Hubbell Trading Post Administrative History

Building Roster

Figure 34. Visitor Center and Site Office, HB-12 was built in the 1930s to be a day school. It was built on land donated by the Hubbells. NPS photo by E. Bauer, October, 1984, HUTR Neg. R74#36.

Site Offices and Visitor Center, Rest Rooms, Library
(Old School and Chapter House Complex)

HB-12, HB-13, HB-14: These buildings were not originally a part of the trading post complex. The land where they stand (3.7 acres) was sold for a small amount of money ($1.00?) or else leased by the Hubbells to the Bureau of Indian Affairs in 1924 to be used as a school tract.

HB-12: The present NPS office and Visitor Center was the school and chapter house until it fell into disuse. HB-12 was built by local Navajo in the 1930s to serve as a day school, and it was used as such until the early 1950s when it became the local chapter house, for which it served until the new chapter house was built in town. HB-12 is constructed of random ashlar stone walls, a flat, built-up roof with vigas projecting through the stone below the parapets. Floors are concrete. The interior was modified in 1979 for NPS use, the Visitor Center located on the east side with its books and pamphlets, a few displays, and a working area for the weavers and the silversmith. The west end of the building is devoted to (rather cramped) offices for the superintendent and other NPS personnel. [24]

Figure 35. The Restrooms, HB-13, were converted to their present use in 1980. The building was formerly a pump house. NPS photo by E. Bauer, October, 1984, HUTR Neg. R74#34.

HB-13: This structure is now the site restrooms, and was converted to its present use in 1980, re-roofed in 1982. The structure was formerly a pump house. Construction style and technique are similar to offices and visitor center. Before the restrooms were created, visitors had to use plastic privies. The restrooms are one of the most popular places in Ganado and at Hubbell Trading Post. The trading post and the hospital are the only places in town with public restrooms, and all the local citizens are aware of it. [25]

HB-14: This structure is to the northwest of HB-12, just a few steps from the offices. This was at one time a root cellar. It was converted within the past year or so to be the site library. This is a small stone structure, the south end built into the sloping land, the door facing north. Concrete floor, carpeted, with bookshelves around the walls, a table in the center of the room. This is a good area for (small) private conferences.²⁶

Figure 36. The Library, converted from an old root cellar in 1990-1991. This is also a good place for private conferences. Photo from October, 1991. This is HB-14. A Manchester photo.