Construction of this building began under the direction of Bishop William Budge in 1869, ten years after the settlement of Providence. It was completed in 1873 at a cost of $12,800 and replaced a 32 x 16 foot hewn log structure erected in 1860. Reddish colored limestone, quarried near Dry Pole Canyon on the mountainside directly to the east, was used by head mason James Henry Brown in the 30 inch thick, 20 foot high walls. Known as “The Hall” and then as “The Church,” the meeting house had an excellent plank dance floor, a stage and proscenium at the east end of the hall, and a pump organ. It was a community center for dances and plays as well as religious services. In about 1877, a two-story rock vestry was added on the east. Other major additions and alterations were made in 1926, 1948, and 1968; however, the Old Rock Church of Providence is one of the best remaining examples of early Utah pioneer meeting houses.
This cabin, built about 1841 by Miles Goodyear, as far as known the first permanent house built in Utah, stood near the junction of the Ogden and Weber Rivers. In 1848 it was sold to Captain James Brown of the Mormon Battalion with a Spanish land grant covering all of Weber County. It was preserved by Minerva Stone Shaw and by her presented to the Daughters of the Utah Pioneers, Weber County Chapter, who placed it on its present site.
This is Utah Pioneers Trails and Landmarks Association historic marker #41, later adopted by the Sons of Utah Pioneers. Erected July 24, 1934 and located at the Weber County Daughters of Utah Pioneers Museum at 2104 Lincoln Avenue in Ogden, Utah
Lorin Farr 1820-1909 Pioneer-Religious and Civic Leader-Statesman
Lorin Farr was a Utah pioneer of 1847. He was a friend and staunch supporter of Joseph Smith, the Prophet, and assisted in the settlement of Nauvoo, Ill. Where he helped build the temple.
He was the first president of Weber Stake of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a member of the first Territorial Legislature and a member of the the convention that framed the constitution of the State of Utah. He assisted in laying out the original plat of the city of Ogden, organized the first city government and became its first mayor.
He build and operated the first grist mill and saw mill in Weber County and, with others, constructed the first highway through Ogden Canyon. Tullidge, contemporary Utah historian, proclaimed him “Ogden’s most representative citizen.”
This is Utah Pioneers Trails and Landmarks Association historic marker #45, later adopted by the Sons of Utah Pioneers (#177 in that series). Erected June 25, 1937 and located at the Weber County Daughters of Utah Pioneers Museum at 2104 Lincoln Avenue in Ogden, Utah
In 2011, the above plaque was retrieved from its original location at the corner of 21st Street and Washington Boulevard, when the structure it was mounted on was demolished. That was the location of one of Lorin Farr’s early homes. The Farr descendants and the Ogden Pioneer Chapter of the Sons of Utah Pioneers remounted it here in 2013, with appreciation to the Daughters of Utah Pioneers for allowing its relocation to this site.
This is a two-story adobe building with a rock foundation. The walls are three adobes thick and there are six rooms on each floor. Abbott served as Bishop of the local congregation of the Church of Jesus Christ of Later-day Saints for 27 years. His large home was a gathering place and hotel, offering lodging for weary travelers and visiting church authorities.
This is Mesquite Historic Marker #19 (see others on this page) located at 200 East Mesquite Boulevard in Mesquite, Nevada.
Tent Chapel and School, circa 1899. When Mormon settlers came to Mesquite Flats in 1894, they designed the southeast corner of this block as the Public Square. It was a place where the community gathered for many events. At this site a tent was set up circa 1899 for use as a chapel and a school. It was 16′ x 16′ with no windows, no heat, a dirt floor, and only logs to sit on.
Block School, circa 1922.
The Block School, so-named because it was made of cement block, had four classrooms and an auditorium. It stood on the southeast corner of the block until it was replaced with a new campus in the 1960’s. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints rented the schoolhouse for meetings and gatherings for several years.
Gymnasium, circa 1938.
This red brick gymnasium was built adjacent to the Block School and became the center of recreation for the community. The gymnasium was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1992. It represents Italian Renaissance REvival style architecture. Construction of the gymnasium was funded through the federal Public Works Administration (WPA) program.
This is Mesquite Historic Marker #9 (see others on this page) located at 51 East 100 North in Mesquite, Nevada.
The Mesquite High School Gymnasium was added to the National Register of Historic Places (#92000119) on March 10, 1992.
