North American Museum of Ancient Life
| Established | 1995 |
|---|---|
| Location | Lehi, Utah |
| Director | Mike L Washburn |
| Website | http://thanksgivingpoint.org/ |
Coordinates: 40°25′53″N 111°54′09″W / 40.4313°N 111.9026°W
Thanksgiving Point in Lehi, Utah, is a 501(c)(3) farm, garden, and museum complex. Its venues include the Museum of Ancient Life, Farm Country, the Museum of Natural Curiosity, and Ashton Gardens.
Other attractions include Harvest restaurant, Tower Deli, Emporium gift shop, and Brick Canvas spa.
Thanksgiving Point was founded in 1995 by Alan and Karen Ashton.
Alan Ashton co-founded software company WordPerfect with Bruce Bastian in Provo, Utah in 1979. In 1994, WordPerfect was sold to Utah-based Novell for nearly a billion dollars. After the sell, Alan purchased farm land in Lehi, Utah and gifted it to his wife Karen on February 14, 1995. They planned to build a community garden and farm experience. The name for the project, Thanksgiving Point, was chosen to express gratitude. Thanksgiving Point Institute registered as a 501(c)3 in 1997.
The gardens opened to the public in 1997 as Thanksgiving Gardens. The master plan was developed with Salt Lake City landscape architect Leonard Grassli. The gardens cover approximately 55 acres and include 15 different theme gardens, including a replica of the garden described in Frances Hodgson Burnett's book The Secret Garden. Other themed garden rooms include a Monet pond, Rocky Mountain landscapes, and a rose garden growing 60 different varieties.
...
Wikipedia