G. Michael Edwards
Riley Evans
History 2700
Service Learning Project
Pamphlet of the history of the Parowan Old Rock Church
The city of Parowan has a great interest in its history and heritage. Many tourists visit the small city to see and learn of its history. A surprisingly large number of people from allover the country have ties to Parowan.
A monument to first settlers of Parowan. Below the
statue is a plaque containing a list of all of the men who
were part of the first company. This monument is located
in Heritage Park. It is indicative of the great pride that
Parowan has in its heritage and history.
The beneficiaries and audience of this pamphlet are the patrons and visitors of the Parowan Old Rock Church, which is now a museum, and the Parowan Visitors Center. Every year, 2,000-3,000 people visit the Old Rock Church Museum. It is located in the center of the town square between Center Street and 100 South, and Main Street and 100 West. The museum is open every afternoon between Memorial Day and Labor Day. In the winter months it is open by appointment only. Lately more and more people are coming. Visitors are drawn to it when they have a desire to feel a connection with their ancestors or when they feel an interest in learning more about their family history. The building formerly belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Approximately 1920 the lease was lost somewhere between Church headquarters and the county courthouse The ownership of the building was taken over by the city. Maintenance is preformed by the city. Volunteers and members of the Daughters of the Utah Pioneers (DUP) have aided in maintaining the building and have helped with tours. Volunteers do not necessarily have to be members of the DUP, and volunteers are widely encouraged. The artifacts in the museum belong to the DUP. The DUP has helped the city with building the roof and securing a furnace.
The Visitors Center is located at 75 North Main Street in Parowan. It is visited by a steady flow of about 20 people a week. Many people come to learn about heritage and family roots. Carrie Shurtleff, who works at the Visitors Center, has been surprised with how many foreign people have come to visit lately.
A number of sources do exist touching on the subject of the Old Rock Church. This pamphlet will be of value because a pamphlet which is this specific is currently not available.
Patrons of the Main Street Visitors Center The Old Rock Church Museum
Two women have been particularly helpful in obtaining information. Carey Shurtleff gives tours in the Old Rock Church, and has done so for years. She was kind enough to conduct a personal tour and gave a lot of information. She is excited about our pamphlet and looks forward to it being available to the public. Mrs. Shurtleff also serves in the Parowan Visitors Center.
Janet Seegmiller at the SUU Special Collections, located in the University Library, has also been very helpful. She assisted greatly in finding many different sources housed within the archives containing information on the old church. She is very knowledgeable about the history of the Southern Utah area and has even recently published a book entitled A History of Iron County. This book provided a lot of valuable information.
Frankie Olive also supplied information. She currently lives in Ontario, California. Mrs. Olive is a descendent of William Cooke Mitchell, who was one of the original settlers in the Parowan Valley and contributed to the construction of the rock church.
The project had three phases. First research was conducted; second, a sample format was made; the final product produced.
The most difficult and time consuming part of the project was gathering information. Our families have numerous books about the town’s history. The University Library also has a lot of information. This information needed to be sifted through to find facts relevant to our project. The difficult part of this process was two fold. One, the shear amount of sources available and the selection of relevant facts. Two, while wading through the history of the town we would find stories and facts, not directly related to the church building, but which none the less were very interesting. In the process, I learned many things about the town’s history. For example, I learned about the cities’ old Carnegie library and the former three story school building, both of which were demolished and new buildings, not nearly as visually pleasing, were built as replacements. I was able to read about examples of sacrifice of the pioneer founders of the valley. There were also a number of entertaining stories dealing with relations with the Native Americans in the area, one of which was very humorous.
A sample format was made by typing a brief, but comprehensive history of the church and adding pictures to the text. We decided on a three-fold pamphlet because they are a convenient size, easy to read off of, fairly simple to make, and catchy. This sample format was taken to Jami Evans, owner of Lifestyles Promotions here in Cedar City. We were able to observe and help with the process of making the pamphlets so we could get an idea of what the whole process entails. The pictures were scanned into a computer. Then the selected information was entered in sections so it would be easy to cut and paste. Getting the format all set up took a lot of time to do. There needed to be three columns across the page’s width, and the tabs needed to be set so that could be accomplished. Now the text and pictures needed to be cut and pasted on the page. It was really hard to size the pictures to fit in between the text so they wouldn’t overlap. It took a lot of playing around, but it was done. They were printed off in the office so they didn’t need to be sent anywhere to be made, which is usually how a lot of things like this, especially in large quantities, need to be done.
The most popular book on the subject is History of Iron County Mission by Luella Adams Dalton. This book is published by Daughters of the Utah Pioneers and is currently in its 5th edition. It contains a broad range of the counties’ history; from its earliest days of exploration to the boundaries of Iron County as of 1950. Another book which was very useful in this project was A History of Iron County written by Janet Burton Seegmiller. This book contains similar information but has the perspective of more recent years.
