author
Sharlot Mabridth Hall
1870–1943
A journalist, poet, and historian of the early Southwest, she helped preserve Arizona’s frontier stories at a time when much of that history could easily have disappeared. Her writing and collecting work also led to the museum that still bears her name.
1 Audiobook
Cactus and pine: Songs of the Southwest
by Sharlot Mabridth Hall
About the author
Born in Lincoln County, Kansas, on October 27, 1870, Sharlot Mabridth Hall grew up on the frontier and later settled in Arizona, where she became known for her writing and deep interest in regional history. She worked as a journalist and poet, and her experiences in the West shaped much of her work.
Hall also broke new ground in public life: she was the first woman to hold office in the Arizona Territorial government, serving as Territorial Historian from 1909 to 1911. Alongside her writing, she gathered photographs, documents, and artifacts connected to Arizona’s past, helping protect stories that might otherwise have been lost.
That work became the foundation of the museum in Prescott now known as the Sharlot Hall Museum. She died on April 9, 1943, but remains an important figure in Arizona cultural history for both her literary voice and her determination to save the record of the early Southwest.