Wetherill Family Photographic Collection

The Wetherills were a prominent ranching family, many members of which were traders, explorers and amateur archaeologists who participated in the discovery, excavation, research, and preservation of some of the most significant sites in the Four Corners area. John and Louisa Wetherill were lifelong friends, colleagues, and supporters of ASM's first director, Byron Cummings. 

The Wetherill Collection of photographs at ASM contains more than 1,000 negatives and 2,000 prints that span the late 1800s to the late 1930s. The collection primarily documents John Wetherill's expeditions to places like Rainbow Bridge, Mesa Verde, Kiet Siel, Betatakin, and Zion National Park. Also within the collection are numerous photographs of Apache, Hopi, Navajo, and Tohono O'odham people, notably Navajo leaders Hosteen Luca, Wolfkiller, and Chief Hoskininni. Several photos record President Theodore Roosevelt's expedition to Rainbow Bridge in 1913. Others chronicle Louisa Wetherill's negotiations between Utes and Navajos during a 1915 conflict at Kayenta.