About the Pioneer Arizona Living History Museum
Pioneer Arizona is a 90-acre open-air museum in the black-rock foothills of north Phoenix, just off Interstate 17 near Anthem. Its subject is Territorial Arizona between 1863 and 1912, and it makes its case with buildings rather than display cases: paved paths lead past about twenty 19th-century structures arranged as a frontier village, with costumed volunteers on hand in season.
The idea dates to 1956, when a group of history enthusiasts alarmed by the demolition of territorial-era buildings formed the Pioneer Arizona Foundation. Its backers included Governor Paul Fannin, Senators Barry Goldwater and Carl Hayden, and Wesley Bolin. The foundation bought 90 acres north of the city, moved threatened buildings onto the land, and opened the museum on February 15, 1969. The site nearly closed in 2010 after the state land beneath it was sold at auction and the buyer could not provide water service; the City of Phoenix bought the land and built a water line so the museum could stay open.
About ten of the structures are original buildings relocated from around the state. The Ashurst Cabin, built in 1878 near Prescott, was the boyhood home of Henry Fountain Ashurst, Arizona's first U.S. senator after statehood. The Flying V Cabin (1880) came from Canyon Creek near Young; its notched rifle ports were used in July 1882 during the Battle of Big Dry Wash, and it was home to John D. Tewksbury Sr. of the Pleasant Valley War. The Opera House was built in Prescott in the early 1870s, housed the Goldwater family's first store in 1876, and gained a stage in 1882 on which Lillie Langtry performed. Also on the grounds: the 1890s Sears (Victorian) House from North 7th Street in Phoenix, the 1881 Phoenix Bakery, the 1885 Gordon School from east of Payson, an 1885 ranch home from Newman Canyon near Flagstaff, an 1890 teacherage, and an 1870 ranch complex. Reconstructions fill out the streetscape, including a bank modeled on Phoenix's 1884 Valley Bank, a Globe blacksmith shop and adobe sheriff's office, a Methodist church, a print shop, and Fort Woods, named for Buffalo Soldier and Medal of Honor recipient Sergeant Brent Woods.
Collections and Research Services
This is a living-history village, not a research archive. Admission includes the Telephone History Museum on the grounds, and the reconstructed shops hold period antiques, but the museum does not advertise a library, manuscript collection, or genealogy service. Family historians working on Maricopa County ancestors should treat a visit as context for how territorial Phoenix looked and lived, then do the document work elsewhere. Our guides to free family-history research and old city directories explain where to begin.
Planning Your Visit
The museum is at 3901 W. Pioneer Road, Phoenix, AZ 85086 (phone 623-465-1052). Hours follow the desert heat: from October 1 through May 14 it is open Wednesday through Sunday, 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.; from May 15 through September 30 it opens Wednesday through Sunday from 7:00 to 11:00 a.m. only. It is closed Mondays and Tuesdays and on Christmas, New Year's Day, Thanksgiving, and Easter unless an event is scheduled. Admission is $12 for adults, $10 for children 5 to 16, $8 for seniors, veterans, and police and fire personnel, and free for children under 5; parties of 15 or more pay $10 per person. Paths are paved, but the village is spread across open ground, so bring water and sun protection. Professional photography requires a signed release and a $25 fee. Confirm dates and event schedules at pioneeraz.org before you go.
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