The Crosby Memorial Presbyterian Church and School of Salina

Erected in 1884 as a memorial to Helen Rutgers Crosby of New York City, this church and school was one of several Presbyterian Churches built in central Utah’s Sanpete and Sevier valleys under the direction of Reverend Duncan McMillan, Presbyterian Mission Superintendent in Utah from 1875 to 1917. The chapel has been renovated by Mr. and Mrs. Thomas W. Carter, in memory of Mrs. Carter’s mother, Mrs. Florence Mathew Gordon.

Located at 204 South 100 East in Salina, Utah and added to the National Register of Historic Places (#80003967) on March 27, 1980 – the text below is from the nomination form for the national register:

The Crosby Memorial Chapel in Salina derives its significance from its important role in the religious and educational history of central Utah, and also as an interesting example of late 19th century “charitable good works” as it was a privately endowed Presbyterian chapel.

Presbyterianism was established in Utah on June 11, 1869, with the arrival of the Reverend Melancthon Hughes to begin a pastorate in Corinne, Utah. Although begun with work in a Gentile boom town, Presbyterianism in Utah quickly became a determined missionary and youth education program aimed principally at converting Mormons.

As a religion whose own beliefs demanded an educated understanding of Christian doctrine, and whose style of religious organization was democratic, Presbyterians perceived Mormonism as a perversion, “a sort of cross between Roman Catholicism and Protestantism with vestigal marks of paganism, too eclectic to be evangelical and yet too evangelical to be wholly non-Christian.” Similarly, the authoritarian nature of the Mormon Church and its internal discipline was seen as “despotic suppression of liberty among its votaries and victims.” Convinced that Mormonism was both false and un-American, and, strengthened by the resolve that “Christianity and patriotism are natural allies . . . the Presbyterian Church discovered that it had mission work in Utah requiring intellectual strength, fervent piety, and executive ability.”

The missionary who epitomized these qualities, the Reverend Duncan McMillan, was also the man who brought into being the Presbyterian missionary strategy in Utah of offering superior educational facilities that would in time create an educated populace who would turn away from Mormonism. McMillan’s first venture demonstrated his ability to capitalize on available opportunities. Hearing of a group of disaffected Mormons in Sanpete County, he received permission from the Presbytery of Utah to proceed to Mt. Pleasant.

When he arrived on March 3, 1875, the Reverend McMillan found a group of potential converts in the Mt. Pleasant Liberal Club. These people were former members of the Mormon Church, either apostate or excommunicated, who had been growing in number since 1862 when a rift in the local Mormon Church organization had produced the defection of a sizeable number of Swedes. They had been joined over the years by others, Anglo-American and from the other Scandinavian groups, whose common bond was that they were now no longer Mormon. Politically they supported the Liberal Party against the People’s (Mormon) Party in territorial politics, but religiously they were adrift. Since they had progressed far enough in organization to have completed a Liberal Hall just the year before, the situation for the Reverend McMillan was well-nigh perfect … to have both a congregation and a meeting place.

The other situation from which the Reverend McMillan was able to profit was the poor quality of public schools in Utah. While Mormon communities had generally established schools as among their settlement priorities, the nature and product of this schooling left much to be desired. Lack of trained teachers and an irregular and often-interrupted school year meant that most children received an indifferent education at best, but often, none at all. Fashioning benches with his own hands, McMillan opened his first school in Mt. Pleasant on April 20, 1875, with 35 students in attendance.

After overcoming some initial financial problems and with the help of other ministers and a corp of dedicated female Presbyterian missionary teachers, McMillan would establish congregations or schools throughout Sanpete and Sevier counties and in other parts of Utah territory. His school at Mt. Pleasant would become the Wasatch Academy, still operating and listed on the National Register.

The Crosby Memorial Chapel in Salina was used principally as a school, with the small lean-to at the rear serving as the teacher’s quarters. There seems to have never been a permanent minister installed in this Church, which was served principally by the circuit-riding Reverend G. W. Martin of Manti. As was true for many of the smaller congregations, the Presbyterian presence in Salina was personified by the resident Presbyterian teacher. Acting as both teacher, missionary, civic worker, nurse, and being equally evangelical in matters of religion, education, and culture, these extraordinary women were undoubted assets to their frontier communities . . . although treated by local Mormons with considerable ambivalence.

Part of the Mormon distrust of these Presbyterian efforts was undoubtedly a resentment of being evangelized by what they felt to be a false religion. But the Crosby Memorial Chapel represents yet another cause for resentment; with the construction of this fine school facility with a full time teacher, paid for from sources outside the community, local Mormons could hardly escape having the same kinds of feelings that, say, the Chinese had about “rice Christians.” Although modest by many standards, these expenditures were clearly seen as a form of bribery and the Mormon response was to take the education and reject the religion. In 1889-1890 the Presbyterians had 36 mission schools, 4 academies, 65 qualified teachers. By 1897, as the system was being wrapped up, the Board of Presbyterian Missions announced that approximately 50,000 children had received some education in these schools.^ Considering the handful of Presbyterian converts gained from this effort, one can well understand the exasperation of one delegate to a Presbyterian General Assembly who is said to have lamented that “vast sums were spent on the education of future Mormon bishops and Sunday School teachers.”

The Crosby Memorial Chapel in Salina, now a private summer residence that is being gradually restored, is the kind of cultural asset that, in addition to its inherent charm and architectural interest, has the power to illuminate many interesting aspects of the late 19th century Mormon/Gentile conflict.