Arizona Legislature to Consider Funding for Pioneer Museum Reopening

The possibility of reopening the historic Pioneer Museum in Flagstaff is gaining momentum, thanks to a new legislative proposal. The measure could pave the way for the museum to welcome visitors once more, after being mostly closed since 2020.

In December, Senator Wendy Rogers, a Republican from Flagstaff, introduced Senate Bill 1017. This bill, if passed, would allocate approximately $360,000 from the state budget to fund the museum, alongside creating four full-time staff positions.

Since 2020, the Arizona Historical Society has struggled to keep the museum open, citing staffing and budgetary challenges as major obstacles. The museum occupies the historic Coconino County Hospital, originally built in the early 1900s and transformed into a museum in the 1960s to showcase northern Arizona’s history.

The museum’s grounds feature significant historical artifacts, including one of the original homesteader cabins from the 1880s and a Baldwin locomotive almost a century old, which was used in logging operations.

Senate Bill 1017 was recently presented and read in the Senate and has been forwarded to the Appropriations Committee for further consideration.