Fairview Museum of History and Art

The tiny town of Fairview in central Utah has an amazing Pioneer Museum. The Fairview Museum of History and Art has two buildings as well as an outdoor area that you can easily spend an hour exploring. This museum is famous for its Huntington Mammoth. The museum is free, though donations are gladly accepted.

Where is the Museum

The Fairview Museum of History and Art Museum is located on the north end of town one block east of Main Street. There is a sign that directs you to the museum, which is partially housed in an old school. The address is 55 NORTH 100 EAST, Fairview, Utah. Park on the east side of the museum between the two buildings and walk to the one on the south (left) first. This is the Horizon Building and where you will check in.

Horizon Building

As you enter the Horizon Building, there is a small welcome desk. This building houses a small gift shop and many art displays. The art is mostly locally produced and has a decidedly central Utah flavor. There are two levels, with upstairs level being historical art, and the downstairs area featuring a rotating exhibit of local art. When we were there, the artists who created the Marvel heroes collection were actually on site and spoke to us about their creations.

There is a lot of art upstairs and down.

These wood burning art pieces are so neat.

The main feature of this building at the Fairview Museum of History and Art is a massive replica of a nearly complete mammoth that was found up the canyon at Huntington Reservoir. This mammoth was discovered in the 1980’s when the reservoir was being excavated, and it is rare in how perfect the remains were. There was even evidence of the mammoth’s last meal with the bones. The Utah Mammoth Hockey team takes its name from this discovery.

There are a few hands-on things, but mostly keep hands off the exhibits.

There are some other cool artifacts found in this area.

Outdoor Display

As you leave this building, turn left and walk down toward the long shed. There are vehicles, including farming equipment, stored in the shed. An ancient buckboard and an old fire engine are just a few of the treasures. Follow the path north along the back of the other building to see several other outdoor exhibits. We really like the unique display with old tools cemented in the walls.

Randy explains all the farming equipment to us.

We appreciated the signs telling us what everything was.

We thought this was such a creative display for the old tools.

Heritage Building

The second building is an old school in the style of Peteetneet in Payson or the Chieftain Museum in Santaquin, which are also great visits. There are some amazing sculptures by Mormon artist Avard Fairbanks depicting early Church History. He is originally from Utah, and had family in Fairview, so quite a few of his sculptures are in this museum. There are also a lot of pioneer artifacts housed across several rooms in this school. There are two floors in this building as well, so there is a lot to see. We always enjoy seeing the old artifacts and being grateful that we live today.

The sculptures are life-size and mostly cast in bronze.

We are always amazed at how the pioneers lived.

If you are passing through Sanpete County on the 89, make sure to plan an hour to spend in the Fairview Museum of History and Art. It’s worth the visit.