Tag Archives: Mercantile Buildings

Johnson Hall–Deseret Mercantile Building

25 Monday Dec 2023

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Johnson Hall–Deseret Mercantile Building

The Johnson Hall/Deseret Mercantile Building is a complex of two buildings located at 4 West Main Street in Grantsville, Utah. Both buildings are two-part commercial-style blocks constructed of brick with Victorian Eclectic details. The older building is the Deseret Mercantile Building to the west (left), which was constructed around 1890. Johnson Hall, the larger building to the east (right), was built in 1898, with a design to adjoin and complement the older building. Together the two buildings form the best-preserved section of Grantsville’s historic Main Street. The two buildings were remodeled jointly in 1953, and also partially restored in 1982. In the past, the Deseret Mercantile Building to the west has used a separate address: 6 West Main Street. Today the two buildings share an address and are known as the Grantsville Drugstore. However, historically, they were distinct entities though occasionally referred to jointly as the Johnson Hall or the Johnson Building.

The building is located at 4 West Main Street in Grantsville, Utah and was added to the National Register of Historic Places (#05001628) on February 3, 2006.

The Deseret Mercantile Building, built circa 1890, is a two-story commercial block approximately 24 by 45 feet. It was constructed of brick on a stone foundation. The yellow face brick is laid in common bond with headers every seventh course. The building faces south and the built-up roof slopes to the rear behind a stepped parapet. The parapet is the main feature of the facade. The parapet has a three-course coping. Colossal brick pilasters are located at each corner. Each pilaster has a corbelled brick cap. Between the pilasters is a corbelled cornice. The upper floor has two windows. Historic photographs indicate the original windows were one-over-one, double-hung windows in a wood sash and sill. Each had a rowlock brick hood. A string course of dentilated brick tied the two windows visually. Beneath the windows was a dogtooth soldier course. Originally signage was painted in the blank spot below the windows. The lower portion of the fa9ade has been remodeled several times. Historic photographs show a central entrance flanked by pairs of double-hung windows. All three openings had rowlock brick accents.

In the early 1950s, the storefront was remodeled with large plate glass windows and a recessed entrance. The lower portion had been covered with stucco by the mid-1970s (date unknown). During a 1982 rehabilitation, the central entrance was removed and replaced with a third storefront window. The bulkhead was rebuilt across the façade and there is currently no front entrance to the building. At the same time, the windows were replaced with one-over-one fixed framed. There is a full-width awning (circa 2000) across the storefronts. The secondary elevations are plainer. The east elevation was obliterated by the construction of Johnson Hall in 1898. The west elevation, like the façade, has stucco on the lower portion. There are two upper windows (also 1982 replacements), and a window and door (original, but not in use) on the main level. On the rear (north) elevation are two upper windows (one blocked) and a loading door at the northwest corner of the main level (also blocked). The interior has also been remodeled several times, but the essential spaces remain the same. The upper floor was originally divided into apartments (1930s) and offices. The lower floor remains fairly open as a retail space and a storeroom in the rear. Interior openings were added between the common wall of the two buildings in 1953 (south side) and 1982 (north side).

When Johnson Hall was built adjoining the Deseret Mercantile Building in 1898, the builder, James Jensen, took care to create a visual continuity between the two buildings, making them a cohesive unit. The façade of the two-story Johnson Hall is divided into three bays by three colossal pilasters. The east pilaster of the west building also doubles as the fourth (west) pilaster of Johnson Hall. The end pilasters are identical. The central pilasters extend above the main parapet to create a brick signboard where the painted words “Johnson Hall” and “A 1898 D” are lightly visible. A castellated parapet of brick flanks the signboard. The corbelled cornice of the Deseret building extends along the façade of Johnson Hall. There are three openings on the upper floor: a central door and transom (now a circa 1980 four-panel replacement), and a pair of double-hung windows in the flanking bays. All have segmental-arched rowlock hoods, similar to the west building. The upper door originally led out to a full-width wood balcony (removed in 1953). The doors and windows on the façade were boarded-up by the 1970s, but restored in 1982. Originally, the lower portion of the façade had pairs of double-hung windows similar to the upper floor. The main entrance was a double door. The storefront was remodeled in 1953 with plate glass windows and a recessed entrance. The lower portion was covered in stucco by the 1970s. The storefront has had only minor alterations since then. There are three blue awnings (circa 1995) in
the three bays.

