The current Box Elder Stake Tabernacle, also known as the Brigham City Tabernacle, is a neo-Gothic tabernacle of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints rebuilt in Brigham City, Box Elder County, Utah by Mormon pioneers in 1897 after being gutted by fire a year earlier. The tabernacle continues to function as a meetinghouse for congregants of the Box Elder Stake and seats approximately 1600. It also hosts concerts and other special events and is open for tours during the summer. Given its unique architecture and importance to the community, the tabernacle was listed on National Register of Historic Places on May 14, 1971. A recently built temple stands across from the tabernacle.
The site for the tabernacle was chosen by LDS Church President Brigham Young, who after visiting a different site selected by local church officers, went atop "Sagebrush hill" the highest point along main street and reportedly stated "this is the spot for your tabernacle."[3] On May 8, 1865, Young assisted in laying the cornerstone for the tabernacle. Around 1880 meetings began to be held in a rudimentary structure without the tower, gallery, or buttresses. In 1889, it was voted to "complete" the building by adding a tower, a gallery, a rear vestibule, capped brick buttresses, and other improvements. The tabernacle was completed and dedicated on October 28, 1890 by Young's successor, Wilford Woodruff.
The tabernacle was gutted by fire in 1896, just 6 years after being completed in 1890. On Sunday February 9, 1896, as church members began to assemble a fire broke out in the furnace room, the building ignited and was reduced to blackened stone walls. Within a year the tabernacle was rebuilt with elegant woodwork, a distinctive gothic/revival tower and sixteen graceful pinnacles, and rededicated by George Q. Cannon on March 21, 1897.
In 1951 an organ from the Reuter Organ Company was installed. On April 12, 1987, LDS apostle Boyd K. Packer, native of Brigham City, rededicated the tabernacle after extensive renovations.
In the early colonization of the Utah Territory, church members were encouraged to construct tabernacles as a gathering place and a house of worship
Excavation work had begun on the Box Elder Tabernacle when President Brigham Young visited the site during a regular visit to Brigham City. The chosen site was located across Main Street northwest of the county courthouse. It was President Young’s opinion that the site selected would not be the best since it was in the center of the business district. He led church leaders to “Sagebrush Hill,” approximately three blocks south on Main Street. When the right place was reached, Brother Brigham tapped his cane on the ground and exclaimed: “This is where you will build your Tabernacle.”
The spot was well chosen. Water ran in three directions from the site, and it commanded a place of prominence on a mound slightly higher than the surrounding land. On May 9, 1865, after President Young was satisfied with the location, he had surveyor Jesse W. Fox gather some large rocks to be the cornerstone for the tabernacle.
The next eleven years saw little or no progress on the construction work. Mormon settlers living in Brigham City played a role in the construction and completion of the Transcontinental Railroad, which was completed May 10, 1869, at Promontory Summit with the driving of the “Golden Spike.” With the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad, along with the Northern Utah Railroad, construction work on the tabernacle was slowed. In 1876, the rock walls began to rise from footings laid years earlier and in 1879 the roof was completed. Though the building was not finished, the first meeting was held in the building on July 27, 1879.
The materials used to construct the tabernacle included readily-available, abundant rock from the nearby foothills and timber from the mountains. The rock had to be hand-quarried and hauled to the site by horse and ox team. Timber was from hand cut-trees, milled locally by water power, and handmade brick from local sources.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints completed a major restoration of the Tabernacle in 1987. The exterior stonework was cleaned and repainted. The brick on the buttresses was stripped of the dark red paint. Worn bricks were replaced and the pinnacles completely rebuilt. The exterior wood was repainted and the roof was repaired and re-shingled. New exterior doors were installed, keeping with the Gothic design. The interior was completely repainted with special attention given to the woodwork, plaster ceiling cornice and chandeliers. The heating system was reworked for better efficiency and new electrical and plumbing systems installed. New carpet was designed and installed, the organ was cleaned, re-voiced, and the case embellished to match the Gothic and classical décor.
The restored Box Elder Tabernacle was dedicated by Elder Boyd K. Packer of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on April 12, 1987. It has served the Brigham City area for more than 100 years. From its pulpit, most presidents of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have spoken sermons. It continues to be used in the community for stake conferences, other church meetings, and appropriate musical presentations.
Important Dates
Built on a site chosen by Brigham Young himself, the Tabernacle is an architectural gem. Take a free guided tour on the weekends during the summertime (May - October).
251 South Main Street
Brigham City, Utah