The papers in this collection are arranged in five series: Family
History and Reminiscences, Correspondence, Business and Financial Records,
Photographs, and Printed Materials. The bulk of the collection consists of
correspondence to and from Roman and Dorothy Hubbell relating to their family,
friends and business ventures. Primary correspondents include anthropologist,
Gladys Reichard, and Commissioner of Indian Affairs, John Collier.
Collection Number:
MS 322
Repository:
University of Arizona Libraries, Special Collections
University of Arizona
PO Box 210055
Tucson, AZ 85721-0055
Phone: 520-621-6423
Fax: 520-621-9733
URL: http://speccoll.library.arizona.edu/
Biographical Note
Roman Hubbell (1891-1957) was the second son of John Lorenzo Hubbell
(1853-1930), noted pioneer Indian trader and founder of the J. L. Hubbell
Trading Post at Ganado in Arizona Territory, 1876. The area surrounding the
trading post eventually became part of the Navajo Reservation. Over the years
Don Lorenzo, as he came to be called, opened additional trading post locations
in New Mexico and Arizona and gained fame as a trader in Navajo rugs.
Don Lorenzo's two sons, Lorenzo, Jr. (1883-1942) and Roman succeeded
their father in carrying on his trading post operations; and Roman developed a
reputation as an advocate for the Indians in their relations with the federal
government. After the death of Roman's first wife, he married Dorothy Smith
(1899-1993) who assisted in the management of the family's business interests.
Dorothy continued to run the trading post as a museum after Roman's death in
1957, until it was purchased by the National Park Service as a designated
National Historic Site in 1965.
Scope and Content Note
The papers in this collection are arranged in five series: Family
History and Reminiscences, Correspondence, Business and Financial Records,
Photographs, and Printed Materials. The bulk of the collection consists of
correspondence to and from Roman and Dorothy Hubbell relating to their family,
friends and business ventures. Primary correspondents include anthropologist,
Gladys Reichard, and Commissioner of Indian Affairs, John Collier.
The Personal Correspondence Series contains the transcript of an
interview with Dorothy Hubbell by Frank McNitt which relates to Mrs. Hubbell's
recollections of Don Lorenzo Hubbell during her early years at the Post. There
is also a series of interviews with Mrs. Hubbell in the Hubbell Trading Post as
National Historic Site Series which reconstructs the history of the trading
post and its collection of art, furnishings, and Indian crafts. Photographs in
the collection include members of the Hubbell family, portraits of individuals
visiting the Post such as Theodore Roosevelt, Howard Pyle, Gladys Reichard, and
John Collier. There are also photographs of Ganado and other trading posts,
other Hubbell business operations, and Navajo weavers and participants in
traveling exhibitions to Texas and New York.
It is the responsibility of the user to obtain permission to publish
from the owner of the copyright (the institution, the creator of the record,
the author or his/her transferees, heirs, legates, or literary executors). The
user agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Arizona Board of Regents for the
University of Arizona, its officers, employees, and agents from and against all
claims made by any person asserting that he or she is an owner of
copyright.
Contains family record of births and deaths, a genealogical chart
for the Hubbell family, reminiscences by John Lorenzo Hubbell, titled "Fifty
Years an Indian Trader" (15 pages) and by Madge W. Hubbell, titled "As It Was
Then" (56 pages).
Family correspondence includes letters to and from Dorothy
Hubbell, Lorenzo Hubbell, John L. Hubbell, Roman Hubbell, and LaCharles Eckel
concerning activities at Ganado, education of the Hubbell children, and
condolences on the deaths of Lorenzo Hubbell, Jr. and Roman Hubbell.
Consists primarily of incoming letters and carbons of some
outgoing, from personal and professional friends of Roman and Dorothy Hubbell.
Many of the correspondents visited the Hubbell Trading Post to enjoy the scenic
beauty of the area and to purchase rugs, ceramic vessels, and other trading
post items. Of note are letters from Laura Armer concerning the exhibition of a
movie, "The Mountain Chant;" from Witter Bynner about the United China Relief
Fund donation drives during World War II; from Carl Hayden on military and
education appointments for Hubbell children (additional Hayden letters in
Hubbell Post National Historic Site folder); from Ruth Knight about the airing
of a CBS radio series "Death Valley Days" segment titled "White Medicine Man"
based on Roman Hubbell's assistance to the Navajos during a snow storm; with
Frank McNitt concerning his research on the Hubbells including an interview
with Dorothy Hubbell regarding Don Lorenzo Hubbell and life at Ganado; with
anthropologist, Gladys Reichard on mutual friends, travels, and her projects;
and artist, Frederic Allen Williams on his travels and exhibitions of
sculptures.
Contains letters from travel agencies, journalists, hotels, guest
ranches, and tourists regarding coming to the area, the Hubbell Trading Post,
lodging, sightseeing, or purchasing goods from the Post. Roman Hubbell operated
this tour service in the late 1930s and early 1940s. Of note are letters from
movie director, Fritz Lang of Universal Studios, and artist, William R.
