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Show NPS Form 10-900-a Utah WordPerfect 5.1 Format (Revised Feb. 1993) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Section NO. 8 Page 5 West Jordan Meetinghouse, West Jordan, Salt Lake County, UT narrow end. Some of the more substantial of these early buildings had Greek Revival or Gothic Revival features, though most could be described as generically classical, having plain but emphasized cornices and symmetrical fenestration. During this phase, the smaller meetinghouses were likely to serve a variety of functions such as schoolhouses, city halls, and social centers. 9 A second period of IDS Church tabernacle and meetinghouse architecture was ushered in by the ecclesiastical reforms of the late 1870s. Church membership had grown significantly during the 1850s and 60s. As the population increased, the system of ward organization that had been implemented during the initial years of settlement demanded attention. Beginning in the early 1870s, a general reorganization of the church commenced. The boundaries of many existing stakes were expanded to incorporate new areas of colonization. New wards were created in communities which had experienced substantive growth. Also, the administrative structure was solidified and channels of communication between Salt Lake City and the local branches were further defined. Along with the reorganization came a period of intense building activity. New stakes required new tabernacles and the creation of new wards meant constructing new meetinghouses; consequently a significant number of new religious buildings appeared throughout the state during the years between 1870 and about 1885. These buildings were generally larger and more substantial than those of the settlement period. The doubleaisled New England meetinghouse plan was commonly utilized, and both Greek Revival and Gothic Revival features were still in vogue. At this time also it became characteristic of Mormon communities to have separate buildings for different functions. That is, the meetinghouse or tabernacle was used exclusively for assembly, a special office was built to handle the collection of tithing, the women's church auxiliary had its own meeting hall, and so forth. Another result of this increased building activity was that many of the first-period structures were demolished to make way for the new ones. The expansion activities of the IDS Church were curtailed during the 1880s and 1890s as the leadership's attention was increasingly consumed by the struggle with the U.S. Government over the doctrine of polygamy. Under pressure from Congress, The Mormons disavowed the practice of plural marriage in 1890 and the way was paved for Utah to become a state in 1896. Nearly twenty years of political conflict, however, had left the church in confusion and disarray. Beginning in about 1898, a serious revitalization program was launched that included, among other things, a restructuring of the hierarchy, a return to financial solvency, a revival of faith and commitment among the membership, and a rebuilding of the church architecture. As a symbol of rededication, a massive church building effort was initiated in 1898 that lasted until around the end of World War I. This period of architectural development may be considered one of "activation", as the church moved to strengthen its institutional base in Utah and surrounding states. It was during this time that the first "modern" meetinghouses appeared. These multi-functional buildings gathered all the activities of the local church under one roof. Ward buildings now included an assembly hall or chapel, the offices of the bishop, a room for the women's auxiliary, and classrooms for Sunday school. Designs varied. On one side, a conservation faction within the church hierarchy favored the 9 Roberts, Alien D. "Religious Architecture of the IDS Church: Influences and Changes Since 1847", Utah Historical Quarterly 43 (Summer 1975): 303-311. X See continuation sheet |
