Ephraim Co-op Building

When the Latter-day Saint church spun up a web of cooperative stores across Utah in the 1870s — more than a hundred and twenty of them — Ephraim's went up in 1871 from creamy local oolitic limestone. Its ground floor ran as a co-op, then a United Order store, then sold farm implements and fixed cars. Upstairs held a theater, a social hall, and, in 1888, the first classrooms of Sanpete Stake Academy — the seed of Snow College. Neglected for decades, the building was restored in 1989 and still anchors Ephraim's Main Street.

What the plaque says

Constructed in 1871-72 of local oolitic limestone, this Greek Revival style building is one of the remaining examples of the more than 120 cooperative mercantiles that were established by the LDS church between 1868 and 1878. The first floor was a strong part of Ephraim's economy beginning as a co-op, then as a United Order store, later used for farm implement sales, a car repair garage, and finally as part of Ephraim Roller Mill when a new addition connected it to the Relief Society granary to the south. That use continued into the 1950s, then, after decades of neglect, the building was restored in 1989-90. The second floor also served many purposes including a social hall, theater, Relief Society hall, and the first home of Sanpete Stake Academy, predecessor of Snow College when it began in 1888.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Ephraim Co-op — steps away
  The 1871 cooperative store that outlived the economy it was built to replace
• Ephraim — steps away
  Utah's Little Denmark and the home of Snow College
• Manti Temple — 7.0 mi
  A striking pioneer-era temple crowning a hilltop above the Sanpete Valley
• Manti — 7.2 mi
  Sanpete's first settlement, crowned by an 1888 oolite temple

More markers nearby

• Fort Ephraim Peace Treaty — steps away
• Ephraim Carnegie Library — steps away
• Indian Massacre — steps away
• Snow Academy Building — 0.2 mi