January 4, 2023
Visit Local Museums While Enjoying the Warm Hospitality of The Arabella Sedona
While you’re enjoying our wonderful on-site amenities; including our 2 heated pools, 2 hot tubs and numerous firepits, consider taking some time during your stay to explore the nearby cultural venues, just a short drive away!
Sedona offers a unique combination of breathtaking scenery and a rich tapestry of history and culture. And with your stay at The Arabella, you will enjoy convenient access to a variety of trails leading to stunning vistas like Thunder Rock, as well as the region’s robust cultural heritage.
In this post, we’ll explore two of Sedona’s nearby museums, covering a truly remarkable span of Sedona’s history.
The Sedona Heritage Museum
(735 Jordan Rd, Sedona, AZ)
The Sedona Heritage Museum offers an authentic view into the lives of early Arizona Territory settlers, including Theodore Carlton (TC) Schnebly and his brave, yet soft spoken wife Sedona Arabella Schnebly – the namesake of our hotel and our town.
The focus of the Museum, set in Uptown’s Jordan Historical Park, is the period from about 1876 to Mid Century. It is a short 10-minute drive from our hotel, providing stunning Red Rock views from high above Oak Creek. The Museum’s permanent exhibits include the interior of a pioneer home and a school room, with many household items and personal effects of pioneer folk, depicting the humble life of Sedona’s early settlers. The recorded tour offers additional insight into the lives of the pioneers that once called this territory home.
You’ll also learn about ranching traditions, including the seasonal cattle round linking Sedona winter range with the high summer pastures of the Mogollon Rim, as well as the local orchard industry.
Film enthusiasts will appreciate the Sedona Heritage Museum’s extensive sampling of Hollywood movies filmed in the area, including the 80+ Westerns that used the Sedona Lodge and Soundstage as their venue. The location of this Soundstage is, in fact, the current location of the Arabella Sedona. Images of many of these Westerns hang in the hallways and guest rooms of The Arabella. Film legends including Elvis, John Wayne, Henry Fonda, Jimmy Stewart and Joan Crawford are all a part of Sedona’s ‘Little Hollywood’ heritage.
The Verde Valley Archaeology Center
(460 W. Finnie Flat Rd, Camp Verde, AZ)
This non-profit institution is dedicated to the essential task of preserving and interpreting the multifaceted archaeological heritage of Arizona’s Verde Valley.
More than 12,000 years of indigenous history are celebrated at the Verde Valley Archaeology Center; from the prehistoric, underground pit houses of the Paleo-Indian cultures and the Southern Sinagua people from as early as 540 AD, to the willow-framed wikiups that were constructed by the Yavapai and the Apache tribes that possibly traveled through the area.
Exhibits include Verde Valley artifacts such as stone tools, ceramics, and basketry as well as dioramas and other interpretive displays. You can also see the meteorite fragments for which the Verde Valley is well known, far-traveled “space rocks” long collected by Native peoples.
The associated Native American Heritage Pathway & Garden (330 N. Homestead Pkwy, Camp Verde, AZ), which encompasses the site of a prehistoric pit-house village, is also an essential visit.