This building is an excellent example of Prescott’s Victorian architecture, the height of housing fashion for the 25 years before statehood. Built in 1877, it was bought by merchant William Coles Bashford for his young wife, Mary Louise Evans Bashford. The couple expanded and modified the house extensively. In 1973, history escaped the bulldozer once again. The 1880 William C. Bashford House, a building of “architectural value and high integrity,” was saved by the people of Prescott and moved to the Museum property.
Today this Victorian treasure welcomes guests as the Museum Store. Exhibit panels and artifacts explain who lived in the house, the story of a remarkable civic effort to save and move it, and of the Bashford brother’s “Big Store” that was the retail heart of downtown Prescott for 70 years. The gift store offers a wide variety of books, handmade items, and museum-related memorabilia.
