Hubbell Trading Post, Ganado: History, Silver & C. N. Cotton

Hubbell Trading Post is the trading post at Ganado, Arizona, that "the Hubbell family and its leader, John Lawrence (later calling himself "Don Lorenzo") Hubbell (1853-1930)" ran, in the words of Paula A. Baxter's Encyclopedia of Native American Jewelry (Baxter 2000, p. 73). From 1884 the post brought in Mexican smiths to teach, and it supplied Navajo silversmiths with Mexican pesos (Bedinger 1973, p. 17) and imported Persian turquoise (Adair 1944, p. 15). The Hubbells were traders. The silver came from Navajo smiths such as Grey Moustache, who "made silver at Ganado and sold it to Hubbell" (Bedinger 1973, p. 20). As of 2026, the National Park Service says the post "is still active" (NPS). Hubbell's partner from 1884, C. N. Cotton, has his own section below.

Founding

Our sources give four different start dates. We list all of them rather than pick one.

Margery Bedinger, in her history Indian Silver: Navajo and Pueblo Jewelers, gives the fullest account. Charles Crary opened the first store in the area "in 1871 or 1872 in the valley of the Rio Pueblo Colorado, near Ganado Lake", and a trader she calls "Old Man" Leonard bought Crary out in 1875 and renamed the store Pueblo Colorado. Then: "In 1873 John Lawrence Hubbell, the well-loved "Don Lorenzo" destined to be of great influence among the Indians, set up shop in a stone-and-log building near Ganado Lake, upstream from Leonard's. Three years later he bought out Leonard and moved near him to the present site, calling his store Ganado ("herds")" (Bedinger 1973, p. 17).

Marsha Mayer Lund's Indian Jewelry: Fact and Fantasy agrees on 1873: "John Lawrence Hubbell opened his first trading post at Ganado in 1873" (Lund 1976, p. 22). She puts the move later: "Hubbell moved his trading post and formed a partnership with C.N. Cotton in 1884" (Lund 1976, p. 24). Arthur Woodward's A Brief History of Navajo Silversmithing, a Museum of Northern Arizona bulletin, says "Don Lorenzo moved to Ganado about 1879-1880", citing Charles Amsden (Woodward 1946, p. 74). The post is now a National Historic Site. As of 2026 it is operated as a trading post by the Western National Parks Association, a non-profit partner of the National Park Service (NPS, nps.gov/hutr, accessed 2026-09-28). The Park Service says "John Lorenzo Hubbell purchased the trading post in 1878" (NPS). Mark Bahti, in his profiles of American Indian jewelers, writes that Hubbell and C. N. Cotton "operated the Ganado Trading Post in what is now Arizona, beginning about 1884" (Bahti 2007, p. 11).

William and Sarah Turnbaugh's Indian Jewelry of the American Southwest puts it in one phrase: "It began in the 1870's" (Turnbaugh 2007, p. 31). We use that decade on our card. We have no first name for Leonard.

Ganado and the silversmiths

In 1884, Bedinger writes, "recognizing the potential of Navajo silverwork, Hubbell and C. N. Cotton, who became a partner that year, brought in Mexican smiths to give instruction" (Bedinger 1973, p. 17). Bahti's verdict on the partners: "Good businessmen, they were quick to recognize the commercial potential of Navajo jewelry" (Bahti 2007, p. 11). He adds that they also paid Navajo silversmiths to teach other Navajos.

Bedinger titles a section of her book "Ganado, the Center", and writes that "Most of these pioneers lived within a radius of twenty-five to forty miles of Ganado and of one another" (Bedinger 1973, p. 22). Two of them have pages in our directory. Grey Moustache told John Adair, for his 1944 study The Navajo and Pueblo Silversmiths, "I used to make silver for old man Hubbell at Ganado" (Adair 1944, p. 8). Bedinger records the claim that Atsidi Chon "was the first Navajo to make silver near Ganado" (Bedinger 1973, p. 19). The longer story of who taught whom is on our teaching tree page.

