Pioneer Village hasn't always been at Lagoon. It first came together 41 years ago in Salt Lake City at 2998 S. 2150 East (Connor Street).
Horace A. and Ethel Sorensen were the founders of Pioneer Village. They acquired an extensive collection of old coaches and wagons. Since they were also in the furniture business, they obtained considerable antique furniture. On Oct. 24, 1948, they converted a former roundhouse for American Saddlebred Horses on Connor Street into a small museum. In 1954, they remodeled a large barn to expand their five acres of pioneer exhibits.With the building of the Wanship Dam, east of Salt Lake, the little pioneer village of Rockport was to be inundated. Sorensen moved some of these buildings to his pasture site and with the addition of other old buildings, he soon had almost every kind of shop found in pioneer times.
Two years later in 1956, the Sorensens deeded the entire collection and property to the Sons of the Utah Pioneers.
Over the years, the impressive collection suffered from want of funds for adequate maintenance. The deficit ran as high as $5,000 a year.
This deficit occurred - despite the fact that Pioneer Village admission was never free. Admission was 75 cents for adults and 25 cents for children in the early 1970s.
The Sons of the Pioneers considered selling Pioneer Village as early as 1969. It talked with the Utah State Department of Recreation and Lagoon Corporation. By the spring of 1975, it was decided that it would sell the entire pioneer collection to Lagoon for $275,000. Lagoon also paid all moving expenses.
Lagoon was interested in making Pioneer Village an extensive bicentennial project and that's when it opened in Farmington - 1976 - along with the Log Flume ride.