Daughters of the Utah Pioneers-- Tooele

The Daughters of the Utah Pioneers have many museums throughout the state. The largest being the Pioneer Memorial Museum in Salt Lake City. When we headed into Tooele, we stopped at their museum. It is only open from Memorial Day to Labor Day on Fridays & Saturdays from 11-4. They are usually willing to open the museum if you call ahead, and they are often open on holidays.

We had another great guide in this museum. She was great with the children and very enthusiastic about all the items in the museum. Inside the museum there are many pioneer artifacts, and a room that was used as a jail. Our boys loved being locked in the jail cell even though they could squeeze out the bars easily. There were some other interesting artifacts like Brigham Young's piano that was carried across the plains. I was grossed out by the pictures made from people's hair, but apparently it was quite common. There were a lot of them in this museum. The boys' favorite part of this museum was ringing the bell. They needed a little help pulling the rope, but they sure grinned when they heard it ringing outside.

Enjoying their jail time

Inside the museum

Hair pictures...gross!

Brigham Young's piano

Ringing the bell

There were some smaller buildings outside. There was a small cabin which was the home of our guide's grandparents. It was neat to hear her tell stories about her grandma. There was also a blacksmith shop and a school. We had a lot of fun in the school. They have little chalkboards for the children to try and write using the old Deseret alphabet.

We thoroughly enjoyed our time at the Tooele DUP museum. If you head to this museum, make sure to walk next door and visit the Tooele Pioneer Museum run by the Sons of the Utah Pioneers. Both are free and are great glimpses into pioneer history. You can also drive up the street and visit the Tooele Valley Railroad Museum.

The cabin and blacksmith shop

Some old wagons displayed outside

Inside the blacksmith shop

Reading the Deseret alphabet in the old schoolhouse.