The Museum Feasibility Study, Parowan Rock Church by Cindy Rice also provided great information about the dimensions of the building, the materials used in the construction, and how they were obtained.
The most interesting book is entitled Images of Parowan’s Past which was compiled by the Parowan Main Street Corporation. It contains a number of pictures of the church, one of which was taken before construction was completed and previous to any work on the belfry. This book also contains pictures of old demolished buildings and even a picture of my grandfather when he was in a play.
A useful site containing information about the history of Parowan is www.parowan.org. It has a general history of the founding of the city and also contains specific information and pictures of the old rock church.
Various stages of the project were preformed throughout the semester. Most of the time was spent on research. The last two weeks of the semester have been spent designing and making the pamphlet.
Through this project we have learned a lot of interesting facts about the Old Rock Church.
Ten Years after Parowan was founded, construction on the church was started in 1861. The building was to be used as a house of religious worship the Mormon Pioneers and also a place of civic and social gathering in which a number of events could take place. Throughout the years it has also been used as a town hall, school house, and campground for travelers. The pioneers had envisioned a three-story building made from yellow sandstone and the timber that was found locally. It was to be the center of the town square just as religion was the center of their lives. It was easily accessible to everyone and it could be found easily. Four lanes lead to the church from north, south, east, and west. These lanes still exist. The process of construction began in the fall of 1861 and was completed in 1867.
It was restored through the efforts of the Daughters of the Utah Pioneers in 1939 through a Parowan-sponsored WPA project. The structure now only stands as a museum, but it has several pieces of history inside that keep pioneer history and Parowan’s heritage alive. One thing that is inside which is very important to Parowan’s history is a portrait and other possessions of Alma Richards. He is Utah’s first Olympic gold medalist competing in the high jump in the 1912 Olympics in Stockholm, Sweden, setting a new Olympic record. Alma Richards is a great hero of Parowan, and he is honored in the museum. Other pieces of history kept in the museum are tools used by pioneers, furniture, handicrafts, farm equipment, many photographs of pioneers, war helmets used in WWI and WWII (personal favorites).
We learned a number of valuable things from this project. Perhaps the most valuable lesson learned was an appreciation for our heritage and our pioneer ancestors. In High School, our teachers tried to instill respect and a sort of reverence for our town’s history. Like many things our teachers said, it didn’t sink in as well as they intended. Many people in the community care so much for the history of this small little town. Growing up there, we could sense that. But we never really understood it. Through this project we learned much of our forefathers’ sacrifice and dedication. We learned to appreciate their efforts and their contributions have become more meaningful in our lives. Hopefully we can follow their examples and make our community a better place.
Rough Draft of Pamphlet
Parowan is one of the oldest settlements in Utah and the oldest community in the southern part of the state. The founders arrived in what eventually became known as Parowan on 13 January 1851. The Old Rock Church is often called the “Crown Jewel” of Parowan. It was built by the first generation of settlers. It stands today as great example of pioneer ingenuity. The founders of this city were virtually self sufficient. They were able to provide for their needs by using the resources which were available to them.
Parowan Minute Book I
November 17, 1861.
“Council meeting called to consider the building of a house for meeting. Calvin Crane Pendleton presided. Ebenezer Hanks, Daniel Page and Bishop William S. Warren were appointed as a committee to draft a plan and estimate the probable cost of a suitable building and report on Tuesday the 19th.
Parowan Minute Book II
November 19, 1861.
“The committee read their report and presented their plan for a building which was accepted by the council; The building to be 54 feet by 44 feet outside, with three stories to be built of rock from the foundation up; The basement to be divided into two equal apartments for school and other purposes. The room in the second story to be used for public meetings – the doors to be in the south and the stand in the north end of the building . . . Cost of the building when completed to be $8,000.00 to be built by subscription.
Parowan Minute Book III
November 24, 1861
“It was decided to build the house in the center of the public square and Bishop Warren called for subscriptions. Eighty-two men came forward and subscribed a total of $7,495.00 . . .
