Great Basin Museum ~ Delta, Utah

Location: 328 West, 100 North, Delta, Utah 84624
Phone: (435) 864-5013. E-mail: greatbasin@hubwest.com
Mail: P.O. Box 550, Delta, Utah 84624
Open without charge. Donations welcome.
Hours: Monday-Friday 10 a.m. -4 p.m., Saturday 1 p.m. - 4 p.m.
Open Memorial Day and July 4th. Closed other major holidays. Winter hours may vary. Tours and special requests for visits are welcome.
Great Basin Historical Society, P.O. Box 550, Delta, UT 84624

The Great Basin Museum grew out of interest created by local history programs of the Great Basin Historical Society. The society was formed during the fall and winter of 1987-88 to tell the unique story of the West Millard area.

Earliest settlements in West Millard County were the towns of Oasis (1860), Deseret (1860), Oak City (1868), and Leamington (1871). By 1876 Hinckley was settled, Lynndyl in 1904, and Delta in 1907 with the coming of the Salt Lake and Los Angeles Railroad.

Oak City, Hinckley, and Leamington offer excellent examples of pioneer architecture. Development of the irrigation system and water storage played a key role in West Millard history. Agriculture has been a prime factor in the West Millard economy with vast irrigated fields surrounding the Hinckley - Delta - Lynndyl areas.

The Great Basin Museum in Delta features exhibits about West Millard history including artifacts of early settlers, and an excellent archive of photographs, writings and documents about the area.

An exhibit about the World War II Topaz Relocation Center that was located 16 miles from Delta is housed at the museum. The camp held more than 8,300 internees at one point, mostly from the San Francisco Bay area from 1942-1946. An original building from the campsite is exhibited at the museum.

A wide variety of attractions await visitors to the West Millard area including rockhounding. Tourists come from all over the world to search for trilobites, fossils, geodes and other ores. Exhibits of these are on display at the museum.

Source: Great Basin Museum.

The Great Basin Museum has information about the famous Van's Dance Hall in Delta that is currently being renovated. Big bands brought crowds there for thirty years, until the 1960s.