AZ Heritage Center at Papago Park

The AZ Heritage Center is a cultural and historical museum in Papago Park in Scottsdale, AZ. The center has many permanent exhibits. Some of the most unique and famous exhibits include "Steele Indian School" and "The Goldfield Ghost Town".

The Steele Indian School was built in 1878 and operated until 1990, with the last student graduating high school in 1986 (Goldstrich). From 1890-1935, this was a federal boarding school for Native Americans from almost every tribe across America (AZ Heritage Center - Steele Indian School Exhibit). There were several reasons why there were so many different tribes at the school, including government relocation programs during that time period, as well as tribal leaders believing that compulsory education would help native American children by giving them job skills and bringing civilization to the reservation (University of AZ - AZ Indian Schools). This school is famous for being on the National Register of Historic Places, as well as being on the AZ State Register of Historic Places. The AZ Heritage Center has several Artifacts from past students on display, including jewelry made out of tin cans, hand-sewn clothing, carvings, and more.

The Goldfield Ghost Town was built in 1936 by a prospector during the depression era. It is an exact replica of a northern AZ mining town in 1895. The exhibit includes "Goldfield" residents imitating their daily lives in an old west setting with genuine artifacts that are 100 or more years old(AZ Heritage Center - Goldfield Exhibit). It has several photo albums describing these original human residents, including pictures of the town founder and his family.

Also, there are many other permanent exhibits at the AZ Heritage Center, including two halls for traveling exhibits, a theater showing AZ history videos several times each day (Arizona's Grand Canyon Railway), AZ Indian cultural events (Native American Artist Exhibit), Spanish culture (Garcia House), farming (Plains Indians Farming Exhibit), mining (Goldfield Ghost Town Exhibit) and more( AZ Heritage Center - Exhibits). There is also an AZ Books store with merchandise depicting AZ History. Learn More Here