SPANISH FORK — For the past 14 years Elaine Jones-Hughes has helped other folks remember the pioneers of 1847.
She and her husband, J. Preston Hughes, own the private Jones-Hughes Pioneer Park, a collection of historic log cabins, a barn, windmill and other period artifacts around the historic family home they open to the public on Pioneer Day. The Daughters of the Utah Pioneers pitch in with pioneer demonstrations.
In the past, that included basket weaving, butter-making, and, of course, quilting. Storytelling and pioneer singing have also marked past Pioneer Day celebrations at the park.
David H. and Mary E. Nielson Jones, Jones-Hughes' grandparents, had the home built between 1910 and 1912, where they lived until their deaths in 1959 and 1976, respectively. Restoration of the family home began in the early 1980s, and in 1985 the home was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.
For the past four years the compound has hosted a regional quilt show on Pioneer Day, featuring both antique and newer quilts from around the area. This year local quilting groups are featured.
Quilters who don't belong to the 13 Utah Valley quilting bees are also encouraged to show off their handiwork, Beth Whitaker said.
"We know there are treasures hiding out there," she said. An avid quilter, Whitaker brought the idea to Spanish Fork from Sisters, Ore., in time for the first quilt show in 2000.
Every year the show gets larger as more quilters show off their handiwork. Last year more than 100 were on display, said this year's organizer, Shanna Warnick.
"Quilts were such a part of pioneer history," Jones-Hughes said.
While some quilters hesitate to show their handiwork in sunlight, one-day outdoor shows are becoming an accepted venue, Whitaker said.
Quilters caution owners of antique quilts not to store them in plastic bags or in cedar chests to avoid damaging them. They also caution against leaving them folded because that's the first place rot will begin.
Like banners, they flap in the breeze on wires strung across the yard, on bushes and around the home and log cabins, drawing visitors into the cabins where they see how pioneers lived more than a century-and-a-half ago. Among the cabins open for visitors:
The second-oldest remaining cabin original to Spanish Fork, which dates from the late 1850s, which is furnished in authentic items from the period. Pioneer Peter Hansen built the cabin with logs from Payson Canyon. He marked each with his initials, which are still visible today. The cabin is original from the floorboards to the roof, with exception of the windows.
A larger cabin came from South Jordan and was once owned by pioneer Archibald Gardner, a polygamist with 11 wives. He built several flour and wood mills in early Utah, including Mill Creek, a mill in Leland and one in Star Valley, Wyo.
A cabin originally built in Palmyra, Utah County, then moved to 400 North and 100 West, Spanish Fork, where it stood for years. Earlier this year, its owner and a Jones-Hughes relative, Marsha Jones, donated it to the park. Reputedly, this is the cabin where David Abbott "Ab" Jenkins, Utah's "Son of Speed," was born in 1883.
Jenkins piloted a series of Mormon Meteor experimental cars across the Bonneville Salt Flats setting world records that stood for decades.
Many of the pioneer artifacts at the private park were donated, including a sheepherder's wagon.
"We've had a wonderful response from the community," Jones-Hughes said. "If they know we'll appreciate them and share them with others, they love to donate (historic items)," she said.
The couple recently purchased property to the east and will expand the museum. Among the plans is a small Indian village. The museum opens throughout the year to groups on request.
E-mail: rodger@desnews.com