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In a deep hollow south of 3900 South, Uriah Nephi Smart built his tannery in 1880. This two story building was thirty feet wide and one hundred feet long. It was built of adobe bricks, which were made from clay taken from a bank north of the building site. The foundation was of red sandstone from Red Butte Canyon, and the lumber in the building was red pine from Millcreek Canyon.
There were eight large redwood vats on the bottom floor which were used to soak the hides, some in lime water to loosen the hair, and others in tannic acid to soften the hides.
Uriah Smart made his own tannic acid from pine bark, ground in a mill south of the tannery. He also made his own neat’s-foot oil used to soften the leather by boiling down animal bones in large cast-iron kettles.
On the top floor of the tannery the leather was fleshed and softened, sheep and goat skins were tanned, and the hides were stored.
This property was donated by Uriah Nephi Smart’s grandson, Rowland W. Smart.
Check out all of the historic markers placed by the Daughters of Utah Pioneers at JacobBarlow.com/dup
