About this Room
Today, Rosson House and the other historical buildings at the Square all have air conditioning. It’s hard to believe the hot climate didn’t stop people from making this place their home over a century ago, but they did so, and they adapted to the heat. During the hotter months, people who could afford to would temporarily leave town, and those who stayed would wear lightweight “summer” clothing (including underwear and corsets), go swimming when able, and would sleep in well-ventilated areas to stay cool at night – with open windows and doors, electric fans (if they could afford them), and even by sleeping outside.
Find out more about some of the artifacts in the north room by clicking the arrows on the top left above each image. Don’t see your favorite artifact here? Let us know you’d like to learn more about something by filling out this form.
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Exhibit Signage
Prohibition & the Gammel Family
- Clipping from the Bisbee Daily Review newspaper on November 3, 1914, asking readers to vote no on the amendment to the Arizona constitution that prohibited the sale of alcoholic beverages.
- Clipping from the Williams News newspaper on December 3, 1914, showing the full results of the prohibition amendment in Arizona – it passed with 25,887 votes.
- Clipping from the Arizona Republican newspaper on January 1, 1915, the first day prohibition took affect in Arizona.
- Text from the Arizona Republican newspaper on October 30, 1915, about Frankie and Billie Gammel being found guilty of “disposing of intoxicating liquor”.
- Photograph of a Prohibition Era glass bottle and cork, found under the Rosson House during its restoration in the late 1970s.
- Clipping from the Calexico Chronicle newspaper on September 16, 1933, about Billie Gammel’s arrest in Mexicali for suspicion of arson after his bar there burned down.
- Photograph of city and county officials atop a street sprinkler filled with confiscated alcohol, taken on December 29, 1915. Read the full story about this image in the December 30, 1916 edition of the Arizona Republican on Chronicling America. Photo courtesy of the Arizona State Library Archives and Public Records.
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