Wetherill Family Photographic Collection

Wetherill Family Photographic Collection

Selected images from the 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.

Items in Collection: 
Gathering Horses
Community
Photograph Collection
Category
Community Life and Family Life, Lands and Ecological Knowledge
Summary
Corraling a group of horses at Kayenta Trading Post.
Sheep and goats at Kayenta, Arizona
Community
Photograph Collection
Category
Community Life and Family Life, Lands and Ecological Knowledge
Summary
A flock of sheep and goats congregate at a watering hole in front of Kayenta Trading Post, Kayenta.
Denizens of Kayenta Post Office
Community
Navajo Nation
Category
Community Life and Family Life
Summary
Four men sit in front of the post office at Kayenta, Arizona.
Navajo man of Kayenta post office
Community
Navajo Nation, Photograph Collection
Category
Community Life and Family Life
Summary
Three men occupy the front steps of the post office at Kayenta. One man is standing poised. Caption reads: "John Long-Center".
Kayenta Trading Post
Community
Photograph Collection
Category
Community Life and Family Life
Summary
Men and horses in front of the Wetherill Trading Post at Kayenta, Arizona.
Re-suppying at the Wetherill trading post
Community
Photograph Collection
Category
Community Life and Family Life
Summary
Automobiles are parked and mules and horses are hitched up in front of the Wetherill Trading Post at Kayenta, Arizona.
Kayenta 1910-When it was tents
Community
Photograph Collection
Category
Lands and Ecological Knowledge
Summary
Early image of Kayenta Trading Post when the site consisted of tents.
John and Ben Wetherill at Monument Valley.jpg
Community
Photograph Collection
Category
Community Life and Family Life
Summary
John and Ben Wetherill sit next to the Navajo Service car at Monument Valley, Utah.
Community
Photograph Collection
Category
Community Life and Family Life
Summary
A member of the Wetherill party posed alongside a car.