PRESCOTT - To protect historic sites and deal with state budget cuts, the Sharlot Hall Museum board of directors is building a fence around the grounds in downtown Prescott.
Work on the fence already has started, and museum officials hope to complete it by early next month.
Museum officials estimate that they fail to collect as much as $7,000 annually in $5 adult entrance fees because many people just wander onto the grounds, which consists of numerous buildings covering an entire city block.
"The fence really helps define the museum and campus," museum Marketing Coordinator Mike Lange said.
The fence will encircle everything except the Victorian Bashford House, which is home to the museum's gift shop.
Otherwise, adults 18 and older no longer will be able to stroll through the museum grounds without either a membership or $5 entrance fee. And event entrance fees no longer will be optional. Membership is $25 for adults, $35 for senior citizens and guest, or $50 for families. Members get free entry to the grounds and special events, as well as store and theater discounts.
The grounds will close completely after regular daytime hours.
The main entrance will be on the Gurley Street side of the grounds.
Museum Director John Langellier and Lange pointed to numerous acts of past vandalism including graffiti on the large Corn Mother sculpture, warming fires that people apparently ignite overnight and damage to the 1864 territorial governor's mansion from skateboarders.
The grounds also are home to the 1875 Frémont House, home to the Arizona Territory's second governor, and the 1863 Fort Misery, the oldest log building associated with the territory.
"It's an historic site, so we have to protect it as such," Langellier said.
The fence also will allow the museum to close on selected days, such as Mondays after weekend festivals, to reduce staff overtime hours for breakdown and clean-up chores.
Langellier noted that museum founder Sharlot Hall erected a wooden fence on the grounds in the 1930s that remained through the 1950s, well after her death.
"Sharlot had a fence to keep out the bootleggers, vandals and thieves," he related.
And shortly after museum officials removed the fence in 1954, someone stole priceless objects including belongings of Spanish-American War hero Buckey O'Neill, Langellier said.
Talk of replacing the fence has been going on for many years, he said.
Donations will cover the expense of the new fence, thanks to a special anonymous donation earmarked for that purpose that will cover half the $30,000 cost. The Prescott Fence Company is donating about $1,800 of in-kind services, too.
Reader Comments
Posted: Saturday, May 02, 2009
Article comment by:
Marianne
I am a little late to post here but I also think this is a big mistake. I lived in Prescott for 17 years and will be back again to live. One of the things I LOVED about the town was to drive or walk by Sharlot Hall Museum and admire the grounds. I have had more than a few lunches in that lovely setting with friends, and the fact that it was there and so welcoming was a high-point in the town. This will quell that sense of small town serenity.
Why can't the money be used to hire a security guard at night?
Posted: Monday, April 27, 2009
Article comment by:
No name provided
As a former employee of Sharlot Hall Museum, I can assure you that the idea of the fence is a direct a result of the less than desirable people living in Prescott. I'm embarrassed for those of you that have submitted your comments opposing the fence. If you had any sense of the historical value of the buildings located on the grounds of the museum, you would not oppose it. If you love the museum so much, become a member and support it. Freeloading for your spiritual nutrition is shameful. And for those of you who won't go back, shame on you, too. You obviously are lacking in cultural sophistication. The museum needs your support, not your whining.
Posted: Sunday, April 26, 2009
Article comment by:
Had Enuff
If you build it, they will NOT come!
Posted: Saturday, April 25, 2009
Article comment by:
Look! Up In The Sky!
Our new Homeland Security Director would be pleased and proud to see we are taking the initiative by protecting Arizona one fence at a time. I say we put a fence around the courthouse plaza and cover the entire building with camo netting to hide in from the Mexican Air Force. Remember The Alamo! OK, I have to go take my meds now.
Posted: Saturday, April 25, 2009
Article comment by:
I've visited for the last time
This is a bad idea and as others have pointed out even makes little sense financially (the alleged major reason for doing it). Let's see, let's make it less attractive and less accessible .... yeah, great idea. They deserve the decline in attendance they will experience.