Silver, dies and turquoise

Pesos. "Don Lorenzo imported Mexican pesos, which the silversmiths preferred to American coins because their higher silver content made them easier to work" (Bedinger 1973, p. 17). Grey Moustache told Adair how the supply changed: "He used to get the American pesos for us, and he supplied us with them for twenty years. Then the government sent out an order telling us that we were not to melt up any more silver money." After that, "Mr. Hubbell got Mexican silver for us to work" (Adair 1944, p. 8). Theda Bassman's The Beauty of Navajo Jewelry dates the change to 1890, when the government ban came and smiths "began to use Mexican pesos, which were supplied by trader John Lawrence Hubbell at Ganado, Arizona" (Bassman 1997, p. 5).

One witness puts Hubbell's Mexican money much earlier. A Navajo informant in Richard Van Valkenburgh's field notes, printed by Woodward, said: "The first Mexican money came to us from Nah-k'ai-Sani (Old Mexican), Don Lorenzo Hubbell (1853-1930) ... when I was about eight years old. (This was in 1877.)" (Woodward 1946, p. 66). Our sources don't reconcile the two dates.

Dies. "Don Lorenzo later imported steel dies, but many smiths continued to create their own" (Bedinger 1973, p. 23).

Persian turquoise. Adair wrote: "John Lawrence Hubbell, who founded the famous trading post at Ganado, imported Persian turquoise in the 1890's. Some pieces of this fine blue turquoise may still be seen in the jewelry of Navajo living in that region" (Adair 1944, p. 15). That was his observation as of 1944. The dates vary by source. The Turnbaughs say "Between 1895 and 1900" (Turnbaugh 2007, p. 23). Nancy N. Schiffer's Turquoise Jewelry says "From 1890" (Schiffer 2008, p. 5). Bille Hougart's Native American and Southwestern Silver Hallmarks, the reference we use to identify marks, is more cautious: Hubbell "reportedly imported turquoise from Persia in the 1890s" (Hougart 2022, p. 6).

"Hubbell" beads: glass, not turquoise

The beads that carry the Hubbell name are glass. Larry Frank's Indian Silver Jewelry of the Southwest, 1868–1930 credits "Lorenzo Hubbel" [sic] with introducing "the first actual imitation turquoise" about 1900, "glass beads and cabochons that looked enough like fine turquoise to fool many people even today" (Frank 1990, p. 16). He wrote that as of 1990.

Our sources disagree on where the beads came from. Frank says Czechoslovakia (Frank 1990, p. 159). Lund says Italy: "This intriguing phony was not actually made by Don Lorenzo Hubbell, but imported from Italy by him for his Indian clients" (Lund 1976, p. 143). Baxter says "Czechoslovakia and Italy", calls the name "probably misnamed", and dates the imports "from the late nineteenth century until about 1923." She suggests the name "may have arisen from the discovery of a large cache of such beads at the Hubbell Trading Post in the late 1960s" (Baxter 2000, p. 74). Oscar T. Branson's Turquoise: The Gem of the Centuries calls one such strand a "European glass necklace" and notes that "many reservation traders had them." He adds: "The Navajos valued them highly but knew at a glance they were not their beloved turquoise" (Branson 1975, p. 9).

Joe Dan and Joe P. Lowry's Turquoise: The World Story of a Fascinating Gemstone traces the name to the post, "which traded the glass beads to artisans throughout the Southwest" (Lowry 2010, p. 209). As of 2010 they listed "Hubbell Trading Post glass beads" among imitations that "have become collectibles" (Lowry 2010, p. 215). The beads reached Hopi silver too. Margaret Nickelson Wright's Hopi Silver shows a "Bracelet set with Hubbell beads by Sakhoioma prior to 1920" (Wright 2003, p. 13).

People

J. L. Hubbell (1853–1930). Our sources spell his first names three ways: John Lawrence (Bedinger, Baxter, Lund, Bassman), John Lorenzo (Bahti, NPS) and Juan Lorenzo (Schiffer). Frank prints "Hubbel", and Hougart's shop entry prints "Hubbard". Baxter writes that he "was concerned about ways to improve materials and training for Navajo silversmiths" (Baxter 2000, p. 73). The Park Service records the size of the family business: "At various times, he and his two sons, together or separately, owned 24 trading posts, a wholesale house in Winslow, and other business and ranch properties" (NPS).

Lorenzo Hubbell Jr. "his son, Lorenzo Jr., served as a director on the Indian Arts and Crafts Board when it was established in 1935" (Baxter 2000, p. 74).

