Set on 90 acres this museum is a collection of approximately 30 stops along their “town” with a mix of authentic buildings and historically accurate replicas. It is called Arizona’s “most authentic Old West town” on their website and it has quite a nice assortment of homes and businesses to give visitors a feel for life in the Pioneer times between 1863-1912.
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With admission, you are provided with a map of the village to use on your self-guided walk of the site. You can then spend as long as you wish to wander around the buildings, some of which you can go inside, while others are set up only to look inside. Depending on the time of year, there will be different numbers of staff members present to explain some artefacts in a couple of buildings, which they do a really good job of. During events, like the Pioneer Harvest Fest, it is a really lively place which helps brings the village to life.
As it is a “living” history museum, visiting during busier times means there is more of the living history part going on than at quieter times of the year. You then get to see the townsfolk around the different buildings going about their daily 1800s life, and to tell you about the times, their occupations, or the buildings in which they were working or living.
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE PIONEER LIVING HISTORY MUSEUM
With over 30 original and recreated buildings to explore across 90 acres, there is plenty to see and do at the museum. Below we’ve identified a few of our favourites from the many buildings you can explore. Let us know what your favourites were in the comments below.
VICTORIAN HOUSE
Built in the early 1890s on an 80-acre homestead in Phoenix, the Victorian House is one of the original buildings at the museum. Owned by a man named John Marion Sears, the home was originally surrounded by orchards of apples, pears, peaches and other fruits and nuts, as well as a pump house, windmill and a dairy. This home was one of the earliest total frame houses in Phoenix that was made possible by the railroad connection to Phoenix in 1887. Prior to that lumber was too expensive to ship in wagons so most buildings were built of adobe bricks.
In 1969, many years after Mr Sears had passed away, the home was scheduled for demolition. It was then donated to Pioneer Arizona who came up with the funds to have it moved to the museum site. Today it stands as a typical 1890s middle-class Phoenix home with a parlour, music room, kitchen, and two bedrooms.
THE TEACHERAGE AND THE SCHOOLHOUSE
It’s fascinating to see what teachers had in days gone by to educate a town’s children. One-room schoolhouses were very common, but here there is a ‘teacherage‘ which was a new concept to the people of Arizona as the little community of Pleasant Valley, AZ was a bit ahead of the times with their teacherage.
On the same concept as a parsonage, that attracted and housed ministers in rural communities, the teacherage was a small cabin used to house their teacher. In 1890 it was very forward-thinking but by 1910 teacherages were very common in communities as they provided a better life for the teacher, and thus incentive to take the position, and relieved the local families of boarding the teachers. This teacherage cabin is another of the original buildings on the museum grounds.
Originally the home of a man named William Gordon and his family, the schoolhouse was converted from that home by the community of Gordon Canyon and is another original building on site. The exact date of construction is unknown but they do know it was used as a school from about 1885 to 1930 and the interior depicts a typical 1890s schoolhouse.
During that time the schoolhouse was used to educate all eight grades from March through November, with no classes held in the winter months. With no air-conditioning, it would have been much more pleasant to be in school during the winter than in August.
The schoolhouse is the first completely restored historical building at Pioneer Arizona and a dedication ceremony was held for it in October 1966 where the motto of the Pioneer Arizona Living History Museum was written on the blackboard: “Faith, Foresight, and Fortitude Equal Pioneer Spirit“.
COMMUNITY CHURCH
The Community Church is one of the reconstructed buildings on the site and is a copy of St. Paul’s Methodist Episcopal Church which stood in Globe, AZ from 1880 through 1927. Over 1500 hours of research was put into the reconstruction using church records, original photographs, newspaper clippings and personal interviews. 1500 hours! Now that is some dedication to getting it right. Today this church is used for Sunday services and can be reserved for weddings.
The original St. Paul’s church was sold and then torn down by the Mountain States Telephone Company, but its bell, that was called “God’s Alarm Clock”, was incorporated into the rebuilt St. Paul’s Methodist Church in Globe. The bell in the Community Church is a replica of that bell.
NORTHERN CABIN
Another original building from about 1885, the Northern Cabin was moved from Newman Canyon which is about 25 miles from Flagstaff. It was owned by the Newman family of eight kids, which is a lot to have in such a sized home, although this was considered to be a fairly large cabin for that time period.