( This was added to the National Register of Historic Places (#05001628) on February 3, 2006 and is located at 4 West Main Street in Grantsville, Utah )

Johnson Hall measures approximately 32 feet by 71 feet. It was constructed of red brick laid in a running bond. The inner walls are adobe. The foundation is stone, but has been encapsulated in concrete except at the rear (north) elevation. The roof is a low-pitch simple gable visible only on the rear (north) elevation. The east elevation along Hale Street is divided into three wide bays by brick pilasters similar to the south elevation. The castellated parapet is not stepped. Other details of the fa9ade are continued on the east elevation, including the corbelled cornice, dentilated stringcourse, and the rowlock window hoods. Each bay includes two windows with 1982 replacement windows. The lower portion of the elevation has been covered in stucco, now painted a rust color. In 1953, windows on the lower portion of the east elevation were removed and are not visible today. There is a door opening and a concrete stoop at the north end, which is currently blocked. The north (rear) elevation has three upper windows (all blocked). On the main level is a double-wide loading door, which is currently filled-in except for a couple of square replacement windows (circa 1982). The back door (not original) and a concrete stoop are located at the east end. At the northwest corner is a brick chimneystack. This elevation has several historic anchor ties. There is a portion of the west elevation visible where Johnson Hall extends beyond the adjoining building. This elevation is blank except for one upper window. On the interior, Johnson Hall is divided between the main floor retail space and the open upper floor (originally a ballroom). The retail space has a counter to the rear. There are two storage rooms and a restroom leading off a short hall. The interior of Johnson Hall has been remodeled (circa 1950s through 1980s), but retains its historic feel.

The two buildings share a .037-acre parcel. The setback on Main Street allows only for the sidewalk space.
Benches, planters, and a trashcan are next the buildings. Along the east elevation (Hale Street) is a sidewalk and a parking strip of grass. The west elevation is almost at the property line with only a few shrubs and a wood fence near the building. There is a residence on the next parcel to the west. In the rear, the parking area is gravel. There are a few vines growing on the building and a birch tree nearby, but no other landscaping. There are no outbuildings, only a dumpster at the rear of the property. Johnson Hall and the Deseret Mercantile Building are among a handful of historic commercial buildings on Grantsville’s Main Street. The city’s historic commercial buildings are not grouped together, but distributed among the historic homes and newer buildings of the streetscape. Because of their size and historic upper-floor details, the two connected buildings are a landmark in the neighborhood. The buildings are in excellent condition and contribute to the historic resources of Grantsville.

The Johnson Hall/Deseret Mercantile Building, constructed as separate buildings in 1898 and circa 1890 respectively, and joined into a single-use building in 1953, is significant under Criteria A and C for its association with the economic and social development of Grantsville, and a contribution to its architectural resources. The property is eligible within the Multiple Property Submission: Historic and Architectural Resources of Grantsville, Utah, 1850-1955. The historic evolution of the building spans all three of the MPS historic contexts: “Mormon Agricultural Village Period, 1867-1905,” “Impact of Technology and Transportation Period, 1905-1930,” and the “Economic Diversification Period, 1930-1955.” The original owners were three Johnson brothers (Charles A., Alex, and Leo), who between them made significant contributions to the economic development of Grantsville. The buildings served a variety of purposes, including general store, dance and social hall, bank, post office, and drugstore. The building is architecturally significant for a unity of design (although the two buildings were constructed several years apart) and rich detail in the brickwork. The building is an excellent example of Victorian Eclectic ornamentation in a turn-of-the-century commercial block. Johnson Hall was built by James Jensen, a mason and contractor, living in Grantsville. The two joined buildings are the best-preserved historic commercial blocks on Grantsville’s Main Street. The two buildings are being nominated together because of an associated history, which includes a combined design, ownership, and more recently, usage through most of the historic period. The Johnson Hall/Deseret Mercantile Building complex is a contributing historic resource in Grantsville, Utah.

