The Westerners Learn About Sedona’s Colorful Characters

March 28, 2025

In February, the Trackers group of the Sedona Westerners took a field trip to the Sedona Heritage Museum. In the context of the history of the area, we are recent migrants to the Verde Valley region. As part of the educational arm of the hiking club, this Trackers group was interested in learning about the history of Sedona from the early pioneers who settled here in 1876 to present day.

Our tour was led by the facility’s executive director, Nate Meyers. The tour included all the buildings on the Museum’s Jordan Historical Park campus as well as a special room not generally open to the public.

Nate began our tour in what once was a one-room cabin constructed in 1931 by Walter and Ruth Jordan. Someone from our group commented on how the room looked like “one of the tiny houses seen on TV.” It was from this cabin that the Jordans managed their 65-acre orchard and raised their three children. We were astonished at the small size of the structure and could not imagine how one could raise a family there. The house was expanded in 1937 when Ruth’s mother provided partial funding and an additional two bedrooms, and an indoor bathroom were added. A final addition took place in 1947 when they added a kitchen, electric appliances, and radiator heating.

As we worked our way through the cabin moving from room to room, we could see how the house had grown with the family. Memorabilia associated with the family's home life were on display. The Jordans initially grew and sold fruits and vegetables while they waited for their orchard to mature. Once the peach and apple production grew, a 4,000 square foot packing shed was built which also housed a 40-foot-long sorting machine which remains operational today. We were impressed with the simple, clever mechanics of the device.

The house also contained a great deal of historical artifacts associated with the growth of Sedona and the surrounding area. As we continued the tour, Nate provided numerous interesting historical facts and anecdotes including stories about T. C. Schnebly and his wife, Sedona, who moved to the area at the turn of the century. Fifteen farmsteading families were in residence at that time. T.C. was quite industrious. He built a large two-story home which housed both a hotel and a general store. He also organized the village’s first post office. He considered naming it either Schnebly Station or Oak Creek Crossing but the Postmaster required that it contain only one name though. Schnebly’s brother suggested T.C. use his wife’s name for the Post Office instead. That is how this city’s name originated. As a side note, Sedona was a name made up by her mother because she thought it sounded beautiful. We also learned about the first settler in the area, James Thompson, who in 1876 posted a notice on a pine tree in Oak Creek Canyon that read, “Squatters Rights,” and built his cabin near a vegetable garden. As you travel north to Flagstaff on 89A you will pass an historical marker for Indian Gardens – where Native Americans had cultivated beans, corn and squash before they were forced to leave the area.

On the grounds of the Sedona Historical, we continued our tour and took a short walk to the Telegraph building. This structure, built over 100 years ago, initially served as a railroad depot in Winona, Arizona. In 1945, a movie set which included a western street, motel and sound stage was built in Sedona. The decommissioned depot was moved to Sedona to serve as a telegraph office for the filming of John Wayne’s movie, Angel and the Badman. The set was subsequently used for numerous additional movies, TV shows, and commercials until 1959. Many years later, the depot was moved to its present location. Since 1923, when Zane Grey’s silent film, Call of the Canyon was produced, Sedona with its natural beauty had been used as a movie location for westerns which were very popular at that time and acquired the nickname, “Arizona’s Little Hollywood.” Many of Hollywood’s stars and studios have worked here. The area where many of the films were shot is now a West Sedona residential subdivision with the streets bearing the names of movies that were filmed here.

The last stop on our tour allowed us to see inside the collection center where over 3,000 artifacts, 30,000 historic photographs, news clippings, and documents are cataloged and kept in storage. The items are stored in a room that was once used for cold storage and included everything from pioneers’ earliest possessions to Elvis Presley’s personal copy of the screenplay for Stay Away Joe, a 1968 film produced in Sedona in which he starred. The collection center is a work in progress. The Museum is transitioning their storage containers to ones which are constructed of acid free materials to prevent further degradation of their acquisitions. This is an expensive endeavor, and donations are counted on to help fund this goal.

Sedona and the immediate surrounding area are filled with a rich history of colorful and unique individuals just as interesting as the surroundings in which they lived. Our group was in agreement as to how fortunate we are to have this organization dedicated to researching and preserving this heritage. We thanked Nate for his very entertaining and informative tour of the museum.

Nate Meyers is hosting additional “Director’s Tours” of the Sedona Heritage Museum in April and May. Contact the museum directly if you are interested in taking the tour yourself.

As for the Westerners, our current season of weekly hikes continues through May 9, 2025.  The Trackers have several more events coming up, including a presentation by the Northern Arizona Audubon Society in May. Seven hikes ranging from 3.5 miles to 8.5 miles are planned for this week as well offering excursions for hikers of all skill levels. Go to www.SedonaWesterners.com for more information about the hiking club and all our upcoming events.