Ebenzer Hanks $250.00 Wm. Dalley 75.00
John S. Hoyt 75.00 Stephen Barten 50.00
C. C. Pendleton 100.00 Sidney R. Burton 50.00
Wm. Lefevere 100.00 Nelson S. Hollingshead 100.00
Peter Jensen 60.00 Orson b. Adams 125.00
Jesse Lowder 150.00 J. K. Paramore 100.00
Mark A. Coomb 100.00 Thomas Richards 50.00
Lorinzo Barton 150.00 Wm. C. Mitchell 75.00
Mortin Slack 50.00 Alex Orton 100.00
Paul Smith 100.00 -------------------- ---
Loren Mortenson 50.00 Wm. Holyoak 200.00
Wm. Rogerson 100.00 Samuel West 100.00
John A. West 100.00 Wm. S. Warren 250.00
Josiah Rogerson 50.00 John Burton (colored) 15.00
Wm. West 60.00 Wm. Adams 150.00
James Lewis 100.00 A. S. Haden 100.00
Hans Christensen 100.00 Wm. F. Hanks 50.00
James McGuffie 100.00 Wm. Davenport 100.00
David Ward (wheat) 100.00 James E. Parvill 100.00
Christian Rasmussen 50.00 John Topham 100.00
Joseph Fish 50.00 Henry Holyoak 40.00
Jorgan Hansen 50.00 Thos. Davenport 100.00
John R. Carter 50.00 Sidney Littlefield 50.00
Thos. Durham 50.00 Wm. Rowe 50.00
A. J. Mortenson 100.00 John Wardell 100.00
Horace Fish 100.00 Wm. A Newman 50.00
Wm. Leaney 50.00 Wm. Marsden 200.00
Samuel Rogers 100.00 Wm. C. Mcgregor 150.00
Edward Dalton 100.00 Neils Rasmussen 40.00
John Smith 50.00 John Rowley 50.00
Francis T. Whitney 100.00 Neils Mortenson 100.00
Marion Ensign 100.00 Morgan Richards 125.00
Silas S. Smith 100.00 Edward Ward 50.00
Abraham Smith 100.00 Daniel Page, Jr. 50.00
George A. Smith 25.00 Jens Neilson 125.00
John Steele 50.00 Collins R. Hakes 100.00
James Guymon 100.00 Herman D. Bayles 150.00
Robert F. Miller 100.00 George Holyoak, Jr. 100.00
Samuel Rowley 50.00 John White (paid) 30.00
Jenkin & Thos. Evans 150.00 Charles Y. Webb 100.00
Harry Dalton 100.00 Daniel P. Clark 125.00
Silas Hoyt 50.00 TOTAL --------------- $7,495.00
The structure is built of yellow limestone and timber which came from the local canyons. The builders, in anticipation of future growth, constructed the south wall with lath, studs, and plaster. This wall could be removed and the building enlarged. A matching limestone wall would then be constructed. However, this addition was never constructed and all four sides of the building remain in their original state. Wooden pegs and rawhide were used to fasten the beams and joists together.
Work on the building was conducted during times hardship. Men and women both worked hard on this project. Bishop Herman D. Bayles would take his young son with him to the work site. The boys job was to look towards their home (which was just south of the church) and tell his father when his mother would wave a dish towel. This was the designated signal that dinner was on the table. Bishop Bayles was back on the job in twenty minutes.
The men and women of the settlement had diverse talents and skills which were used in the building process. Some had experience in carpentry and others in masonry. Their talents were used to construct other beautiful houses of worship such as the Nauvoo, St. George, Manti, and Salt Lake LDS Temples. The interior bears a striking resemblance to the Salt Lake Tabernacle which also has a balcony on three sides supported by pillars.
Parowan is often called “The Mother Town” because many cities were settled by men and women from Parowan. Like all mothers do, this town sacrificed for the benefit of others in that many of settlement’s workers were sent elsewhere.
Although the building was not yet completed, meetings were held in the basement by the fall of 1867. The basement was finished in January of 1868. Thereafter the basement of the church was often the site of meetings and dances. A meeting was held in the chapel for the first time when Brigham Young came to town in April of 1870.
Originally, the seats were divided by a partitioning wall. Women would sit on the east side and men on the west. This was common practice for many Christian churches of the time. The partition was eventually eliminated. The story is told of Lorenzo Watson destroying this tradition. One day he walked in the east side and sat next to his wife. The Bishop was shocked that someone would dare do this; but from then on, church goers began to sit with their families.
The building was abandoned by the church in 1916. A beautiful new building was constructed. The Old Rock Church was used from 1917-1918 by Parowan High School. After 1918, the building was completely abandoned. The public square was used as a tourist campground. The building was abused. The steps and fences were used as fire wood and many of the windows were broken. In 1919 a new church was built just south east of the rock church.
The Daughters of the Utah Pioneers mounted a campaign to save the structure. They eventually obtained a 99 year lease of the structure and began the restoration process. Times were hard, and money was short, especially during the years of the depression. The lease was given to Parowan City so that funded W.P.A. labor could be used to repair the building. Throughout the years, various restoration projects have been completed. The Parowan Rock Church now serves as a museum preserving the history and heritage of Parowan City and Iron County.