Mohave Museum
The Mohave Museum of History and Arts is a private, not-for-profit organization in Kingman, Arizona. The Museum preserves and presents the history and arts of Northwestern Arizona.
In August 1961, the newly formed Mohave Pioneers Historical Society opened the Mohave Museum of History and Arts as an archive room in the Chamber of Commerce.
In 1967, the Chamber's parking lot was the site of constructing the first building, formally inaugurated in 1968. Roy Purcell, the artist who painted the 'Journey' rock murals in Chloride, Arizona, was the first director of the new building, and he developed many of the displays still in use today, including the Hualapai Indian room and the Mohave History room. The Museum added exhibit space in 1979. The Museum added a library and opened in 2005.
Visitors to the Museum are introduced to the history of Northwestern Arizona and the Kingman area. The collection includes dioramas, murals, and many artifacts from prehistoric to modern times. The art gallery displays paintings, photographs, sculptures, crafts, and carved turquoise mined in the Kingman region. Pottery, baskets, and other items, as well as a full-size wickiup brush shelter, can be found in the Hualapai Native American Room.
The Museum's library includes books about Mohave County, Arizona, and the American Southwest. Mining and ranching exhibits opened in 2008 and 2010, respectively.
The Museum also features an Andy Devine exhibit, a local boy turned movie star in the 1930s known for his funny voice.
Outdoor exhibits include murals, mining machinery, and a wooden railroad caboose made in 1923.
Chloride Murals - Roy Purcell
Andy Devine
Louis Kingman
