.nps.gov/AssetDetail/NRIS/02001383.