Posted: Saturday, April 25, 2009
Article comment by:
A SHM Volunteer
I wonder if any of the authors of the previous comments have been on the grounds of the Sharlot Hall Museum prior to the morning opening. If not, then they can perhaps be excused for some of their comments. It is not unusual to find the traces of a “campfire” near an historic building during the cleaning of the museum grounds before opening. “Sharlot Mabridth Hall would roll over in her grave.” On the contrary, it was Miss Sharlot who built the first fence around the Governor’s Mansion. She recognized the need to preserve and protect the unique historic structures in Prescott. She would undoubtedly praise the decision to once again protect her beloved buildings and artifacts. Why is there a replica of Prescott’s 1867 schoolhouse rather than the original? Because someone started a fire in the original building to keep warm and the building was destroyed. Do we want to lose another historic building due to carelessness? The author of the statement, “The museum’s rapidly shrinking band of volunteers,” should check their facts. The number of active volunteers is steadily growing. These volunteers are enthusiastic supporters of the museum, the director and the staff. They are dedicated individuals who perform a wide spectrum of functions including welcoming visitors, maintaining the grounds and gardens, and helping visitors with research in the archives. Even before the recent budget reductions by the State Legislature, over 50% of the museum’s operating budget came from memberships and donations. A museum membership not only supports the museum but also provides the member with unlimited visits (including festivals) and a discount at the museum shop. An annual individual membership costs less than fifty cents per week! The citizens of Prescott and the surrounding area have a unique resource not only for the enjoyment of adults but for the education of their children -- a resource that needs their support rather than their criticism. Rather than criticizing the museum’s director and board, the citizens of Prescott should be writing their representatives in the State Legislature urging them to reconsider the drastic budget cut imposed upon the museum. It is the actions of the State Legislature that has forced the museum, for example, to change from donations to fees for events, to reduce the number of days when the Archives are open to the public, and to reduce staffing. Only 10 of the 18 positions supposedly supported by the State of Arizona are currently filled. These 10 individuals have had their work week reduced and, hence, their salaries reduced. They have remained at the museum! Their dedication to the Sharlot Hall Museum is remarkable, since their excellent qualifications make them highly desirable candidates at organizations, similar to the museum, that have not been subjected to the draconian budget reductions imposed by the State Legislature.
Posted: Friday, April 24, 2009
Article comment by:
No name provided
Let me get the math straight. Spend 30k on a fence in order to make up for 7k in lost admissions add in the bad will the fence creates and you have a losing situation.
Posted: Friday, April 24, 2009
Article comment by:
Kelly
Please Please "Don't Fence Me In!"
Posted: Friday, April 24, 2009
Article comment by:
Disillusioned
Typical move of a beaurocratic government. We can't move an inch in our country without having another fee or tax imposed. When will enough be enough? When the government has control of every cent we make? But rest assured the government has our best interests in mind and will take care of our every need when we are broke. Actually, maybe not, it seems we are broke now and the government only wants to take more. The museum like everything else is pandering to those with money. As for the rest of us poor slobs I guess we should be thankful that the government wants to take all of our money and use it to fight "global warming" so that they can save our planet at the expense of our families and lives. "Long live the planet and to the gallows with the rest of you"
Posted: Friday, April 24, 2009
Article comment by:
Shame...
Sharlot Mabridth Hall would roll over in her grave. May she haunt the dreams of the director and the board.
Posted: Friday, April 24, 2009
Article comment by:
Don't fence me in...
Another flawed, short-range, frantic decision by the beleaguered Sharlot Hall Museum director and board. Pretty good chance that more people will not enter the grounds as a result of the entrance fee than supposedly 'sneaked in' previously without paying. Probable result - even less revenue. Many residents and visitors do not even enter the museum proper (which has historically had few if any exhibitions worth seeing) but happily wandered around and enjoyed the rose garden and the grassy gazebo area... And the message this fence sends is NOT a welcoming one. And who will man the gate and collect the entrance fee? The museum's rapidly shrinking band of volunteers? The vandalism issue is simply a red herring.
Posted: Friday, April 24, 2009
Article comment by:
Spiritual Nutrition
Darn! I like to relax on the grounds for a brief quiet sandwich at lunch time, smell the flowers, and listen to the birds. Now I would have to pay $% for that pleasure. Oh, well. Court House square here I come.
Posted: Friday, April 24, 2009
Article comment by:
My Hometown
I agree with Steven Ayres. It is a sad day indeed. Yet again the town I have grown up in will have another black mark in the name of money. Who are the real vandals here?
Posted: Friday, April 24, 2009
Article comment by:
I won't go there again!
If they want a fence why not put one up exactly like Ms. Hall's fence that is mentioned? It would look a lot better and be fitting for the property. worried about vandals? ...more police patrols or have volunteers on the grounds until midnight or 2 a.m. What a shame. I won't go back there again. And I was one of the paying customers!
Posted: Friday, April 24, 2009
Article comment by:
No name provided
this is absurd,. it looks like garbage and will only draw people away. people love it because it is open and inviting. not because there is a border fence on it. such a stupid idea. ill break in whenever i can, what are they gonna do...sick prescott PD on me? i definitely ain't scared. Sharlot Hall, what a joke.
