The first LDS ward in Honeyville was organized under the
direction of President Brigham Young, just weeks before his death in 1877. Before the end of the year, they had staked
out the location of their new church building, to be constructed of stone. The year 1878 saw a great deal of work
constructing the new chapel and it was subsequently dedicated by President Lorenzo
Snow on January 5th, 1879. By 1892 the church was already showing
its age and $500.00 was apportioned to a general upgrade of the facility. That first church went on to become the
Tolman & Sons General Store, and stands still today (2018), having been
used for some time as a shed.
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| Tolman & Sons store as it stands in the 21st century (Jay Miller) |
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| Arched church window from the inside (Jay Miller - 2016) |
The Second LDS chapel constructed in Honeyville during the
year 1896, with the first meetings held there in January of 1897. That second church served the residents of
Honeyville until the current church (2018) was built in 1951. I have wished to find more pictures of the
first rock church while it was used as a church, but to no avail. However, with the second chapel, I have had
the great pleasure of recently meeting with Judy Johnson Hunsaker and her
husband Glade and found a treasure of photos and artifacts from the second rock
chapel. Judy’s father, Conrad, was the proprietor
of the Honeyville store, the same which is in operation still today (2018), building
it in the early 1940s. Conrad Johnson
was an early amateur photographer and was asked to photograph many church
activities. Below is a collection of
photos showing the second rock chapel, most taken by Conrad Johnson.
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| The second LDS chapel constructed in Honeyville (C.A. Johnson) |
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| Gathering of the town folk at the old Honeyville church (C.A. Johnson) |
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| Rostrum at the old Honeyville church - photos of missionaries hangs on the right (C.A. Johnson) |
The second pulpit built for the church is shown below (the
marble top is a later addition), as is the bishop’s chair, and a folding chair. The pulpit opens from the back with a little
latch, and inside that door is the inscription, “July 12, 1900. This is the 2nd pulpit. Made by W. S. Taylor at J. F. Merrill &
Co. planning mill. Wheat is 50₵ per
bushel. Beer 5₵ a glass. McKinley is president and re-nominated, hope
he gets there. C. Simmons.”
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| Front view of the old Honeyville church pulpit (Jay Miller, courtesy Judy Hunsaker) |
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| Back view of the old Honeyville church pulpit - note the latch (Jay Miller, courtesy Judy Hunsaker) |
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| Inside face of cabinet within the old Honeyville church pulpit (Jay Miller, courtesy Judy Hunsaker) |
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| Bishop's chair from the rostrum of the old Honeyville church (Jay Miller, courtesy Judy Hunsaker) |
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| One of the many wooden folding chairs used in the old Honeyville church (Jay Miller, courtesy Judy Hunsaker) |
The third, and current LDS chapel was constructed by the
local members in 1951 and dedicated in June of that year by Elder Spencer W.
Kimball. Over the years there have been
additions and many modifications, the largest being in 1989-1990 when much of
the church was gutted and remodeled.
Pictures of the current chapel appear below. As of this writing, Honeyville is home to 3
LDS wards.
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| Construction of the current (as of 2018) Honeyville LDS church (C.A. Johnson) |
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| In front of the LDS church shortly after it began use in 1951 (C.A. Johnson) |
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| Program for the dedication of the Honeyville LDS chapel (Judy Johnson) |
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| Inside the steeple during the remodel (Jay Miller - 1990) |
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| Remodeling the interior rooms of the church (Jay Miller - 1990) |
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| Honeyville LDS Chapel in 2013 (Google Earth - oops, I don't even have my own good photo to post) |
Honeyville boasts a Buddhist temple also, being a special
honor for a town the size of Honeyville. Many Asians first came to Utah to work on
railroads and in the mines. Utah, having
plenty of railroads and mines, quickly became a gathering place for Japanese
workers. Between 1900 and 1910, the
Japanese population in Utah rose from 400 to 2,000. In 1916, Honeyville was identified by the Salt
Lake Buddhist minister as the local gathering place for Buddhist among the
many Japanese farmers that were already settling in the small surrounding
communities. Now, a little tangent on –
sugar.
The search for 'sweet' drove a lot of enterprise in the early
settlements of the west. Molasses being
the only real source of a sweetener, there was a constant desire for the sugar
enjoyed by urban cities with coastal access.
When the Italian honeybee was introduced to Utah it created quite a
stir, and the development of the railroad made it feasible to raise the Italian
Honeybee in Utah. Still, honey was not refined
sugar. Germany had made strides in
growing and refining sugar beets, but early attempts in Utah were met with
failure. Once Utah was able to refine
sugar beets, it became a booming industry. One player was the Utah & Idaho
Sugar company, which in 1918 began constructing the office of what was to
become the Honeyville sugar factory. The
office was built, and the remainder of construction abandoned before completion
– no sugar factory was to be built in Honeyville.
In 1931, the Honeyville Buddhist congregation purchased the abandoned
sugar factory building to be their temple.
Little exterior renovation has taken place in these intervening years,
and the building continues to house an active congregation.
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| The Honeyville Buddhist temple - old sugar factory |
Stay tuned – I received a lot more pictures.
