Bountiful Tabernacle

On 12 February 1857 ground was broken for Bountiful's landmark five-spire LDS tabernacle. It was built at a cost of approximately $60,000 using local materials and local labor. Augustus Farnham drew the plans for the 86-foot by 44-foot structure. The best artisans and craftsmen were employed in executing the plaster casting, hand carving, and the winding stairways. It was constructed on a rock foundation, and featured adobe walls with a red pine roof attached with wooden pegs. Bountiful was evacuated and its citizens sent to central Utah during the Utah War (1857-1858). As Johnston's Army approached, construction on the tabernacle was halted and grain was stored in its foundation. It took six years to complete the structure. A two-day dedicatory service on 14 and 15 March 1863 brought more than 150 visitors, including many dignitaries. Brigham Young presided while Heber C. Kimball offered the dedicatory prayer. The Bountiful tabernacle remains the oldest chapel in continuous use in the state of Utah.