Only half of the hay loft, which was used as sleeping quarters, was restored to give visitors a better view of the living areas. Although it may not look it, the area was surprisingly nice and dry in the rain as the cedar shingles would swell to seal the cracks when wet. Outside in the yard visitors can check out the cast iron pot that would have been used for washing clothes, making soap, and heating water for all sorts of uses.
SHERIFF’S OFFICE AND BANK
The Sheriff’s Office is a reconstruction of an 1881 adobe building from Globe, AZ. The original building housed the sheriff’s office and jail, that can be seen in the village today, and also a courthouse for a circuit judge who would have visited about once a month.
Keeping the sheriff and the mischief-makers warm in winter and cool in summer was the job of the thick clay, sand, and straw walls that regulated the temperature. This was likely one of the nicer buildings to be in the town, at least climate-wise.
The bank is another reconstruction that represents the 1884 Valley Bank in Phoenix. This was the first bank that was used for the sole purpose of banking, not a bank that was kept in the back of a store or hotel as previously had been the norm. Contents in the bank are original pieces from the Valley Bank, with the vault coming from the Gila Valley Bank and Trust Company. Using drawings of the original bank the reconstruction was carried out and then furnished in the style of the time period.
STROLLING THROUGH THE TOWN
With over 20 other buildings and structures around the village, the ones above are just a sampling of what can be visited in the village. Other buildings include the Opera House, Carpenter and Wheelwright Shops, Bakery, Dress Shop, Print Shop, and other farms and homes with corrals, barns and farm equipment around.
PLAN YOUR VISIT TO THE PIONEER LIVING HISTORY MUSEUM
Information last updated November 2019
HOW TO GET THERE
Pioneer Living History Museum can found at 3901 W Pioneer Rd, Phoenix, AZ 85086.
Parking is available on site and is free of charge to visitors.
HELPFUL LINK:
- If you need an app that will navigate you around whether walking, driving or using public transport and even works offline then click for a guide about how to use Here WeGo.
OPENING HOURS
Opening hours are 0700-1100 Wed-Sun in June to early September and 0900-1600 Wed-Sun the rest of the year. The Museum is closed on the Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s and Easter unless a special event is scheduled. Opening hours can vary, so please check the Pioneer Living History Museum Opening Times for the latest information.
You will be outside most of the time as you visit the many parts of the museum so you may wish to avoid visiting when the weather is bad. We would recommend you allow at least a couple of hours to fully explore the museum, but you can easily spend much of the day here, especially during busier times when there are more things going on.
HOW TO BUY TICKETS
Basic admission prices to the museum are $10.00 for over 17s, $8 for children aged 5-18, veterans and seniors and free for under 5s.
IS THE PIONEER LIVING HISTORY MUSEUM WORTH THE VISIT?
During busier times when more of the exhibits are manned by staff acting out the lives they would have lived in the pioneer times, the museum is more alive and better fulfils the living history remit. During the off-season, there is much less going on and therefore it is more of a standard museum. Either way, the original and re-created buildings are interesting and informative and the whole museum is a very interesting place to walk around.
See what others think of this attraction on Trip Advisor.
ADD TO YOUR PHOENIX ITINERARY
From stunning mountain drives and trails to desert landscapes with their unique flora, Phoenix has plenty of attractions to tempt visitors, from the quirky to the mainstream.
IN THE AREA
- Drive the stunning Apache Trail, part-paved, part-gravel road through the beautiful Superstition Mountains. Just beyond the Roosevelt Dam at the far end, you can see ancient cliff dwellings at the Tonto National Monument.
- One of the most popular trails in the White Tank Mountains, Waterfall Canyon Trail passes ancient hieroglyphs en-route to the waterfall. Only running after wet weather, dry weather allows you to climb right up into the fall area that would normally be inaccessible.
- Built by Boyce Gully for his daughter Mary Lou, the Mystery Castle is constructed out of whatever material he could find to provide a castle his daughter could live in, which she did for many years.
- Taliesin West is the winter home of esteemed architect Frank Lloyd Wright It is now home to his foundation and open for tours of this stunning example of how he designed in harmony with nature.
- Explore 140 acres of Papago Park at the Desert Botanical Garden. Over 21,000 plants are laid out in several ecosystems for visitors to explore.
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RESOURCES | PLAN YOUR TRIP TO PHOENIX
To book flights, rental cars, accommodations, and activities for your trip, please check out our recommended travel providers, favourite apps and websites.
These are a few tours we would recommend for your trip to Phoenix.
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