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Acadia Ranch Porch ca. 1908
19th century ad for tuberculosis remedy
Painting by Lee Kannally ca. mid-1900s
Ancient Hohokam artifacts
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Acadia Ranch Museum
Location & Hours
The Acadia Ranch Museum is located at 825 E. Mt. Lemmon Highway in Oracle, Arizona (see detailed map). Entry is free but donations are appreciated.
The Museum is open to the public Thursdays 4-6pm, Saturdays 1-5 pm or, at other times, by appointment (call 520-896-9609). With a day or two’s notice, we can arrange to have a docent open the museum or research archives for you.
Please call 520-896-9609 or email us at OracleHistoricalSociety @ gmail.com for more information about:
 • scheduling a tour
• conducting research
• museum activities
• archives and collections
→ Click Here for More Detailed Map and Directions.
Discover & Learn
TEMPORARY EXHIBITS:
Leslie Fuller: Deerfield’s Gift to Oracle looks at the life and artwork of Elizabeth ‘Leslie’ Fuller, who came from a family of admired Deerfield, Massachusetts artists and ended up spending her winters in Oracle. In addition to painting the surrounding landscape, Fuller supplied many of the elegant drawings and water colors used to illustrate the Hohokam and other Native American artifacts excavated by her friend Alice Carpenter. Curated by history writer Catherine Ellis and architectural design/history expert Chuck Sternberg.
Oracle 1912 is timed to coincide with Arizona’s Centennial celebration. Featuring a 3D diorama of Oracle in 1912, as well as historic photos and maps, this exhibit highlights many of the notable and nationally known figures who sought out Oracle at the turn of the last century, both as a cure for lung ailments and as a refuge from the worlds of commerce, politics and Hollywood. Curated by history writer Catherine Ellis and architectural design/history expert Chuck Sternberg.
→ See Events Page to learn about exhibit opening schedules.
PERMANENT EXHIBITS: Oracle’s role in the rise of the tuberculosis and other lung ailment sanetoriums is explored in a recently opened exhibit, Health Seekers In Oracle: Tuberculosis and Treatment, 1890s-1940s, which draws on medical artifacts on loan from McFarland State Park. (read more)
A second exhibit, Early Oracle Snapshots, offers visitors a pictorial introduction to Oracle’s early pioneer days and the multi-ethnic history of the region as a whole. Other displays draw on prehistoric Hohokam, ranching and household artifacts.
ARCHIVES & COLLECTIONS: The Museum houses prehistoric artifacts, collected by well-known amateur archaeologist Alice Carpenter; letters, photos and other memorabilitia from several of Oracle’s noteworthy authors, including Eulalia 'Sister' Bourne, Elizabeth Lambert Wood, Harold Bell Wright and Edward Abbey; cowboy artifacts and memorabilia from several area ranches; an historic photo archive, created from over 250 negatives dating back to the early 1900s; as well as a body of work by self-taught cowboy painter Lee Kannally.
Access to the archives, which are kept in the Lisa Armstrong Memorial Reading Room, and the collections not on display are by appointment. Call 520-896-9609 to schedule a visit.
PROGRAMS & ACTIVITIES: The Acadia Ranch Museum regularly hosts lectures, concerts and other special events, many of which are free. (See our Events Calendar.) To find out more about taking a docent-led tour or becoming a Museum Volunteer, call us at (520) 896-9609 or email OracleHistoricalSociety @ gmail . com
History of the Acadia Ranch
The Acadia Ranch is one of the region’s oldest and most historically significant structures. Built in 1882 by Edwin S. and Lillian Dodge, it began as a sheep ranch. Before long, it was transformed into a pioneer guest health resort cum sanetorium for sufferers of ‘consumption’ as tuberculosis and other lung ailments were then known. These guests, called ‘lungers,’ were encouraged to seek out Oracle’s clean, fresh air and pleasant climate by the American Medical Association. Today the Acadia Ranch serves as a museum devoted to the Oracle area’s rich history, as well as the headquarters of the Oracle Historical Society.
→ Read more about the history of Oracle and the surrounding area....
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