Ride Through History: Saddles that Shaped the West

October 15, 2016 - March 5, 2017
Created by master saddlemaker Carson Thomas and sponsored by numerous donors, the 23 half-scale saddles at the core of this exhibition tell the story of the American West.  The detailed saddles are augmented by historic and contemporary American Indian…

Cultural Crossroads Learning Center Displays

Ongoing
Gem and Mineral Display Arizona is, famously, the land of the “five C’s”: copper, cattle, cotton, climate, and citrus. Copper has been economically important throughout Arizona history, as have other ores – silver, gold, and turquoise foremost…

Maynard Dixon: Beyond the Clouds

December 9, 2016 - March 5, 2017
Lafayette Maynard Dixon (1875-1946) lived during a period of American history that encompassed monumental changes: from the battle of Little Big Horn to the capture of Geronimo, from Arizona statehood to the opening of Route 66. Dixon embraced his moment…

Wickenburg’s West: Adaptation / Reinvention / Transformation

Ongoing in the Quayle Family Gallery
In 2013 we marked the 150th anniversary of Henry Wickenburg’s discovery of the Vulture Mine, and the quiet beginnings of the city that bears his name. To celebrate this milestone, the Desert Caballeros Western Museum unveiled a new exhibition devoted…

Hall of History Dioramas

Ongoing
When she arrived at the Desert Caballeros Western Museum, inaugural curator Orpha Baker organized volunteers for a variety of projects. One of them, coordinated with the help of Director Harry Needham, was the construction of several dioramas, a favorite…

American Indian Art and Artifacts

Ongoing
Wickenburg lies at the meeting ground of several geographic zones: the rugged Mojave Desert to the west, the tree-rich and stream-laced Arizona highlands to the north and east, and the vast Sonoran Desert to the south. Just so, for thousands of years…

Street Scene

Ongoing
Wickenburg at the turn of the last century, including re-creations of Brayton’s Commercial Store, post office, Hotel Vernetta, gun shop, church, livery stable, saloon, watch shop.

Western Town

Ongoing
What was life like in the Old West? Not so old, for one thing – for many of the events we think of when we use the term are only a little more than a century old. The rootin’-tootin’ gunslinger-plagued Wild West quieted down in the 1880s in most…

Out on the Ranch

Ongoing
Ranch presents a typical, small-scale family ranch, circa turn-of-the-last-century to 1920, promoting public and scholarly interest in Arizona’s ranching heritage. It showcases the daily work and family dynamics of a small ranch of late territorial…