In July 1853 Brigham Young ordered the people settled in the Brigham City vicinity to construct another fort to provide protection from the Indians. This fort extended north and south about 15 rods and east and west about 8 rods from a point located about 15 feet east of this marker. The fort was later expanded to accommodate more settlers and a school house was then built adjacent to it. The exterior walls of the fort were actually the walls of the log houses which comprised the three walls of the fort. The south end of the fort near the location of the school was left open. The Indian danger soon abated and President Brigham Young ordered that a survey and a plat of the city be made in 1855 to allow the settlers to move from the fort.
The same sun, moon and stars shone over these everlasting hills when old Lake Bonneville’s waters reached midway up these mountains. Later, native American hunters roamed these lands which they called Woebequachee. Here they fished Pe-Ogway (Bear River) and streams draining into the salty sea they named Onaba.
Pioneers came to Deseret in 1847 and went north among the Shoshone Indians. By 1852 Willow Creek, 3 Mile Creek, Box Elder and Call’s Fort were established as new settlements. Many trestles and miles of steel helped to span and conquer these new lands. The Golden Spike driven on 10 May 1869 at Promontory, brought a hive of industry to the west.
Brigham City was one of the most prosperous and progressive settlements in this territory. During the 1870-80 era, the city realized a high point of achievement in living the United Order. Brigham City experienced a healthy expansion as choice people, fruit and crops made the desert blossom like a rose. And now, in more recent days, America has reached the moon and other galaxies, inspired by thoughts and actions of people in the Brigham City area. The sacrifice, commitment and charity of all generations of those who lived, loved and died here is symbolized and honored by this building. May this dancing fire of the human spirit continually burn within us and renew our faith and love for one another.
In 1961 the Box Elder Chapter of the Sons of Utah Pioneers sold the Community Center property to Brigham City Corporation, then donated $10,000 to Box Elder County Commissioners for the purchase of this site for a nursing home. Besides the Sons of Utah Pioneers, countless others have given time, talent and patience to develop this facility known as Pioneer Care Center.
I grew up listening to President Boyd K. Packer and loved him. I stopped by to get pictures of President Lorenzo Snow’s gravesite and some of my family’s as well and was surprised to see this one here.
This stately building is one of the finest examples of nineteenth century Latter-day Saint architecture. For more than a century, it has served as a center of Christian worship, cultural enrichment, and community activities. Towering above the trees, it has become one of the principal landmarks of the region.
Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints settled this area in 1851, just four years after the arrival of the first pioneers in Salt Lake City. Under the leadership of Elder Lorenzo Snow of the Council of the Twelve Apostles, they built this town at the mouth of Box Elder Canyon, near traditional Shoshone Indian campgrounds and renamed it for the Church president Brigham Young. For many years they worshiped in a log meetinghouse and in the local courthouse, but in 1865 Brigham Young directed Elder Snow and other community leaders to build a tabernacle for conferences of the Box Elder Stake. The local leaders had already selected a site on the corner of Main and Forest Streets in the center of town when President Young visited the community. However, according to tradition, he led them here to “Sagebrush Hill,” the highest point on Main Street and said, “This is the spot for your Tabernacle.” The selection of this site insured that the building would be visible for many miles across the valley. President Young and his territorial surveyor Jesse W. Fox laid the cornerstones on 9 May 1865.
Construction proceeded slowly as local manpower was diverted to completing the transcontinental railroad. Work on the building resumed in earnest in 1876, mostly with donated labor. Local craftsmen used quartzite, sandstone and lumber from the nearby mountains. Women donated produce from their gardens and eggs laid on Sundays to sell for the needed cash for glass and other materials that could not be produced locally. Fourteen years after Brigham Young laid the cornerstone, the first meeting in the partially completed building took place on 27 May 1879.
As originally built, the Tabernacle was sturdy but plain in appearance. However, in 1889, a conference of the Box Elder Stake voted to “complete” the building. In the following months, a tower, a gallery, a rear vestibule, brick buttresses with decorative caps, and other improvements added to beautify the structure. Church President Wilford Woodruff dedicated the finished building 28 October 1890.
On Sunday 9 February 1896, as people began to assemble for afternoon services, a fire started in the furnace room. No one was injured but despite frantic efforts, only smoke-blackened stone walls remained an hour later. Stake President Rodger Clawson supervised reconstruction over the next thirteen months. The new Tabernacle was even finer than the old, with elegant woodwork, a distinctive gothic/revival tower and sixteen graceful pinnacles. On 21 March 1897, George Q. Cannon, First Counselor to President Woodruff, dedicated the rebuilt structure.
