Pinal County Historical Museum

A flashback into Native American and Territorial Arizona history is your when you visit the museum. There are exhibits of 125 varieties of barbed wire, early doctor’s instruments, a large bullet collection, and a suite of saguaro cactus furniture. There are exhibits of antique farm machinery, a blacksmith shop, 1928 pioneer cabin and fire engines to see outdoors. Western film star, Tom Mix, was killed in an automobile accident south of Florence in 1940. The Tom Mix Collection contains memorabilia and information about his life and death.

Perhaps most popular with visitors is the exhibit of early-day equipment used in executions at the Arizona State Prison in Florence. Included are the door to the gas chamber, the chair in which the condemned sat and a “slack board” with a description of its use.

“The condemned were tied to prevent possible slumping. The length of the drop through the trap door was regulated by the slack in the hangman’s rope. The slack in turn was calculated according to the weight of the condemned…”

Read the rest of the story and view the hanging nooses and photos of the hanged on display as well as invitations to the hangings.

The museum has a reference library with over 600 books about the people, history, flora and fauna of the region, Arizona Highways Magazines dating back to 1937, and archives including documents, letters, and photographs.