Santa Clara Merc

12 Wednesday Apr 2023

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Santa Clara Merc

Right from the beginning, the Santa Clara Merc developed a presence on the main street of this small western town. Morphing from a one-room operation to a small, free-standing unit to a thriving mercantile that supplied needed essentials to residents and jobs for many of its youth, the Merc was the heart of Santa Clara. The building’s design is simple, reflecting the austere modern influence of the times with little architectural ornamentation, but the operation of the business wove a rich legacy. The story began long before construction took place, and it is best remembered through the writing of Ethel H. McArthur, a woman who personally knew the history.

The early citizens of Santa Clara were tired of having to go by wagon to St. George for their meager supplies, so a group of them got together and decided to open their own store. None of them had any experience running a mercantile business, but they chose John G. Hafen to be the manager… Before long, Grandpa Hafen bought the other stockholders out and with the small capital of ten dollars began to build up a mercantile business of his own. His work took him from home so much that the work in the store was done largely by grandmother.

The store was a small room in their home, but the business continued to increase, so in 1900 a small brick building was erected adjoining their house. The business remained at this location even though grandpa retired in 1917 and sold the business to his son Adolph and two grandchildren. It continued to be a general store, handling all varieties of goods needed by a community. It was the only mercantile ever established in Santa Clara.

In 1928 a new modern building of concrete brick and adobe was constructed one block west of the original site. It was a much larger store and also had space for a large garage. The garage was rented to the Stucki & Wittwer Produce Company, and gas pumps were installed outside the store.

The new store was named the Santa Clara Coop and was still owned by the Hafens. In the late 1930s merchandise became extremely difficult to buy, and the inventory dwindled to almost nothing. The store was sold to Adolph’s daughter Ethel and husband Horace McArthur. They moved home from California and took over operations on September 1, 1945. The majority of Adolph’s business was run on credit, and this tradition became a way of life when dealing with McArthur’s Santa Clara Merc.

Horace and Ethel expanded the store and its merchandise. The Merc was known to sell dishes, appliances, horseshoes, nails, dresses, shoes, fabric, toys, and the town’s first television. In 1960 Horace’s son Douglas was made manager, and he and Ethel operated the business until July 1, 1986. The business started by John G. Hafen was then sold, leaving family hands for the first time in more than one hundred years.

The Santa Clara Merc continued to operate for another ten years until the competition of modern supermarkets forced it to close.

3097 Santa Clara Drive in Santa Clara, Utah

Santa Clara Coop 1930s
Santa Clara Merc 1980s

Brigham City Co-op Store

30 Tuesday Aug 2022

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Built in 1890, the mercantile store was the last building constructed from the Brigham City Co-op. Three years after the store opened, a fire destroyed the business a year before the cooperative organization closed.

First Security Bank bought the building on July 29, 1942

Located at 5 North Main Street in Brigham City, Utah and is #11 in the Brigham City Historic Tour and #198 of the S.U.P. historic markers.

Farmer’s Union Building

25 Friday Feb 2022

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Farmer’s Union Building

The Farmer’s Union is significant for housing the Farmer’s Union Mercantile Institution, the first commercial enterprise in Layton, Utah. The building was the first prominent business structure erected in Layton and served as the community’s primary meeting hall, social center and recreational facility. The building played an important role in Layton’s successful attempt to become independent of nearby Kaysville, Utah. The Farmer’s Union is also important for its close association with the lives of leading business, civic and religious figures of early Layton, including Ephraim P. Ellison, Christopher Layton and George Washington Adams.