Throughout the following years, the people of Brigham City and neighboring towns have preserved and maintained this beloved building. In 1971, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places, one of the first buildings in Utah to be so honorored. Beginning in 1985, an extensive restoration project replaced the mechanical and electrical systems, reinforced the structure, and carefully renewed both the exterior and interior to guarantee the continued preservation of this magnificant landmark. The 106-old Tabernacle was rededicated on 12 April 1987 by Elder Boyd K. Packer of the Council of the Twelve Apostles, a native of Brigham City.
The historic marker here is S.U.P. Marker #21, see others in the series here.
Box Elder Tabernacle- Built 1867-1890 Pioneer settlers used stone and wood from nearby mountains and their finest craftsmanship to built this place of worship. It was finished and dedicated in 1890. Six years later in 1896, it was gutted by fire and had to be rebuilt. The building was finished and rededicated in 1897.
The Knudsen Cabin, built by Porter Squires for Wilhelm and Laura Amelia C. Knudsen. In 1855 was one of the first permanent structures in Brigham City. Located on the corner of First East and First South, the original cabin was 14 feet x 16 feet. It had a lot running the full length of the inside walls and was entered by means of a small square outside door just below the gables. Six of their thirteen children were born in the cabin during the years from 1856-1865.
The Cabin was moved to Rees Pioneer Park in 1929 where it could be preserved as a typical pioneer dwelling. The move cost $15.00. Charles Squires, son of the original builder, was hired to do some restoration work for $221.00. It was dedicated September 8, 1929.
In 1993 Box Elder South Company Daughters of Utah Pioneers made arrangments to lease enough land to form a yard around the cabin permitting removal of the 1948 cover which had largely obscured it from view. Renovation and restoration followed including installation of a clay floor, cedar roof and half-loft; and planting of old fashioned flowers in the yard and furnishing the cabin with pioneer originals and replicas – all combining to create more fully the atmosphere of a 1855 pioneer home. Bronze plaque on chimney of cabin: Pioneer Cabin built by Porter Squires 1855 for Wm. Knudsen moved to this location 1929 by Box Elder County Daughters of Utah Pioneers.
(Information from Wikipedia)
Brigham City is a city in Box Elder County, Utah. The population was 17,899 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Box Elder County. It lies on the western slope of the Wellsville Mountains, a branch of the Wasatch Range at the western terminus of Box Elder Canyon. Brigham City saw most of its growth during the 1950s and 1960s, but has seen a struggling economy and stagnating growth since then. It is near the headquarters of ATK Thiokol, the company that created the solid rocket boosters for the Space Shuttle.
Brigham City is known for its peaches and holds an annual celebration called Peach Days on the weekend after Labor Day. Much of Main Street is closed off to cars and the festival is celebrated by a parade, a car show, a carnival, and other activities. The The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) recently completed building a temple in downtown, which is the 14th in Utah.
Mormon pioneer William Davis first explored the Brigham City area in 1850. He returned with his family and others a year later to create permanent homes. Brigham Young directed Lorenzo Snow to create a self-sufficient city at the site in 1853. Snow directed both religious and political affairs in the settlement, eventually naming it Box Elder in 1855. Brigham Young gave his last public sermon there in 1877 shortly before his death and the name of the town was changed to Brigham City after the church president. In 1864, the cooperative movement began in earnest with the creation of a mercantile co-op store and was an important element of the United Order of Enoch. Other industries were added, and the Brigham City Co-op is widely recognized as the most successful of the Mormon Co-op ventures. Economic hardships brought an end to the Co-op in 1895, though the Co-op had first started selling businesses off in 1876.
World War II brought a major economic boost to the city. The federal government created Bushnell General Hospital on Brigham City’s south side to treat soldiers wounded in the war. Locals sold supplies and food to the hospital while hospital staff patronized local businesses. After the war, the hospital’s buildings were used as Intermountain Indian School. Many young Native Americans attended the boarding school until it closed in 1984, although the Intermountain “I” on the mountain is still visible in tandem with Box Elder High School’s “B”. The facility has left its mark in a number of other ways, with most of the buildings still standing. Some have been converted into businesses and condos, while others remain empty.
