| OCR Text |
Show THE EPHRAIM UNITED ORDER COOPERATIVE BUILDING The Ephraim United Order Cooperative Building is significant in two ways. First~ and it is perhaps Ute best remaining example of a local cooperative store, ~econdly, it was the first home of Snow College. The Cooperative movement was developed by L.D.S. Church officials in response to the increasing number of Gentile settlers in Utah. The basic phil osophy of the movement was that rather than tradi ng with the "outs i ders, Mormons should deal only with a local cooperative store. II These local co-ops were to be supplied by a parent store, Zions Cooperative Mercantile Institution, located in Salt Lake City. The cooperative movement in general was calculated to increase production, cut down costs, make possible a superior organization of resources, and heighten the spirit of unity and "temporal oneness" of the church members. By 1878, just a decade after the founding of the parent in- stitution, over one hundred fifty local cooperatives had been established. The two-story cooperative building in Ephraim served not only as an economic center, housing the cooperative store on the first floor, but also as a social center. The second floor was constructed as a Relief Society meeting hall and a recreation hall. Snow College was established in 1888 as the Sanpete Stake Academy. Be- cause funds were not available for the construction of a building, the hall above the cooperative store was secured. floor of the co-op store unti 1 1900. The Academy occupied the second In 1902 the name was changed from San- pete Stake Academy to Snow Adacemy, which in turn became Snow Normal College in 1917. |