12 S Main Street in Layton, Utah – Added to the National Historic Register (#78002656) November 30, 1978.

Layton, Utah was founded in 1850 by William Kay, Edwards Phillips, John Green and Elias Adams, converts to the Mormon Church. Located along creeks in a popular trapping and grazing area, the small settlement grew slowly and was for many years considered part of a larger nearby community named Kaysville. As the settlement assumed an identity as an independent community it attempted to separate itself from Kaysville and become an incorporated town. Kaysville leaders were unwilling to approve the incorporation, however, on the premise that a severe loss of tax revenue would result. Determined to demonstrate that the unnamed settlement justified independent status, area leaders, lead by Ephraim P. Ellison, attempted to establish a bona fide business district and challenge the right of Kaysville to impose taxes on it. A small one-story frame building belonging to Christopher Layton was moved from Kaysville to the site of the present Farmer’s Union and the commercial district had its beginning. The relocated building housed the Farmer’s Union, an organization established in 1882 as the Kaysville Farmer’s Union. As E.P. Ellison, who was superintendent of the store and Christopher Layton, the building’s owner, were both part of the faction opposed to paying taxes to Kaysville, the name Kaysville was dropped from the store’s name. The new town was named Layton and pushed for incorporation. As a final measure to insure the independence of Layton as a town entity, Ellison, Layton and others combined their capital and in 1890 had constructed an impressive two-story, Victorian-styled store of brick and stone with metal trim. This building which was expanded in size in the late 1890’s and again in 1930, housed the growing Farmer’s Union institution. The building, besides functioning as a store, was the headquarters of the group responsible for the movement to organize a new town. In addition, the store played an important role in the 1891 Utah Supreme Court case of Ellison versus Lindford in which Chief Justice Charles S. Zane ruled that property of E. P. Ellison which had been confiscated and sold for tax purposes in 1889 had been done illegally in that the “little place called ‘Layton’ in a country road leading to the city (of Kaysville) proper” was too far from Kaysville to receive any benefit from taxes levied. On the same day as the court decision, Feb. 4, 1891, Layton became an incorporated city.

The Farmer’s Union continued to play a significant role in the burgeoning community of Layton. Its major tenant, the Farmer’s Union of Layton, was incorporated in 1909 and functioned as a general store, bank, and post office. The upper floor was used as a public hall and community center. For many years, regular weekly dances with a live orchestra were held there. Church events, basketball games, political meetings, club parties and promotional events by traveling salesmen were among the varied uses of the second story hall. As the building expanded to the north and other meeting places became available in town, the second floor was converted to residential apartments which are still extant. The Farmer’s Union business was dissolved in 1956. After which the building was used by various retail establishments. At present, the building is vacant and awaits restoration by its owner, the First National Bank of Layton.

The Farmer’s Union is significant for its close association with the lives of many of Layton’s early town leaders. Ephraim P. Ellison, its manager, president, and biggest stockholder, maintained his office in the building. He was the chief organizer and president of the Davis and Weber Counties Canal Co. which made possible the agricultural development of that area. Ellison was the major figure in the Layton Milling Co, First National Bank of Layton, Layton Sugar Co., Ellison Ranching Co., and Ellison Milling and Elevator Co. He also served as president, director or manager of the following: Clearfield State Bank, Pingree National Bank, Deseret National Bank, Knight Sugar Co., Beneficial Life Insurance Co., Amalgamated Sugar Co., Western Ore and Purchasing Co., Utah Ore Sampling Co., Weber River Water Users Association, Ogden Sugar Factory, Knight Woolen Mills and several others. Ellison was involved with mining magnate Jesse Knight in many enterprises, was a financial counselor to the Mormon Church and served his church in numerous leadership capacities.

Christopher Layton, another prominent figure in the development of Layton and the Farmer’s Union had served in the Mormon Battalion and helped colonize Cardon Valley before settling near Kays Creek in 1858. A shrewd businessman, Layton became a successful ranger, farmer and miller and sat on the first territorial legislature. In 1862 he became the first Mormon bishop in Kaysville. A popular colonizer, Layton was sent by his church leaders to establish settlements in remote parts of Utah and Arizona. Cities were named after him in both states. Layton was a director of Zion’s Cooperative Mercantile Institution (Z.C.M.I.) and like Ellison, directed and owned stock in many corporations. A polygamist with ten wives, one of his interesting enterprises was a steamship line which he operated on the Great Salt Lake.

George Washington Adams, Elias Adams, Jr., John Ellison, Thomas W. Hodson, Joseph Samuel Adams, William N. Nalder, Richard Felling and Alexander Dawson were other important citizens who were closely associated with the Farmer’s Union.

