Graham County Historical Society

The Mission of the Graham County Historical Society is to collect, preserve, and disseminate the written and oral history of Graham County, emphasizing historical artifacts of Graham County and Southeastern Arizona. Our current fundraising objective is to secure $200,000 to fund the reconstruction of a large metal building that will serve as our future museum.

The Graham County Historical Society has been a fixture of the Gila Valley for many years. We have had museums in several locations including the historical Odd Fellows Home which is now the City of Safford Annex. Our museum included important historical furniture, photos and memorabilia, and exhibits of Native American artifacts and local fossils. Most recently our museum was located in the old Thatcher High School, which has been replaced by a new building. Since that time, we have packed and stored all of our exhibit materials.
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We are now moving forward on our next museum and have acquired a 9,000-square-foot metal building that has been dismantled and stored. We will need $200,000 to reconstruct this building including site prep, pouring a foundation, adding a new roof and insulation, installing utilities, and creating interior walls. When those steps are complete, we will be designing and constructing our new exhibits. One of our current fundraising efforts is a raffle of a framed Hal Empie print that was donated by Empie's daughter to help our organization.

The Graham County Historical Society is a 501c3 organization with no paid staff; it is completely run by our Board members and volunteers.