Hubbell Trading Post and Three Angels

Finally we arrived at the historic Hubbell Trading Post National Historic Site.

This trading post has special significance in our nation’s history. Operating since 1878, it was the main source of supplies for settlers, explorers, mail carriers, and anyone traveling across the great open west.

JL Hubbell was a real man who bought the trading post and worked closely with the Navajo selling their work, demanding excellence in their craftsmanship. He built an empire of freight and stage coach lines and owned 24 trading posts.

Probably any item you could imagine needed by a western traveler or resident is somewhere in this store.

Navajo blankets and rugs, earthenware and pottery made by Hopi and Navajo.

Mr. Hubbell homesteaded 160 acres before they were part of the Navajo Territory. When the reservation expanded, it surrounded the Mr. Hubbell’s property. Through an act of Congress, Mr. Hubbell got permission to keep his homestead. It was declared a national historical landmark in 1960.

Bill had read about this place in books as a child. One told about how the pony express would ride through and there would be a supply of fresh horses and refreshment for them here.

The trading post was sold to the National Park Service in 1967 by the Hubbell family who operated it until then.

Mr. Hubbell and his family also lived here. Guided tours are given by Park Rangers of the inside of the house.

In the back yard there is a guest house, a gazebo and a well. The guest house was built in the early 1930s by Mr. Hubbell’s son and daughter in law, in his memory. The hill behind is called Hubbell Hill and it is where Mr. Hubbell, his family and his best friend lay at rest.