Roman Hubbell. Bahti names "Roman Hubbell of Hubbell Trading Post in Ganado" as one of the traders that Ike Lovato of Santo Domingo dealt with, alongside Hatch Trading Post in Waterflow, Monroe Foutz, John Kennedy Sr. and Bob Leighton (Bahti 2007, p. 106). When the United Indian Traders Association (UITA) was founded in 1931, its directors included a "Ramon Hubbell" (Hougart 2020, p. 135). The passages we have don't state how Roman was related to J. L. Hubbell.

The smiths. Bedinger's plates show buckles "like those made by Hubbell's silversmiths about 1900-1910" (Bedinger 1973, p. 66). She doesn't name those smiths, and our other sources don't either.

Marks and what to look for

Hougart records two UITA numbers for the family. The posts at Ganado, Oraibi and Moencopi carried "Mark: UITA 17". A separate Hubbell Trading Post in Winslow carried "Mark: UITA 29" (Hougart 2022, p. 362). Hougart's 100 Collectible Native American Silversmiths gives the same pair: "17 Hubbell Trading Posts (Ganado, Oraibi, Moencopi)" and "29 Hubbell Trading Post, Winslow, AZ" (Hougart 2020, pp. 138–139).

A UITA number is a trade-association mark. It identifies the dealer, not the maker. It tells you which post sold the piece. It doesn't name the smith. Our sources record no other Hubbell shop stamp.

Bedinger's caption for the Hubbell-type buckles notes "commercial snake eyes, arrow stamps made by hammering Mexican coins out without melting down to ingot form" (Bedinger 1973, p. 66).

The paper trail. Baxter writes: "In a mail-order catalog he prepared around 1902, Hubbell offered silver CONCHA BELTS and silver-and-turquoise BRACELETS for Sale" (Baxter 2000, p. 74). Hougart dates a Hubbell catalogue to 1902 (Hougart 2022, p. 362). The Turnbaughs reproduce a "Catalog and price list of J. Lorenzo Hubbell, An Indian Trader, 1905" (Turnbaugh 2007, p. 22). Our sources don't say whether the 1902 and 1905 catalogs are one book or two. Bedinger reports that J. B. Wheat found "an entry in the records of Hubbell's trading post of a silver hatband pawned in 1907" (Bedinger 1973, p. 102).

Legacy

The Turnbaughs called it "the oldest operating trading post on the Navajo Reservation" and wrote that it "is now a national historic site while still functioning as a traditional trading post with a grocery store and pawn counter" (Turnbaugh 2007, p. 31). That was their description as of 2007. Hougart's chronology lists the event: "Hubbell Trading Post named National Historic Site" (Hougart 2022, p. 31).

According to the National Park Service, "Hubbell family members operated the trading post until it was sold to the National Park Service in 1967." The site was "authorized by an act of Congress on August 28th, 1965 (Public Law 89-148) and established after acquisition by the Federal government in 1967" (NPS). As of 2026, the Park Service says the post is operated by "the non-profit organization, Western National Parks Association, as a partner with the National Park Service" (NPS).

Our sources don't record who ran the Ganado post day to day between 1930 and 1967. They also don't give the dates for the Oraibi, Moencopi and Winslow posts, and they say nothing about the post's jewelry trade today.

C. N. Cotton

C. N. Cotton was Hubbell's partner at Ganado from 1884 (Bedinger 1973, p. 17; Lund 1976, p. 24). He has no page of his own. This section covers what our sources record about Cotton himself.

His own account of 1884. The 1884 date comes from Cotton. Woodward writes that "Mr. C. N. Cotton in a letter to Mr. Van Valkenburgh ... stated that in 1884, he and Mr. J. L. Hubbell imported Mexican silversmiths into Ganado to teach the Navajo the art" (Woodward 1946, p. 70). Bedinger calls the pair "alert" to "the possibilities of Navajo silvercraft" (Bedinger 1973, p. 22). Bahti writes that "Hubbell, Cotton, and other traders, however, had their eyes on a potentially larger market: tourists, who would ultimately demand more work from more silversmiths" (Bahti 2007, p. 11).