From the national register’s nomination form: The Mesquite High School Gymnasium is significant under Criteria C in the area of significance of Architecture. Built in the Italian Renaissance Revival Style, it is representative of the historic context “Schoolhouse Architecture in Southern Nevada’s Fifth Supervision District, 1870 to 1942.” It is significant as an example of its style as well as its rare use of terra cotta and tinted concrete brick. The Mesquite Gymnasium is illustrative of the School Support Building property type, and possesses the characteristics of that type in terms of its historic use, which reflected the expanding educational curriculums of the 1930s, and its functional design, which incorporated a central gymnasium with classrooms on the perimeter. The building is representative of the Custom Architecturally Designed Schoolhouse property type as well. It embodies the characteristics of that type in terms of the formality of its style, and the special attention paid to the spatial organization of the building’s uses.
School support buildings were important components of the expanding role of education that occurred beginning in the early 20th Century. Their function and necessary large size often required designs and methods of construction quite different from traditional school buildings. Almost always designed by architects, and usually in the formal styles, the school support building became symbolic, not only of educational reform, but also of community stature.
Funded by the federal Public Works Administration (PWA), the Mesquite Gymnasium was designed by Salt Lake City architect Miles E. Miller, and built by Salzner-Thompson, contractors. Miller also designed gymnasiums in the nearby towns of Bunkerville (1939) and Overton (1938) under the PWA program. The Mesquite Gymnasium exemplifies the public architecture sponsored by the federal relief programs of the Depression era. The federal government promoted subdued or minimal versions of the traditional styles associated with public buildings. Those styles were mostly drawn from Italian Renaissance or classical examples. They also promoted the use of modern, fireproof materials, particularly concrete and steel.
The design of the Mesquite Gymnasium illustrates that preference through its incorporation of elements of the Italian Renaissance Revival Style in a simple, straightforward manner. Stylistic features of the Mesquite Gymnasium that typify the Italian Renaissance Revival model are strict attention to symmetry at the principal façade, a division of the façade into three primary bays, and classical detailing of the cornice, entry frontispiece, pilasters, and doorways. The gymnasium entrance bay is designed with a pair of fluted classical pilasters flanking each side of the recessed, round arch doorway. The pilasters terminate at an ornate entablature and cornice that extends the length of the facade. Those elements are built of tan terra cotta. Although a common architectural product, its application on Southern Nevada school buildings is rare. The stylized frieze at the gymnasium eave is also decorated with terra cotta, in the form of medallions.
Aside from the application of terra cotta ornamentation and symmetry of the building, the design makes little additional reference to classical architecture. The balance of the gymnasium’s design is, however, in keeping with the concepts of minimalism, simplicity, and use of modern materials, as promoted by the federal government. Windows along the front of the building, which shed light into classrooms, are organized in groups of five and are tall, steel sash awning windows. Other windows are symmetrically located and also constructed of steel. Tall, arched windows along the rear wall of the gymnasium, now infilled, were also constructed of steel sash.
The use of brick-size, red-tinted concrete masonry units is regionally rare, but reflects the desire to use modern fireproof materials that simulated traditional clay brick. Although briefly popular during the 1920s and 1930s, the use of concrete brick was not economical and was soon replaced with larger concrete block, which required less material to manufacture and less labor to erect. The masonry work at the gymnasium is well detailed, with stepped back reveals at the building corners, and soldier courses at the water table and as a decorative band along the upper walls of the lesser facades.
John Pulsipher purchased the Tent School (Marker #9) and moved it across the street to this location to use as a residence. The following year he built a large adobe brick one-room house with walls three adobes thick. The tent was then converted to a kitchen by attaching it to the rear of the house and lining its walls with lumber hauled from Mt. Trumbull.
This is Mesquite Historic Marker #10 (see others on this page) located at 111 East 100 North in Mesquite, Nevada.
At this location stood Alf Hardy’s garage – with an open-air dance hall above the garage. It was a popular recreation spot for the community. A partial wall and railing 4-5′ high encircled the wooden dance floor, which was also used for roller-skating.
This is Mesquite Historic Marker #14 (see others on this page) located at 61 North Sandhill Boulevard in Mesquite, Nevada.
Charles Hardy, one of the first settlers in Mesquite, used lumber he brought back from Mt. Trumbull and local adobe to build the original large central room of his home – the other rooms were added later. The room was used as a bedroom, living room, school and church. The first school classes and church meetings held in Mesquite after its permanent settlement in 1894 took place in the home that was built on this site.
This is Mesquite Historic Marker #12 (see others on this page) located at 126 East 100 North in Mesquite, Nevada.
This is the oldest standing house in Mesquite and was continuously used as a residence from 1894 until 2003. The original portion of the house dates from circa 1880 occupation when Mesquite Flats was temporarily settled. The large rocks made the walls of the room 18-20 inches thick. An adobe lean-to was added later.
This is Mesquite Historic Marker #11 (see others on this page) located at 110 East 100 North in Mesquite, Nevada
This site was the location of a 5-room adobe brick home with a screened porch. The porch was later enclosed and became a store and the Post Office. As business grew, a separate store and Post Office was built adjacent to the home.
