Cave Creek Museum, history and culture museum in Cave Creek, Arizona
Cave Creek Museum is a regional museum in Arizona's Sonoran Desert showcasing archaeology and local history through indoor and outdoor exhibits. Visitors move through different sections: the Archaeology Wing displays tools and artifacts from indigenous peoples, the History Wing covers pioneer, ranching, and mining stories, and outdoor sites feature the Golden Reef Stamp Mill used in gold processing and the area's first church building.
The museum was founded in 1968 by volunteers dedicated to preserving local history and opened to visitors in 1970. Land was donated by Frank and Hazel Wright, and an old Episcopal Church was relocated to the site to anchor the collection of historical buildings and artifacts.
The museum reflects how communities formed and persisted in the desert landscape through shared effort and faith. Visitors see the original church building and settler structures that reveal how early residents worshipped and organized their daily lives together.
The museum operates from October through May on Wednesdays through Sundays in early to late afternoon, closing Mondays and Tuesdays. The site features outdoor exhibits and working demonstrations, so visitors should wear appropriate shoes and bring water, especially when watching the stamp mill or other machinery demonstrations.
The museum displays the last known original tuberculosis cabin in Arizona, revealing how settlers coped with the disease in the harsh desert environment. This rare structure is a sobering reminder of health struggles that shaped early settlement patterns in ways many visitors overlook.
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