Brigham Young Academy

Brigham Young deeded a school into being here in 1875, and the institution nearly didn't survive its first decade. Classes opened in January 1876 under Warren Dusenberry, then Karl Maeser, in the converted Lewis Building on this ground. Fire gutted it in 1884, and the academy went homeless for eight years — borrowing rooms, then crowding into a ZCMI warehouse — until a grand brick building rose in 1892. Benjamin Cluff carried it forward from there, and in 1903 the academy Brigham Young planted became Brigham Young University. The first home is long gone.

What the plaque says

In October 1875, President Brigham Young executed a deed of trust to establish an academy. First classes were held in January 1876, Warren N. Dusenberry, Principal. Karl G. Maeser became Principal April 1876 to 1892. First school held on this site in Provo’s first brick structure, destroyed by fire 1884. Classes continued in temporary quarters, then in ZCMI warehouse until education building was dedicated 1892. During those years, A.O. Smoot, President of Trustees, arranged financing. Benjamin Cluff, Jr., Principal 1892-1903. Academy changed to Brigham Young University 1903.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Bridal Veil Falls — 8.0 mi
  A dramatic double waterfall cascading 607 feet into Provo Canyon
• Sundance Mountain Resort — 12 mi
  Robert Redford's intimate, arts-minded ski resort on the slopes of Mount Timpanogos, in the North Fork of Provo Canyon.
• Aspen Grove — 12 mi
  The mountain-base trailhead for Mount Timpanogos and Stewart Falls
• Alpine Loop Summit — 13 mi
  The 8,000-foot high point of the Alpine Loop, face to face with Mount Timpanogos

More markers nearby

• Provo's Liberty Bell — steps away
• Provo Woolen Mills — steps away
• Old Tabernacle Lintel Stone — 0.2 mi
• The Knight Block — 0.3 mi