The Sons of the Utah Pioneers run a small pioneer village next to the DUP Museum in Provo. We’ve driven past this place a lot of times and always wanted to stop, so we checked when it was open and dropped by.
There are quite a few small buildings on the site, including a general store, a small school, a few cabins, a granary, and a blacksmith shop. Throughout the site, you’ll see several wagons, an old well, and a flag with 30 stars like the one flown in 1847. They have a really cool map on their website that allows you to see panoramic photos of the site here.
The blacksmith shop wasn’t running when we were there, though it had been the day before, but the smith talked with us about the tools and items that he’d made out of metal. We walked through the old cabins and looked at old pioneer relics. We also rang the bell and raised the bucket up and down the well, but our favorite part of the village was the school.
At the school, you could play several pioneer games. There was ringtoss, the one with two pairs of sticks and a large ring. Our boys loved the teddy bear climb that taught children how to milk cows. We always enjoy playing the hoop and stick roll along game. There were even several sets of stilts, which only Dad seemed to be able to use.
The hours for the Provo Pioneer Village can be found on their website. They often have special events including demonstrations and hands-on activities. You can schedule a tour, and they also have a pamphlet for those of us who are taking a self-guided tour. We liked that they had some hands-on activities for our boys to help the pioneer life seem more real. The Provo Pioneer Village can be found on 500 west and around 600 North in North Park in Provo. They are open Memorial Day through Labor Day.