The Farmer’s Union was built in three sections, the first being erected in 1890, the second shortly thereafter, and the third in 1930. As originally built, the Farmer’s Union was a two-story store located slightly south of the southwest corner of Gentile Street and the old State Road, Layton’s primary downtown intersection. The building had a pent corner which faced the center of the intersection. It featured decorative stone, brick and woodwork and a scrolled pediment with the inscription: “Farmer’s Union, Established A.D. 1882.” The pent corner and pediment were removed when the 1930 addition was built. Also removed at that time were other Victorian ornamental elements belonging to the earlier two sections of the building. These included a coffered metal parapet wall, cornice, pinnacles with spiraled balls, and a paneled wooden bulwark. The original leaded glass transom windows and ornamental cornice grill have been concealed but are apparently intact.

Excellent documentation exists to substantiate the original appearance of the Farmer’s Union, including the architect’s original working drawings and early photographs. Structurally, the building has a brick superstructure with walls four bricks wide. The foundation walls are stone. The floors consists of standard wooden joists supported at midspan by a built-up girder over wooden posts. The roof is made of wooden trusses which are anchored into the masonry side
walls by metal rods and plates. The simple load-bearing, post-and-beam structural system was also employed in the two subsequent additions. As the building grew, care was exercised to match floor and ceiling heights. The plans of architects Anderson and Young for the final addition in 1929 called for the retention and duplication of all original decorative elements. A revised set of plans in 1930, however, eliminated the historical ornamentation, whether for reasons of economy due to the Depression, or “streamlining” to be in step with modern architectural trends, is not recorded.

In its present appearance, the Farmer’s Union, is a white painted brick building, two stories in height and is roughly square in plan. The building has two “front” elevations, the east and north, both of which have new fenestration along
the bottom floor but are fairly intact, except for the loss of the cornice, along the second floor. The east elevation features pairs of one-over-one windows within segmentally arched bays. Original wooden columns with Corinthian capitals adorn the center mullions of the older windows. They also feature foliated scrollwork in the arch panel. The window bays are set in planes which appear to be recessed because of pilasters which separate the bays. The north elevation is similar to the east with the exception that the windows are smaller and are contained within square bays. The “interior of the Farmer’s Union retains much of historic appearance. A small balcony has been added on the first floor level to increase floor space.

William Allen, the only architect practicing in the county at the time, designed the Farmer’s Union and its first addition. Alien, who became an architect in the 1870’s after taking a correspondence course, was responsible for designing most of the county’s landmarks until well after 1900. His better known works include: the Davis County Courthouse, Barnes Bank, West Layton Ward Church, Presbyterian Church, and Governor Henry Blood’s residence.

Scipio Co-operative Mercantile Institution

28 Friday Jan 2022

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Scipio Co-operative Mercantile Institution

This 1 1/2 story vernacular Victorian-style Scipio Co-operative Mercantile Institution Building, constructed and in operation by 1883, is significant as a material of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ Cooperative Mercantile system that started in 1868 and was organized in Scipio one year later. The co-op building was sold to a private party, E.M. Brown, in 1922, who continued to run it as a general retail store for several decades. The building retains its historic integrity and has recently been opened again as a retail store and museum.

Located at 110 North State Street in Scipio, Utah

Douglas General Mercantile

30 Thursday Dec 2021

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Built in 1883, the Douglas General Mercantile Store is locally significant as the oldest remaining commercial building in the town of Smithfield, Cache County, Utah. The town was founded in October 1859 as part of Cache Valley, which was itself settled in 1856 during the first stage of the Mormon colonization of Utah. William Douglas, who operated the store, began business in Smithfield in 1865, obtaining goods from the East and wholesaling them throughout the area. In 1883, when the building was constructed, it was one of only three such establishments in the town, and remains as the only physical structure tied to Smithfield’s early commercial history. The building has been associated with the commercial activity in the town through the firms of Douglas Mercantile, James Cantwell & Son, and the Union Merc Company since 1883. In addition, the building is the second oldest mercantile building identified to date that is located outside Utah’s heavily populated area known as the Wasatch Front, which comprises four of Utah’s twenty-nine counties. The oldest building is the Ephraim United Order Cooperative Building constructed in 1871-71. Also, the building gains added importance in the history of Smithfield because of its unique construction, the only one of its type in the town. Stone was used for the rear and two side walls in a rubble construction technique, while brick was utilized on the upper half of the façade and coursed sandstone for the
lower half. Thus, the building represents the use of four different building materials as wood was also utilized.

