(Ganado AZ/NN)
Hubble Trading Post was established on Navajo lands in 1878, and has operated continuously since then. It became a National Historic Site in 1967 with the stipulation than it remain an active trading post.
Hubble Trading Post
Today, just as in the past, you can walk into the original post with its creaking wooden floors to buy pottery, rugs, jewelry, groceries, and other goods. Livestock in corrals, fields of alfalfa, a kitchen garden, a barn, equipment shed, chicken coop, blacksmith shop, bread ovens, and typical ranch gear were things to see.
Bullpen Room
Jewelry Room
Barn & Corral
Besides the post, there was the ranch manager home, bunkhouse, a guest house in the shape of a hogan, as well as an actual Navajo hogan (these were not open to the public), and the Hubble home which was available to tour for a fee.
Blacksmith Shop
Sheep Pen
Navajo Weaver
The Visitor Center explained the history, and the role of trading posts. And, a Navajo woman was demonstrating rug weaving. At one time, Hubble operated over 30 trading posts in the southwest, as well as ranches and warehouses to support his business. His home ranch and first post remain as his legacy.
Camp: Ganado Lake boondock
Scene: Trading post, buildings, ranch, animals
PS: My next stop was at Second Mesa AZ with the Hopi. They do not allow photography anywhere; so, no post. However, I did have a nice conversation with a native artist who explained the Kachina to me. This is a unique custom with the Hopi.
Did you happen to price the rugs? I thought I had the decimal point in the wrong place.
Prices for authentic Navajo rugs were mid-hundreds for small ones, and into thousands for the larger pieces.