Sharlot M. Hall

Sharlot M. Hall
By: Linda Barnett

Sharlot M. Hall was not only a historian, but a free thinker, a poet, a traveler, and a person who yearned above all else to preserve the history of Arizona and the pioneers who helped to put Arizona on the map. Born in Lincoln County, Kansas on October 27, 1870, Miss Hall moved to Arizona Territory with the rest of her family in 1882. They settled along Lynx Creek, 12 miles southeast of Prescott and later moved to a spread in Dewey Arizona called Orchard Ranch.
Sharlot had a love of reading and writing and had been writing short stories, songs, and poetry from the time she could talk. She had a great love and admiration for her mother, who was expressive and intelligent but her father was rough and uneducated. He discouraged and mocked anything or anyone who tried to be “above themselves.” Consequently, Sharlot saw her mother shrink more and more within herself for fear of ridicule by her husband. It was then that Sharlot vowed ...