First Presbyterian Church of Manti

Manti is Latter-day Saint to its bones, but for a time it had a Presbyterian mission too. This little Greek Revival church, built in 1881 of the same creamy oolite limestone as the temple up the hill, was one of a string of Presbyterian churches and schools planted across the Sanpete and Sevier valleys under mission superintendent Duncan McMillan. Its minister, G.W. Martin, arrived in 1879 and stayed until he died forty years later. The building still stands — a quiet reminder that Utah's frontier faith was never quite as uniform as it looked.

What the plaque says

This mission church and school constructed in 1881 of native oolite limestone in the Greek Revival style was designed by architect Peter Van Houghton of Salt Lake City. The church was constructed under the supervision of Reverend G.W. Martin who arrived in Manti in 1879 and remained in Manti until his death forty years later. The church was one of several Presbyterian churches built in central Utah's Sanpete and Sevier Valleys under the direction of Reverend Duncan McMillan, Presbyterian Mission Superintendent in Utah from 1875 to 1917.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Manti — steps away
  Sanpete's first settlement, crowned by an 1888 oolite temple
• Manti Temple — 0.4 mi
  A striking pioneer-era temple crowning a hilltop above the Sanpete Valley
• Palisade State Park — 4.2 mi
  A pioneer-built lake turned central Utah's favorite state park
• Sterling — 5.6 mi
  A highway hamlet and the doorway to Palisade State Park

More markers nearby

• Manti Bell Tower — steps away
• Manti Carnegie Library — steps away
• Manti City Hall — 0.4 mi
• The John Patton House (2) Markers — 0.5 mi