Allen, Ethel Crane, 1920-2015

Ethel Crane Norton (born Ethel Louise Crane) was an educator and artist known for her avocational archaeology work with her husband, Norton Allen. She was born and raised in New Jersey. She studied at New Jersey College for Women and Columbia University, and worked as a teacher in Brawley and Los Angeles, California. In 1954, she married Norton Allen in Fredonia, Arizona.

She and her husband lived in the Grossmont area of La Mesa, California. They traveled throughout the southwestern U.S. and northern Mexico to excavate Indigenous pottery. They collected pottery, baskets, and other cultural materials. They were particularly known for their interest in Hohokam culture and the Gila Bend area of Arizona.

In 1994, the Allens donated a large collection of Hohokam materials to the Arizona State Museum, with an agreement between the Allens, the Arizona Board of Regents, and the Tohono O'Odham Nation that the Tohono O'Odham Nation would have ongoing access and use of the materials for tribal museum and educational activities.

The Allens also donated material from their collections to the San Diego Museum of Man, San Diego State University, Riverside Metropolitan Museum, and Autry Southwest Museum of the American Indian.