Clarkdale Historical Society and Museum

About Clarkdale Historical Society and Museum

The Clarkdale Historical Society and Museum occupies a restored clinic building designed by Los Angeles architect Arthur R. Kelly and constructed in 1918-19. Originally, the clinic provided 24-hour medical care and treatment for smelter workers and their families. Visitors explore exhibits documenting Clarkdale's history as Arizona's first company town, built in 1912 by copper magnate Senator William Andrews Clark when he relocated his smelter operations. The museum preserves local artifacts, family records, and documents chronicling the town's development and growth. The building itself tells multiple stories, having served as town hall with a jail in the boiler room, police headquarters in the basement, and later home to the Clark Memorial Library and Department of Motor Vehicles before its renovation as a museum in 2008. The museum offers research services, oral histories, high school yearbooks, telephone directories, and First Friday presentations. A visit suits anyone interested in mining history, company towns, or local Arizona heritage.