Hubbell Family

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J.L.Hubbell
E.A. Burbank

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J.L. Hubbell and Family

Born in Pajarito, New Mexico in 1853, John Lorenzo Hubbell grew up in a bilingual and bicultural family. His father James was a Connecticut Yankee. His mother, Juliana Gutierrez was the granddaughter of a Mexican governor of New Mexico. The young man became familiar with Navajo customs and language while traveling around the Southwest. He worked as a clerk and Spanish interpreter for the US military. Known as Don Lorenzo to Anglos, and "Old Mexican" or "Double Glasses" to the Navajo, he began trading in the Ganado area in the late 1870s. Don Lorenzo built a trading empire that included over thirty trading posts, wholesale stores, curio shops, farms, and freight and mail lines.

Burbank Portraits of Hubbell Family




Historic Photos

Hubbell supplied his Navajo customers with merchandise and food while promoting their arts and crafts. He did much to bridge Navajo and Anglo cultures by increasing mutual understanding. Hubbell helped Navajo friends to adjust to reservation life after the ordeal of the Long Walk and confinement at Fort Sumner, New Mexico. He often acted as a Navajo spokesperson and advocate to the US Government.

Hubbell Home and Pet

Hubbell had an enduring influence on Navajo weaving and silversmithing. He promoted excellence in craftsmanship and design while helping weavers understand which designs were popular. Always an innovator, he brought Mexican silversmiths to Ganado to teach Navajo men the craft. Hubbell also promoted Navajo crafts in Eastern cities with mail order catalogs.

Don Lorenzo died on November 12, 1930. He is buried on Hubbell Hill, overlooking the trading post, next to his wife, Lina Rubi and his closest Navajo friend, Many Horses.




	Last Modified 7/6/2004 by AKC