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The Kay’s Ward Meetinghouse served residents of north Davis County for nearly 90 years as a center of religious and social life. Early pioneers gathered here to learn from Prophets, Apostles, and other lecturers, while plays, concerts, dances, and dinners helped satisfy their social needs.
Organized in 1851, the original Kay’s Ward stretched from the Weber River on the north to Haight’s Creek on the south, and from the mountains on the east to the Great Salt Lake on the west. As the local population grew, residents soon realized they needed a building where they could gather. Thus, in 1855 work on a 45′ x 80′ structure began here on the corner of what was then Locust and 5th Streets. A chapel occupied the main floor and some of the additional rooms in the basement doubled as school classrooms. Following an unfortunate delay of several years caused by the Utah War, Apostle John Taylor dedicated the building on September 26, 1863.
As construction on a new tabernacle across the street began in 1911, the old meetinghouse was remolded on both structure and purpose. A two-story addition on the front provided a balcony and rooms for costumes and scenery; a stage and dressing rooms were added on the back. All religious services moved to the tabernacle, and the meetinghouse became known as the Music Hall/Opera House and promoted a wide variety of church, civic, and cultural events. It was one of the few Utah venues in which the national Vaudeville circuit performed. A Relief Society birthday celebration each March drew hundreds of faithful members.
In 1951, the building that had served as both a facilitator for and a symbol of spiritual and cultural growth for hundreds of pioneer families was demolished after a recreation hall was added to the tabernacle.
This is D.U.P. Marker #578 (see others here) located at 202 West Center Street in Kaysville, Utah.
