Signage for the Museum is on McNab Parkway as you enter San Manuel. Photo by Elise Godoy
By Elise Godoy, Special to Copper Area News
When current San Manuel Historical Society board members, David and Yvonne Prough, learned in 2022 that the San Manuel Historical Museum was at risk of closing its doors, they stepped in to save it. For the past three years, David has served as director and president, while Yvonne has taken on the roles of curator and secretary. Together with three other board members — including a treasurer and two retired computer professionals — they have dedicated themselves to preserving San Manuel’s history in a time when small-town museums are in decline.
“The previous owners were going to close the museum of for lack of help, and we love small museums; we realize the importance of the museums,” David explained. “We put a new board of directors together. So, it’s run by a board of directors. And we’re doing everything we can to save it and keep it open.”
Across Arizona, small-town museums are struggling to stay open or are facing closure in a growing trend. According to the American Association for State and Local History (AASLH), the most common reasons for these closures are financial security, whether through donations, funding, and grant availability; building costs; and a decline in community support.
David points to another factor that they have personally witnessed in the San Manuel Historical Museum: technology. “We went to museums to learn, and now, all you have to do is ask Google. And it’s sad that it’s come to that,” he noted. He also mentions that visiting small town museums offers visitors a view into the town’s character and history.
“In 45 minutes to an hour, you can learn so much more about the town and the area. And I don’t think a lot of people realize that. And then the other problem is we’re in such a hurry up and get there or get it done world, that we don’t stop to do those kinds of things. So, we’re losing history and we’re losing a lot of things that are important.”
More recently, the San Manuel Historical Society board members have been working tirelessly to conduct interviews and create videos with retired local miners, sharing and protecting the story of San Manuel’s copper legacy in collaboration with two colleges and mining companies. Through these efforts, they are working to preserve the history of San Manuel for future generations.
David highlighted the importance of preserving history in small town museums, “We’re spreading and sharing the history. Not only are we preserving history, but we’re making history. And that’s what we try to share with our visitors.” Yvonne shared the seriousness in connecting the past to the present: “If you don’t know where you came from, you don’t know where you’re going.”
. When a museum faces closure, the artifacts must be transferred to another museum or stored for reopening according to 501(c)(3) nonprofit regulations, such as the San Manuel Historical Museum. As David explained, the museum cannot sell or freely distribute its collections; items must either be transferred to another museum, returned to their original lenders, or kept in storage until reopening.
“Some of the things we’ve received are because they know it’s going to be preserved. If not here, at least it will be stored safely for a museum — they feel confident with their gift,” Yvonne adds.
Even with these preservation protocols in place, the public can still lose access to important artifacts, as was the case with the closure of the Mammoth Museum. This loss affects students, families, and community members who could benefit from hands-on historical education.
Longtime resident and retired miner, Abraham Romos, even goes as far as saying, “People need to learn that we do have something valuable here, you know. We have something valuable that defines us, defines what San Manuel is.”
The challenges faced by the San Manuel Historical Museum reflect the larger trend of small-town museums across Arizona, such as limited funding, volunteer shortages, and building challenges. David explained that people and finances are the biggest obstacles for the museum as a non-profit organization.
“We’d like to be open more days if we could get more volunteers. And we’d like to have more space. The space we’re in at the present time, we’re renting. We would like to have the funding to have our own building- a larger building, and a larger piece of property- because we have a lot of larger items that would be donated, pieces of mining equipment, if we had somewhere to put them. And then, there are finances involved; we’ve been very fortunate,” he said.
The San Manuel Historical Museum remains open in the Elks Plaza, behind Salt ‘N Pepper, on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., and by appointment, with free admission. David and Yvonne expressed that they would like to expand the museum’s hours with more community support, including visitors and volunteers.
Yvonne encouraged the public to stop by: “Come on in, you know. Even if we’re not officially open, we’ll open it up.”
David remarked on the museum’s role in the San Manuel community, “We want to educate the community on the fact that this is their museum. It belongs to everybody in this community. Nobody owns it. It belongs to everybody in this community. Everybody who lives here or visits, or comes by on a vacation. It’s there’s their museum. I know around the country, there’s little private museums. This is not a private museum, this belongs to San Manuel. And so that’s one of the feelings we’re trying to get out there. This belongs to everybody. I’m just trying to let people know that it’s here, we’re committed. We’re long time. We’re gonna keep it. And anybody who can offer help in any way, we’d be more than happy to take it.
Editor’s note: Elise Godoy is a student at Grand Canyon University and is a resident of Mammoth. This story is the second in a two-part story on the importance of local support for the San Manuel Museum.
Part 1 can be found here.