Hubbell Trading Post Cultural Landscape Report

This report was completed with the assistance of several individuals. I wish to thank the staff at Hubbell Trading Post National Historic Site for their assistance, cooperation, and interest in this project. Special thanks are extended to Superintendent Wyatt for his continued support and encouragement. Numerous staff members at the Southwest Regional Office who shared their project files and working knowledge of both the site and the immediate area are thanked for making my job somewhat easier, especially Jim Bradford and Jake Ivey. Catherine Colby, Karen Lewis, and BPLW Engineers of Albuquerque provided assistance in the preparation of sketches and other graphics used in this report. Stella Moya provided invaluable assistance to the author with regard to formatting the report. Jim Bradford is thanked for assisting with the preparation of the text for the regional context — prehistoric period section.

This report would not have been possible without the stories, recollections, and photographs that were compiled by the Hubbell family and the early park staff members such as David Brugge and Roberta Tso with the assistance of the Navajo People and others who lived, worked and traded in and around the Navajo Reservation. Others who provided valuable assistance to the author include the numerous historians, archivists, and fellow researchers from the numerous repositories visited or consulted via phone or mail. Their guidance proved most helpful.

Finally, a special thank you to the reviewers who provided their encouragement, time, ideas and suggestions for improving this report and did so on very short notice and to Superintendent Nancy Stone for her continued patience as the document was being finalized.

The purpose of this project was to examine the 160 acre tract of land that comprises the Hubbell Trading Post property in order to document both historic and contemporary land use and condition. The goal of the project was to use an integrated approach to evaluate the myriad natural and cultural resources that make up a cultural landscape. These resources include native and introduced flora and fauna, geology and hydrology as well as historic architecture, archeology, historic collections (archival and curatorial objects) and of course, landscape resources. The resulting study provides design guidelines and recommendations for the treatment and management of the cultural landscape in addition to an expanded information base that may be used to supplement the park's existing interpretive programs.

The project entailed both archival and field research and the use of the park's extensive collection of oral histories which resulted in the documentation of existing landscape elements such as contemporary vegetation patterns, fence and irrigation lines, buildings and structures, and other landscape components such as circulation patterns, etc. An analysis and assessment of the data collected is presented in the final report along with a chronological series of overlays that detail the changes in the landscape from circa 1870 to the present day.