| OCR Text |
Show DESCRIPTION CONDITION CHECK ONE CHECK ONE -EXCELLENT -DETERIORATED 2£iJNALTERED ^ORIGINAL SITE 2LGOOD -RUINS -ALTERED -MOVED -FAIR - UNEXPOSED DATE. DESCRIBE THE PRESENT AND ORIGINAL (IF KNOWN) PHYSICAL APPEARANCE The First Presbyterian Church of Manti is one of five Presbyterian churches built in the 1880s in central Utah's Sanpete and Sevier Valleys under the direction of the Mission Superintendent of Utah the Reverend Duncan McMillan. The structures are located in Manti, Gunnison, Salina, Richfield and Monroe, a chain of small towns each of less than 5,000 people along U.S. Route 89, 122-162 miles south of Salt Lake City. Each church is built of native stone, and the four earliest structures share some similar details. The Manti Church, completed in 1881, is the earliest and most architecturally sophisticated of the five. It faces west, a tall one-story gable-roofed structure of oolite stone with Gothic Revival Style details. At the southwest corner of the front facade is a stone tower topped by a wooden belfry whose design is repeated on three of the later churches. Dr. T. D. Martin, son of the church's original pastor G. W. Martin, described the Manti building's construction in his "A Condensation of Presbyterian Work in Utah, 1869-1969t" "At a meeting of public spirited people April 20, 1880,.it was determined that a Presbyterian church be erected. A building committee was formed and instructed to make plans and contract for labor and materials. Architect Peter Van Houghton of Salt Lake volunteered his services free of charge. The two committee members, Andrew Nelson and George W. Spicer, conferred wtih builders and stone masons in the county regarding the stone work. Mathias Andreason of Salt Creek (Nephi) was the successful bidder at $1,057.25 which is at the rate of $1.75- per 25<cubie feet. The Jenson brothers of Nephi were the successful bidders for finishing the building including the tower, for $1700.00. A paragraph from the specifications reads as follows: 'Flooring shall be 1-1/4 inch before dressing, Black Balsom, tongued and grooved, hand drawn or machine, well done, Plastering, 3 coats, hand finished, chalk strip, where needed. Partitions ready for blackboard. . . ..' The corner stone was laid, with appropriate ceremonies April 22, 1881, and the dedication took place November 13th of the same year. The total cost including furnishings was $4,000. The church and school building is of oolite from the same quarry as the stone for the Manti (L.D.S.) Temple was taken. The structure is 30 x 55 feet and Gothic.style," Architect Peter Van Houghton was listed in Salt Lake City street directories in the 1880s as a Carpenter-Builder, living at 32 and 36 H Street in the Avenues district of the city. He probably followed the customary |