The 1898 bullion shipment. Woodward: "The ornaments taken into the trading posts prior to 1900, which more or less marks the boom of the tourist trade, were often treated as bullion by the traders. Cotton shipped a mass of this silver ware to the Denver mint in 1898 and received for it the sum of $800" (Woodward 1946, p. 70). Bedinger, drawing on Woodward: "So slight indeed was the ornamental value of the early articles in the eyes of whites that in 1898 Cotton shipped eight hundred dollars' worth of Navajo silver jewelry to the Denver mint as bullion" (Bedinger 1973, pp. 22–23). Our sources don't say whether the shipment went from Ganado or Gallup, or whose work was in it.

Hubbell-Cotton imports. Bedinger captions one dress ornament as "wrought silver and wire set with glass turquoise, probably Hubbell-Cotton imports" (Bedinger 1973, p. 101). She doesn't say what the imports were or who made the piece. Our copies of the caption disagree on its date, so we give none.

The Cotton Company in Gallup. Philip Chambless and Mike Ryan II's Turquoise in America quotes an account of Nevada turquoise miner Ted Johnson, who "sold turquoise in Gallup to Ned Kley and to leading traders the Kirk brothers and The Cotton Company" (Chambless & Ryan 2021, p. 189). The Kirks have their own page: Kirk Brothers Trading Company. "The C. N. Cotton Warehouse, at 101 N. Third Street in Gallup, New Mexico" was "listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988." Over its entrance is "a large statue of local Navajo leader Manuelito", "placed there by Cotton" (Wikipedia, "C.N. Cotton Warehouse").

UITA Treasurer, 1931. When the United Indian Traders Association "was established officially on September 13, 1931", "C. N. Cotton served as Treasurer" (Hougart 2020, p. 135; Hougart 2022, p. 20). Its directors included C. G. Wallace and Mike Kirk.

Our sources record no shop mark for Cotton. Our sources give no birth or death dates for him. They don't say when he moved to Gallup, when the Ganado partnership ended, or what his Gallup firm was formally called and when it closed.

Sources

  1. Adair, John. The Navajo and Pueblo Silversmiths. 1944. pp. 8, 15.
  2. Bahti, Mark. Silver + Stone: Profiles of American Indian Jewelers. 2007. pp. 11, 106.
  3. Bassman, Theda. The Beauty of Navajo Jewelry. 1997. p. 5.
  4. Baxter, Paula A., with Allison Bird-Romero. Encyclopedia of Native American Jewelry. 2000. pp. 73, 74.
  5. Bedinger, Margery. Indian Silver: Navajo and Pueblo Jewelers. 1973. pp. 17, 19, 20, 22, 23, 66, 101, 102.
  6. Branson, Oscar T. Turquoise: The Gem of the Centuries. 1975. p. 9.
  7. Chambless, Philip, and Mike Ryan II. Turquoise in America, Part One: The Great American Turquoise Rush, 1890–1910. 2021. p. 189.
  8. Frank, Larry. Indian Silver Jewelry of the Southwest, 1868–1930. 1990. pp. 16, 159.
  9. Hougart, Bille. 100 Collectible Native American Silversmiths and Their Hallmarks. 2020. pp. 135, 138, 139.
  10. Hougart, Bille. Native American and Southwestern Silver Hallmarks, 5th ed. 2022. pp. 6, 20, 31, 362.
  11. Lowry, Joe Dan, and Joe P. Lowry. Turquoise: The World Story of a Fascinating Gemstone. 2010. pp. 209, 215.
  12. Lund, Marsha Mayer. Indian Jewelry: Fact and Fantasy. 1976. pp. 22, 24, 143.
  13. National Park Service. Hubbell Trading Post National Historic Site: "History & Culture", home page and "Management" pages (nps.gov/hutr). Accessed 2026-09-28.
  14. Schiffer, Nancy N. Turquoise Jewelry. Revised 4th ed. 2008. p. 5.
  15. Turnbaugh, William A., and Sarah Peabody Turnbaugh. Indian Jewelry of the American Southwest. 2007. pp. 22, 23, 31.
  16. Wikipedia. "C.N. Cotton Warehouse". Accessed 2026-09-28.
  17. Woodward, Arthur. A Brief History of Navajo Silversmithing. Museum of Northern Arizona Bulletin 14, 2nd ed. 1946. pp. 66, 70, 74.
  18. Wright, Margaret Nickelson. Hopi Silver: The History and Hallmarks of Hopi Silversmithing. Revised ed. 2003. p. 13.

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