There is a small museum in Hurricane that tells the history of the town and holds a few interesting items. This museum is called the Hurricane Valley Heritage Park & Museum, and there is a nice park to play at just behind it. A visit to this museum is perfect when you need a little slow time after the hustle-bustle of Zion National Park.
The museum focuses primarily on the construction of the canal, which allowed water to enter the valley and towns to be built. The canal itself took 13 years to build and runs almost 8 miles from the Virgin River to the valley. Its construction was quite dangerous due to the terrain, and a few people died while building it.
Some of the more famous pieces in this museum are focused around food. There is a piece of bacon that was fresh in the 1940s. It was found in a cellar many years later and moved to the museum. Even older than that is a piece of wedding cake that is over 100 years old. It didn’t look too edible! Our boys were excited when they saw that the person who made the wedding cake was from Grafton (since we had just visited the Grafton Ghost Town).
The museum is free, and there are also a few artifacts and displays on the surrounding grounds. We enjoyed wandering around the old farm equipment and covered wagons. There is also a nice memorial right in the middle of the outside display. We always enjoy learning more about the Utah pioneers and their history of settling throughout this great state.
Plan to spend some time behind the museum, too. There is a park with play equipment and a splash pad. There is also a nice grassy area to have a picnic. The play equipment is divided into two sections: a small toddler area, and a larger playground for the older kids. The splash pad was already in use in April, but in the hot summer months it would be the perfect place to cool off and let the kids splash around. There are also bathrooms at this park.
The Hurricane Valley Heritage Park & Museum is located right on the main road in Hurricane so it’s hard to miss (35 w. State Street in Hurricane). If you need a place to unwind, this is a great park to visit.
Hello from Leicestershire, England. I’ve just read an interesting article by Phyllis Hinton Lawton about John Nock Hinton and Emma Spendlove. John Nock Hinton is my 3rd cousin 4 x removed and my maiden name was Truslove. I am descended from John’s 3 x great grandparents John and Hannah Truslove, who are my 6th great grandparents. The article is very interesting.
Vanessa Cox