WillhiteWeb.com
Mapleton Building
Matilda Wells Streeper donated one acre of land at this site for the building of a meeting house. A grove of trees was left on the lot to beautify the grounds. On August 26, 1888. Apostle Francis M. Lyman of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints organized the Mapleton Ward. Edwin Lucius Whiting was ordained as bishop, with William T. Tew and John Mendenhall as counselors. The first building, costing approximately $3,500, was started in 1889 under the direction of the building committee - Lorenzo Whiting, L.J. Whitney, and Charles M. Bird. It was made of light-red bricks with walls 12 to 14 inches thick. The building measured 58 by 30 feet. There was a large central room with tall, cathedral-style windows; colored glass at the top of the windows reflected beautiful colors onto the floor. The handmade, high-backed benches were made of pine. The benches were removable so that the floor could be cleared for dances and other socials. A large stove was in the center of the room, with supplemental heating from a small stove near the rostrum. The central room could be divided into Sunday School rooms by pulling heavy curtains across to make eight classrooms. A small room behind the pulpit was reached by going down several steps. Another door opened into a stairway that led to a small, special prayer room above the pulpit. Around the turn of the century, the building survived what could have been a disastrous fire. A bucket brigade quickly put out the fire in the attic. The original meeting house was dedicated on April 30, 1899, and served the people until 1936 when it was razed and the present meeting house built. The second meeting house was dedicated on April 28, 1941.
