Hubbell Trading Post - Ganado, AZ - a trading post that has been turn into an historical site

The Hubbell Trading Post in Ganado, Arizona was purchased by John Lorenzo Hubbell during 1878 a decade after the Navajo returned from exile to Bosque Redondo, at Ft. Sumner, NM. The Navajo had been exposed to a number of new things that traders such as Hubbell supplied them on their return. Members of the Hubbell family ran the post until 1967 when it was purchased by the National Park Service and became the Hubbell Trading Post National Historic Site.

The process of purchasing the post actually began during 1957; by the 28th of August 1965 Congress established Hubbell Trading Post National Historic Site. The goal was to keep the existing structures and contents the same in order to preserve a piece of history.

Today Hubbell Trading Post is ran the Western National Parks Association which is non-profit. Maintaining the trading post is the association's responsibility. The entire site is 160 acres that includes the family home and visitor center in addition to the trading post. The park is closed for Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day. From the 30th of April until the 8th of September summer hours are observed from 8a.m. from 6p.m. each day. From the 9th of September until the 29th of April the park opens at 8am and closes at 5p.m.

The Hubbell Trading Post still has almost everything that was owed by the Hubbell family in the NHS Museum Collection. These items are being preserved in the building as furnishings with artifacts made available to researchers. There are more than three hundred and fifty thousand persona affects which includes the family archives with two hundred and sixty-four thousand records from the business.

The post has a squeaky wooden floor and a bullpen for trading. The facilities have Native American art for sale. Tours of the facility can be gotten daily with a limit of fifteen people. Groups may be divided if there are more than fifteen people in them. The cost of touring the Hubbell home is $2 a person with those sixteen and under able to take the tour for free. Access and Senior Pass holders can receive discounts on the fees charged. Tours are offered at no cost to school groups; an application for waiving the fee must be filled out must be filled out and submitted to the park. Hubbell Trading Post asks that you allow a month to have the application processed.

Hubbell Trading Post can be reached by car, public transportation, bus, train or airplane. When driving travel down I-40 to Highway 191 North toward Ganado. Highway 491 northbound will be used if traveling from Gallup, New Mexico. Take west highway 264 through Window Rock, Arizona into Ganado to get to the post. Amtrak, a small airport and buses serve Gallup which is sixty miles to the park's east. They also serve Flagstaff which is to the park's west one hundred and eighty miles for those that wish to use one of these options to get to the park. There are public buses available to Ganado from the Navajo Transit System.