Gila County Historical Museum — Attraction in Globe

Nice escape from the Phoenix heat!

Our visit to Gila County Historical Museum was our final stop of our day in Globe. We were met at the front desk by two local characters who were quite entertaining! This historic building houses many rooms covering the history of this mining town. There were rooms with clothing worn and household items used in the day, assayers' tools, and other historic mining artifacts. Included was a glass display case with samples of the ore and rocks found in the area. Don't miss the Native American prehistoric pottery room! We wandered freely through the many rooms full of displays. When we were there (July 2022) they are holding a raffle for handmade quilts, art, and gift baskets. I highly recommend this interesting museum!

Don't forget to ask for a free Apache Tear (obsidian) found locally!

Admission is a suggested donation of $5.

While you're in Globe, make a day of it! There are good restaurants among the old buildings in the historic district and multiple other historical museums to visit, including old courthouse (now Center for the Arts), the old County Sheriff's Office and Jail which is located behind the Arts center, and Besh-Ba-Gawah Archaeological...

Thomas R. Drake had been the last in a series of Safety Directors employed by Inspiration Consolidated Copper Co. to operate this facility which had previously served as the Mine Rescue Station. Along with his wife Phoebe the door was always open and inviting. Make no mistake even though the property was a bejeweled oasis on the Globe Miami Highway its vital purpose was to respond to any local area mining emergency where life safety required an immediate response. Mr. E.C. Humphrey served the community as the assistant to Mr. Drake, together their hands on education, oversight and response to emergency calls helped contribute to making mining safer. Mining has always been and continues to be a vital element of what makes up Globe & Miami. I fondly recall spending a great deal of time at the Rescue Station, you see Thomas R. Drake was my Grandpa, he made a difference. In keeping with tradition my brother Steve Drake also made a career of Mining, his distinguished experience, global reputation and knowledge would make Tom proud, I worked in mining for a bit but found my calling in Hospitality, Food & Beverage, Airlines and Liesure Travel. But I'll never forget this...

Excellent museum that far exceeded my expectations. I was expecting it to be ho hum, but I spent almost an hour there, and I could have spent more if I wanted to further read everything.

Once you come in, the room in the middle has an actual vintage phone, and the docent was so kind to show it to me. There was also some an old wagon along with some other old phones. To the right, there was an exhibit room on life back then and further ahead- a model stable to showcase Western times... and finally at the end - a model historical bedroom. Loved the presentation and it really felt immersive.

Walking back to the middle room, you pass by a small side section on Native American pottery and lifestyle. Then, as you proceed to the left side of the building, there were several small rooms. Within them, I got to see old clothing, other vintage items, mine rescue equipment, etc. There was just so much to see and digest. Wow, I'm blown away! More people should definitely visit...