Hyrum First Ward Meetinghouse

The significance of the Hyrum First Ward Chapel can be found in its characterizing the values of a community which worked and labored to create a place of worship and a social center that fittingly celebrated the prosperity of their burgeoning farming community. The congregation turned to Logan architect Karl C. Schaub for the design of the building. The sturdy, handsome structure is a good example of the work of this regionally important architectural office, which also designed Old Main building at Utah State Agricultural College (National Register).

Of the three LDS meeting houses constructed in Hyrum during the first five years of this century, one has been demolished and another rather extensively altered, leaving the First Ward the only one relatively intact. It is the most visually prominent of the town’s structures.

The chapel includes a horseshoe balcony, a very uncommon plan in Mormon Church architecture. Most of the building materials were local products, hauled to the site by ward members, who did most of the actual construction.

This building was also for many years the focal point of most social activities in Hyrum.

Shortly after Hyrum was divided into three wards, a committee of ward members started looking for a site on which to build a new meeting place. The present site was their first choice, however, they encountered some difficulty in purchasing the property from the owners. This site was on high ground and not swampy as other considered sites were. 1905.

The chapel was started in 1903 and was completed early in The Annex was added shortly after the completion of the large chapel room. The building was dedicated in January 1913 by LDS Church President, Joseph F. Smith, who arrived on the old Oregon Shortline train and was met by three ward members.

All the materials used in constructing the building were found locally; rock for the foundation was hauled from Blacksmith Fork canyon; all the spruce and pine timber used for the building was cut at South Cottonwood in Blacksmith Fork canyon where Andrew B. Anderson had a sawmill. It was then hauled to the building site by Hans and Nickoli Jorgensen and Peter Thompson. It took two days per trip.

The brick was hauled from Wellsville, five miles west of Hyrum, by ward members. This brick was made in Wellsville. The stone foundation and brick were laid by James L. Jenson and his son William. The mortar was mixed by Israel Jorgenson and Arthur Thompson. The carpenters were Ingwald Gulbranson, Albert Alien and son Silas. As was the custom in those early days, many other ward members “worked out” their building assessments. Karl Schaub, an architect from Logan, designed the building. The church paid $8,000.00 for its construction, all other work was done by members of the ward.

Architect Schaub was born in Switzerland in 1869, and worked as a draftsman for the federal government before establishing an architectural office in Logan in partnership with Joseph Monson.

The Hyrum First Ward Meetinghouse is located at 290 South Center Street in Hyrum, Utah and was added to the National Register of Historic Places (#80003891) on February 15, 1980.