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Show Ephraim United Order Cooperative Building, CoDler Main Street and 100 North, Cphraim (NR). In the late 1860 I S M::>:rlton oorrmunities were faced with the challenge of an ever increasing number of "gentile rrerchants" settling in Zion, especially with the ooming of the railroad in 1869. In resfOnse, church officials developed plans which culminated in the cooperative ITDverrent. The basic philosophy of this rroverrent was that Latter-day Saints should mt trade with "outsiders" but instead with local cooperative estab- lishrrents which would be supplied by a parent institution and which was organized in Salt Lake City in 1868 as Zion's Co-operative Mercantile Institution. Within ten years rrore than 150 local cooperatives were fonned fhrouthout the state. One of the best remaining exarrples of a local cooperative store is this structure /I ~~ ~_ l87l and oonpleted in 1872. distinguishing ~~ feature~ were 'Th.D the name "Ephraim U. O. Mercantile Institution" and a beehive encircled by the words "Holiness to the Lord " appeared originally on the front. The cooperative store occupied t1\e first floor and the seoond floor was aonstructed as a recreation ~l and as a Relief Society rreetirg hall, so the building becarre mt only an eoonanic, but also a social center for the oorrmunity. In 1888 plans were made for the establishrrent of the Sanpete Stake Academy and since funds were not available for the con structure of a builSing, the Relief Society Hall on the second story was secured. The hall was used by the Sanpete Stake Academy (parent of Snow College) until ~ ~ 1900. Architecturally the lirrestolle building isxx has Greek Revival features with the gable end of the building facing front, the ~ bracketed coDlice with retUDl and the syrmetrical proportions of window and door bays. Sorre of the decorative framing on the first floor is nON' gone, although the labeled lintels still frame the upper f:ront windows. |