Located at 101 South Main Street in Smithfield, Utah and added to the National Historic Register (#82004113) on August 4, 1982.

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The town of Smithfield in Cache Valley, Utah, was tied to the early Mormon colonization of Utah. Part of what has been labeled “the inner cordon of settlements,” Cache Valley was itself settled in 1856, and Smithfield in 1859. As an agricultural region in northern Utah, Cache Valley aided in the supplying of goods not only to northern Utah, but also to mining regions in Idaho and Montana. Smithfield, which began as a settlement of dugouts and wagons, in 1860 became a village with houses arranged in “fort style” (forming a square where the rear portions of the buildings constituted the walls of the fort). It had been named Smithfield in 1859 for John Glover Smith, the first Mormon bishop, who exercised power in both church and civic affairs.

William M. and Cyntheann Merrill Douglas arrived in Smithfield in 1862. Douglas was born in Scotland in 1839, came to Utah in 1854 as a convert to the Mormon church, and settled in Salt Lake City. He established a general store in Salt Lake in partnership with Thomas Richardson. It was with Richardson that Douglas operated a store in 1865 in Smithfield. Goods were hauled from Chicago, Illinois to Ogden, Utah (about 35 miles north of Salt Lake), then to Smithfield by team. There, these goods would be wholesaled to nearby towns such as Richmond and Logan (eventually the Cache County seat). According to one local source, the indication was that Douglas and Richardson served as early distributors of general merchandise for the entire Cache Valley area.

William Douglas and Thomas Richardson were both called to serve missions for the LDS church in 1869, closing the store. In 1871 Douglas reopened his business in a frame structure. By 1883 business was such that the merchant could afford to construct the present wood, stone, brick, and sandstone building. Architecturally, the Douglas General Mercantile represents a unique type of construction in Smithfield, utilizing four different building materials–the only one of its kind in town.

In 1897 Douglas sold the structure and business to James Cantwell, who had settled in Smithfield in 1862. Cantwell served as the town’s postmaster and city councilman for nearly 20 years. The store operated as James Cantwell & Son until 1910, when it was sold to William L. Winn and Lorenzo Toolsen, who established the Union Mercantile corporation. Thus, the building served as a main commercial establishment for the agricultural town of Smithfield, and as it is the only remaining commercial building from the town’s early history, gains local significance and importance. Since 1964 the Smithfield American Legion Post has occupied and used the building. No immediate plans have been
made to rehabilitate or restore the building.

Glenwood Cooperative Mercantile

07 Friday Aug 2020

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The Glenwood Mercantile was erected by the United Order Building Board in 1878 as the retail operation of the Glenwood United Order. The oldest commercial outlet in Sevier County, it is one of the few remaining cooperative stores in all of Utah built during the United Order movement of the 1870s. Established in 1874 by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Glenwood United Order required all participating members to give over their property, receiving in turn, shares of the corporation. Prices in the store were set by the committee that also set local wages. The cooperative store was run by Bishop Archibald Oldroyd, president of the Glenwood United Order. By 1882 the Order was discontinued and the store transferred to private ownership. The name, Glenwood Cooperative, continued to be used.

In 1898 Neils Heilesen purchased the store and ran it until 1910 when he sold it to his son, Henry Edwards Heilesen. In 1912 the building was remodeled, and the pressed tin pilasters flanking the entrance alcove and the carved wood cornice were made part of the new facade. The name was changed to Glenwood Mercantile. It was operated as a store until 1952.

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Located at 15 West Center Street in Glenwood, Utah and added to the National Register of Historic Places (#80003960) on April 29, 1980.

The Glenwood Mercantile is significant as one of the few remaining cooperative stores in Utah built during the United Order Movement of the 1870s. The store is also significant because it is the oldest commercial outlet in Sevier County. locally the building represents a successful communal past where religion, economics and recreation intermixed. Its significance was documented as part of a comprehensive survey of Sevier County.

