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Built in 1887, the Vernal Tithing Office is historically significant as one of 32 well preserved tithing buildings in Utah that were part of the successful “in kind” tithing system of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) between the 1850s and about 1910. Tithing lots, which usually included an office and several auxiliary structures, were facilities for collecting, storing, and distributing the farm products that were donated as tithing by church members in the cash-poor agricultural communities throughout the state. Harley Mowery, a local stone mason of English descent, was contracted to construct the stone tithing office. The building was saved from demolition in 1958 when it was moved from its original site to its current location by the Daughters of Utah Pioneers.

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This historic tithing office is located at 186 South 500 West in Vernal, Utah and is now the DUP Museum. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places (#85000286) on January 25, 1985.

Built in 1887, the Vernal Tithing Office is historically significant as one of o 30 well preserved tithing buildings in Utah that were part of the successful w “in kind” tithing system of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS or Mormon church) between the 1850s and about 1910. Tithing lots, which usually included an office and several auxiliary structures, were facilities for collecting, storing, and distributing the farm products that were donated as tithing by church members in the cash-poor agricultural communities throughout the state. Tithing offices were a vital part of almost every Mormon community, serving as local centers of trade, welfare assistance, and economic activity. They were also important as the basic units of the church-wide tithing network that was centered in Salt Lake City.

The Vernal Tithing Office was built in 1887 at the request of Samuel R. Bennion, stake president of the Uintah Stake of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Harley Mowery, a local store mason of English descent, was contracted to construct the stone building.

The Vernal area, like most of Utah in the nineteenth century, was a cash-poor agricultural area, so tithing donations by church members were necessarily farm products. These were stored in the tithing office and its auxiliary buildings and structures, such as granaries, barns, and corrals. Produce was stored in the half basement under the tithing office to keep it cool and prolong its usefulness.

It is uncertain how long the Vernal Tithing Office functioned under its original use, but its importance as a storage and collection facility probably decreased dramatically during the first two decades of the twentieth century as “in kind” tithing contributions were replaced by cash donations. The building was saved from demolition in 1958 when it was moved from its original site to its current location by the Daughters of Utah Pioneers. The LDS church had offered to give the building to the DUP if they would move it from the property, which was to be sold to Mountain States Telephone and Telegraph Company. After purchasing land across the street from the Old Tabernacle, and with the help of the telephone company which donated $500 to the cause, the DUP moved the tithing office to its current location.

The Vernal Tithing Office is a one story stone single cell temple-form building with a gable roof. The stone is cut and coursed. Typical of the Greek Revival temple-form building, it is oriented gable end to the street and has a boxed cornice with a wide fascia. The gable end orientation is meant to imitate monumental classical buildings. 1 The temple-form building was the preferred building type for religious buildings in Utah in the late nineteenth century. A door is centered on the facade and there is a single six over six double hung sash window on each side of the building. A frame hood which dates out of the historic period is attached over the door. It has a boxed cornice and a gable roof which repeats the pitch of the main roof. The hood is unobtrusive and could easily be removed. A low one story modern addition is attached to the rear of the tithing office. Its style does not complement the building, but because it is built of similar materials, having a stone veneer, and because it is a low building with a flat roof, it does not affect the original character of the tithing office. The attachment of the modern addition affects only the rear of the tithing office, and its penetration into the original fabric appears to be minimal.

The Vernal Tithing Office is an excellent example of an early tithing office form. Like the tithing offices in Kanosh, Escalante, Parowan, Leeds and Pine Valley, it is a simple traditional form with a minimal amount of exterior decoration.