Sorenson Cabin 

Moyle Jensen, of Manti, Lived with Soren A. Sorenson's family members during a major portion of his life and has served as a substantial source of information.

The Sorensons were Jensen’s mother’s friends and his close friendship with them began when he was only eleven years old. He started living with the Sorensons and because they had no other children, they loved him like a son. Even after the Sorenson’s passed away, Jensen continued to live in the Sorenson’s cabin as their assignee until it was sold. 

Soren A. Sorenson built his cabin on Third South and Main Street in 1879. He had purchased the property in January for $30. Sorenson’s property extended almost to the East end of the block and had sheds to house a milk cow, a team of horses, and farm equipment. Moyle helped out with the farm work. Moyle and the Sorensons lived in the cabin while they built a two-story house on the same property just west of the cabin. Two of those front rooms featured distinctive murals painted on the east wall by Soren’s Father, Swen.

Once the two-story house was completed the little cabin was used for storage and a workshop for many years. It remained unused for a long time but continued to retain a very distinctive appearance. The original property was sold except for the west area holding the home and cabin to Skyline Auto in 1988. The two-story home was demolished but the cabin was preserved thanks to the efforts of the Ephraim City Counsel and a member of the Daughters of Utah Pioneers. It was moved to Pioneer Park where it was soon placed on the cement pad near the Bailey cabin. 

The inside was repaired and a new shake roof was constructed on the cabin. One year for the Scandinavian Festival, after the cabin had been cleaned and decorated, someone came and vandalized it. It had been marked up with Graffiti and set on fire by an arsonist. The fire destroyed some of the new roof, east walls, and floors. Luckily, a nearby merchant and a very alert Citizen noticed the fire and were able to save the cabin from being destroyed. 

Ephraim City has updated the Sorenson Cabin by reinforcing the door and the windows and placing a chain-link fence around three sides of the cabin and to make it harder to be vandalized. In 1993, visitors to the Scandinavian Festival had their first opportunity to view this relic cabin.

It was moved from its original spot to the Ephraim Heritage Park where it can be enjoyed along with the other buildings in the park.