Leigh.
box
folder
4
1
A.
, 1938-1960
4
2
Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe.
, 1931-1965
4
3-5
B-C.
, 1936-1956
4
6
Coapman, Wall G.
, 1940-1947
4
7-12
D-J.
, 1938-1963
box
folder
5
1-2
K-L.
,
1934-1952
5
3
Lang, Fritz.
,
1938-1940
5
4
Leigh, William R. and Traphagen, Ethel.
, 1938-1958
Miscellaneous letters sent from the Post on a wide variety of
issues including merchandise inquiries, impounded goods, accounts owed, and
letters from employees. Of special note are letters from artist, E. A. Burbank,
and four folders of correspondence relating to the Commissioner of Indian
Affairs, John Collier, and the American Indian Defense Association; issues such
as state congressional delegations; relief funds for Navajo stock; Navajo
religion and ceremonies; land use; traders; schools; events leading up to
Collier's appointment as Commissioner; Collier's resignation; and the
appointment of succeeding commissioner, John R. Nichols.
box
folder
7
1-2
A-H.
, 1935-1965
7
3
Burbank, E.A.
, 1935-1947
7
4
Employee Letters.
, 1935-1967
7
5-7
I-Z.
, 1923-1969
7
8-11
U.S. Commissioner Indian Affairs, John Collier.
, 1924-1950
The first two folders contain correspondence including letters
from visitors to the Post expressing their views on its historical importance
and support for the establishment of a National Historic Site. The next three
folders document the struggle in the early 1960s to obtain National Historic
Site status for the Post which was achieved in 1965. Selected correspondents
include Clinton P. Anderson, Paul Fanin, Carl Hayden, Morris K. Udall, the
National Park Service, and personnel at Hubbell Trading Post National Historic
Site. Additional information and clippings on this topic are located in the
Printed Materials series of this collection. The last three folders contain
inventories which serve to document the physical condition and artifacts of the
Post at the time it was acquired by the National Park Service and an interview
with Dorothy Hubbell by a National Park Service curator.
box
folder
8
1
Tourist letters/history.
, 1957-1964
8
2
Interest in National Historic Site Bill.
, 1957-1976
8
3-5
Correspondence.
, 1959-1979
8
6
Furnishing plans for Hubbell home.
, 1973
8
7
Inventories of Hubbell Trading Post.
, 1975-1982
8
8
Interview: Dorothy Hubbell by David M. Brugge.
, 1969
Contains financial and legal records relating to land and buildings
purchased by the Hubbell family, stocks, leases, personal tax returns, and
estate and bankruptcy proceedings.
Contains financial and legal records relating to land and
buildings purchased by the Hubbell family, stocks, leases, personal tax
returns, and estate and bankruptcy proceedings.
Contains correspondence, legal and financial records relative to
the operation of a tour company, including state and federal regulations, and
tariff and rate charges filed with these agencies.
Contains correspondence, receipts, invoices, and tax returns for
Hubbell Trading Post. Also includes three files on other family business
ventures, the largest of which documents the activities of the Hubbell Truck
Line under three subfiles, Gallup-Farmington Freight Line, 1931-1939; Mail
Service, 1933-1937; and Fort Wingate Project, 1941.
Contains mostly black and white, with some color photographs, and a
few negatives of people and places on the reservation. The bulk of the
photographs document the Hubbell family, especially Roman Hubbell's activities
with Navajo Indians in the promotion of Arizona as a tourist attraction; the
Hubbell Post at Ganado; and Roman Hubbell Navajo Tours. In the family
photographs are portraits of three generations of Hubbells. Of interest are a
photograph of J. L. Hubbell with Theodore Roosevelt at Walpi in 1914, and Roman
Hubbell with John Collier at Window Rock, c. 1940s. There are photographs of
Ganado and Little Bridge Trading Post. Politicians campaigning or officiating
at ceremonies in the area include Barry Goldwater, Stewart Udall, Robert Taft
and Howard Pyle. Navajo medicine men, leaders, weavers, and families are also
represented.
Contains advertisements for various businesses and miscellaneous
matters on topics relating to Navajos, Ganado, and Arizona. Of note in the
general file is a copy of Father Berard Haile's essay, "Some Cultural Aspects
of the Navajo Mission," c. 1934; and "Pageant of Navajo History," presented by
Navajo schools at the Navajo Tribal Fair in 1940. The bulk of this series
consists of newspaper clippings on Ganado and feature stories on the Hubbell
Post and family.
box
folder
11
16
Advertisements.
, 1940s-1960s
11
17
Advertisements and news clippings.
, 1930s-1940s
11
18
Clippings on Establishment of Hubbell National Historic
Site.
, 1960s-1970s