Glenwood, settled first as Glencove in 1864, was resettled in 1870 after the termination of the Blackhawk War (1866-69). This agricultural community included a number of kin-related Danish severs that gave the town strong social cohesion. Because of the lateness of Sevier Valley colonization, the cooperative and: mi ted Order movements came almost at the same time: Co-ops in 1873, Orders in 1874.

Mormon cooperatives were much more than mere business associations. Its members were local businessmen but its purpose was building up the kingdom of God and not individual profits. Cooperatives were instituted to free Mormons from the need for non-Mormon economic help. In 1873 Brigham Young took a more drastic step toward Mormon self-sufficiency by pushing for the creation of local United Orders. These communal enterprises followed one of four patterns: all private goods were “given over” to be returned as wages and dividends (St. George Plan) ; expansion of existing cooperatives (Brigham City Plan) ; use of the Brigham City Plan for the Mormon wards of larger cities; and, the total giving over and communistic design of the Gospel or Orderville Plan.

When the United Order was established in Glenwood, it absorbed the local cooperatives. Following the St. George Plan where all participating members gave over their property, receiving in return shares in the corporation. Dividends were small because the purpose of the Order was not individual profit but community development and, therefore, were restricted so that the order could accumulate capital to expand its industries.

The Glenwood Cooperative Store was the retail operation of the Glenwood Order. It was erected by the Order’s Building Board in 1878. This committee was composed of carpenters, masons, adobe makers, and plasterers. Their responsibility was to assess and implement the building of all structures in Glenwood. The running of the cooperative fell to Archibald Oldroyd, Bishop and President of the Glenwood United Order. Prices in the store were set by a committee that also set local wages. In theory both wages and prices were supposed to be in balance but many times they were not. The result was either liberal credit which hurt the store or quarreling among the members which hurt the movement.

The residents of Glenwood gave their almost unanimous support to the experiment and this helped keep the Order alive and successful until 1881. In 1882 John Taylor, President of the Mormon Church, withdrew exclusive church support for cooperative stores. He did so because many had lost their community-wide base and had gradually slipped into private ownership. In Glenwood after 1882, the cooperative store was run by previous Order members like Issac W. Pierce and Abraham Shaw.

The store was sold in 1898 to a private investor and resident of Glenwood, Neils Heilesen, who continued to use the name “Glenwood Cooperative”. This advertising practice changed when his son Henry Edwards purchased the store in 1910. After remodeling the building in 1912 he attached the title “Glenwood Mercantile” to the front of his “modernized” store.

The continued growth of Sevier County during the early 1900s gave rise to a competitive store, the Glenwood Cash Store. This period was also marked by a decline in agricultural prices so that by 1927 Heilesen had outlasted his competitor but was experiencing hard financial times. Yearly mortgages became a common occurrence. In 1930 Heilesen leased the store to the Texas Company. Their success was no greater than his own and in 1933 he resumed operation of the store. In 1952 the store ceased operation and has remained vacant up to the present.

The Glenwood Mercantile exists today as updated in 1912. It is a two-story commercial style structure, built of coursed, rough-faced ashlar. A gable roofed brick extension of one story is located at the west. A boomtown façade shields the rear gable roof. The symmetrically arranged street façade exhibits an upper wood cornice with a central frame parapet. Pour double hung sash windows mark the second story.

At the ground floor level is the indented double door entrance approached by steps. Flanking the entrance alcove are pressed tin pilasters. The cornice above the first floor is also pressed tin, as is the siding of the second story wall here. Large rectangular windows and transoms of the ground floor have been boarded up. Lintels of secondary elevation windows are wood. As the Glenwood Co-op, the structure exhibited a gable end street façade and was lacking ornament except for the sign located above the first floor which was replaced by a cornice. Façade piercing was a symmetrical three over three arrangement and included a second story door. The entrance area was not indented. Ground floor windows had multipaned, rectangular lights and shutters.

Milburn Mercantile Building

15 Saturday Feb 2020

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The old mercantile building is an awesome sight in Milburn, built in 1877 – the walls are still standing majestically in the beautiful little valley.

It housed a post office and general store downstairs and a social hall upstairs for dances and church meetings. There are foundations and steps of a school next door to the east.

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