Early Visitors' Center Prior to the construction of the current center, a small remodeled house had served as a visitors' center for tourists coming to see Florence and the Mormon Pioneer Cemetery. This center was closed on August 1, 1995, in preparation for the construction of the new museum, and trailers served as a temporary center for visitors during the building process.
Current Museum The new museum, constructed of red brick, has 11,000 square feet of display space and a large lower level. It opened at the end of 1996 with a preview of partially completed exhibits and that year's gingerbread house display. The museum was dedicated by Church President
Gordon B. Hinckley on April 18, 1997. The dedication was part of that year's sesquicentennial celebration of
Brigham Young's Vanguard Company leaving Winter Quarters, trekking across the United States, and arriving in Mexico's
Salt Lake Valley in 1847. In 1998 a life-sized statue of a
Mormon handcart family was placed on a round, concrete pedestal in front of the museum. The statue was created by Latter-day Saint sculptor
Franz M. Johansen. During a landscaping project in 2024, the statue was removed from the pedestal and moved slightly, where it is now displayed at ground level. ==Exhibits==