Vaughn's Indian Store, Phoenix & Williams: History & Hopi Smiths

Vaughn's Indian Store was Reese Vaughn's curio and jewelry store, in Phoenix "from 1918 to 1936" and then in Williams, Arizona (Hougart 2022, p. 372). Hopi smiths including Randall Honwisioma, Paul Saufkie and Morris Robinson worked for it. It also ran a Hollywood shop "where three of the six silversmiths were Indian" (Hougart 2022, p. 372). So a piece stamped VAUGHN'S tells you which store sold it. It doesn't tell you that a Native smith made it, or which smith did.

Founding and moves

Bille Hougart's Native American and Southwestern Silver Hallmarks gives the store under two names, "Vaughn's Curio Store" and "Vaughn's Indian and Jewelry Store", and says: "Reese Vaughn operated his store in Phoenix from 1918 to 1936. In 1936 he relocated to Williams, AZ. and also opened a shop in Hollywood, CA (where three of the six silversmiths were Indian)." He adds: "He also operated a shop in Gallup in the mid-1950s located at 800 West Coal Ave." (Hougart 2022, p. 372).

The Phoenix store went on under a new name. Hougart records that "In 1936, the former Vaughns Indian Store in Phoenix, AZ was purchased" by Fred Wilson, who "renamed it Fred Wilson's Indian Trading Post. The shop was located at 25 N Central Ave." (Hougart 2022, p. 359).

In Williams, a Route 66 history site places "Vauhgn's Indian Curios with its Thunderbird sign" first in the Pollock Building, then at 121 E Bill Williams Ave., where "The 1960 phone directory has it" (theroute-66.com, accessed 2026-09-28). Our sources don't record when the Williams, Hollywood or Gallup shops closed.

The trade

Hougart describes a wholesale business as well as a retail one: "Much of his wholesale trade was with the National Parks. The Fred Harvey Company was one of his best customers." (Hougart 2022, p. 372). For that company's story, see our history of the Fred Harvey Company.

People

Reese Vaughn. The owner. Beyond the dates of his stores, our books record nothing of his life.

Hougart's roster reads: "Silversmiths working for Vaughn's Curio Store at various times have included Randall Honwisioma, Fred Peshlakai, Morris Robinson, Paul Saufkie and Ralph Tawangyaouma." (Hougart 2022, p. 372). Our sources give no years for most of them, and we don't add any.

  • Randall Honwisioma (Hopi, Mishongnovi, Second Mesa). Margaret Nickelson Wright's Hopi Silver gives the longest account of any Vaughn's smith: he "first did silversmithing with Grant Jenkins at Graves Indian Store in Phoenix and moved to Williams in 1937. He was employed by Vaughn's Indian Store until 1962, when deteriorating eyesight caused his retirement." (Wright 2003, p. 20). Her hallmark table lists him in the Parrot clan and also as "Honwesima" (Wright 2003, p. 76). Hougart gives his mark as "A parrot" (Hougart 2022, p. 143).
  • Grant Jenkins (Hopi). "From before 1924 Grant Jenkins worked at shops in Phoenix, including Graves Indian Store, Skiles, and Vaughn's." Before his death "in 1934 or 1935, he had assisted at least two Hopi men, Morris Robinson and Randall Honwisioma, to become full-time silversmiths." (Wright 2003, p. 18). Hougart calls his hallmark "one of the earliest of all Hopi hallmarks" (Hougart 2020, p. 42).
  • Morris Robinson (Hopi) "worked for a number of shops, including Vaughn's Indian Store, Skiles Indian Shop, and Fred Wilson's Indian Trading Post in Phoenix, Arizona." (Hougart 2020, p. 81; also Hougart 2022, p. 268).
  • Paul Saufkie (Hopi). His career "included silversmith work for the Fred Harvey Company at the Grand Canyon and for Vaughn's Indian Store in Phoenix, Arizona. He was co-founder of the Hopi Silver Craft Guild in 1949." (Hougart 2020, p. 85; also Hougart 2022, p. 277). See the Hopi Silvercraft Guild.
  • Ralph Tawangyaouma (Hopi) "for many years was a full-time silversmith in Phoenix at Vaughn's and at Fred Wilson's Trading Post, and in Tucson." (Wright 2003, p. 15; also Hougart 2020, p. 94).
  • Sylvester Santiago (Zuni). His career "included working at Vaughn's Indian Store, Thompson Indian Trading Post and the Indian School Trading Post in Phoenix." (Hougart 2020, p. 83; also Hougart 2022, p. 277).
  • Fred Peshlakai (Navajo) is on Hougart's roster. His own entry doesn't say where or when he worked for Vaughn's.

Since the Phoenix store was sold in 1936, the Phoenix work above most likely falls before then. Our sources don't date it.

Marks and what to look for

Hougart records the store's mark as VAUGHN'S (Hougart 2022, p. 372). Three things follow for anyone reading a stamp:

  • It is a seller's mark. VAUGHN'S names the store, not the smith. In Hollywood, at least, the store employed Native and non-Native smiths (Hougart 2022, p. 372). The store's mark alone doesn't show that a Native artist made a piece.
  • Makers had their own marks. Randall Honwisioma's was a parrot (Hougart 2022, p. 143). Our sources don't say whether any Vaughn's pieces carried both a maker's mark and the store's.
  • Check the spelling. The store's mark, as recorded, is the possessive VAUGHN'S. A mark with the name spelled another way isn't the store's on that evidence alone.

Legacy

Two long careers tie the store to Hopi silver: Honwisioma's twenty-five years at its Williams store, 1937 to 1962 (Wright 2003, pp. 20, 76), and Saufkie's path from its Phoenix bench to co-founding the Hopi Silver Craft Guild (Hougart 2020, p. 85). The Heard Museum's library keeps an authority heading for "Vaughn's Indian Store (Phoenix)" (Heard Museum Library & Archives 2024). For the wider story of the region's posts and shops, see our history of trading posts.

Sources

  1. Heard Museum Library & Archives. Native American Artists Resource Collection: General Files (subject list). August 30, 2024. Entry "Vaughn's Indian Store (Phoenix)."
  2. Hougart, Bille. 100 Collectible Native American Silversmiths and Their Hallmarks. 2020. pp. 42, 81, 83, 85, 94.
  3. Hougart, Bille. Native American and Southwestern Silver Hallmarks. 5th ed., 2022. pp. 143, 268, 277, 359, 372.
  4. Wright, Margaret Nickelson. Hopi Silver: The History and Hallmarks of Hopi Silversmithing. Rev. ed., 2003. pp. 15, 18, 20, 76.
  5. "Williams." Route 66 history site, theroute-66.com/williams.html, accessed 2026-09-28. (Williams locations and the 1960 directory listing only.)

Part of our Southwest Jewelry Business Directory.