ELIA MILLER / Scroll
Dan shows off the old cars and sleds to tourists.

Hess Heritage Museum: A little taste of history

by Jeff Simpson SIM04017@BYUI.EDU Scroll Staff

Hess Heritage Museum in Ashton is a hidden treasure. Owned by Dan and Mary Hess, is a 250-acre pioneer farm. The farm is known for its outdoor farm Implement Park and barn with many pieces of antique farm equipment.

The Pioneer Home, in which Dan Hess was born, was fully restored to its pioneer conditions in 1983. The restoration includes authentic 19th century furnishings and utilities.

The farm includes many different themed buildings, several of which Hess built.

These include a carriage house, a one-room schoolhouse, a wildlife exhibit and a blacksmith house.

All of the buildings include many pieces of antique farm equipment, transportation, and other furniture.

“It takes a lot of nerve to say you have a museum,” Hess said. “People need to know that you have something that is worthwhile.”

Hess has done his fair share of collecting, sometimes even traveling to other states, making sure that he had enough antiques to open a museum on the Hess farm. The Hess family has also simply saved those antiques already owned by them.

Much of the antique furniture was owned by a man named Thomas Bullock, Mary Hess’s grandfather, who was once Joseph Smith’s secretary.

In fact, the Hesses own an antique dresser in which, at one time, some of the church’s records were kept.

There is also a military exhibit in the Village Green that now includes the Revolutionary and Civil War periods.

These exhibits can be seen in the annual Pioneer Country Fair on July 4 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. The Fair will also include the new Lewis and Clark Corps of Discovery.

The Hess Heritage Museum has much to offer that cannot be found in other museums.

“At this museum,” Hess said, “there is a variation of the many types of pioneer activity, such as transportation, the way in which the home was run, and a unique style of farming.”

The Hess museum is located in Ashton at 3411 E. 1200 North. Admission costs $3 for adults and $1 for children under 12 years old.

The museum is open by appointment only. Call 652-7353 or 356-5674 for more information and to schedule a visit or email Don Hess at dandmhs@msn.com.