First School & Council House in Iron County

Iron County's first school met in a wickiup, by firelight, with a single book. 'I commenced a grammar school in my wickiup by the light of the fire and only one grammar book,' George A. Smith wrote in February 1851, weeks after founding Parowan. A proper log schoolhouse followed that Christmas, and beside it rose the Council House — a hall forty-five feet long with a stage, which served as the social center of the whole county until the Rock Church was finished in 1867. In a town of dugouts, these were where Parowan gathered.

What the plaque says

"I commenced a grammar school in my wickiup by the light of the fire and only one grammar book." Diary of George A. Smith, February 25, 1851. The first school house, 18 x 24 feet, was built west of the Council House and dedicated December 25, 1851. This log Council House, 22 x 45 feet was erected in 1851 with a large stage, and it served as a social center for Iron County until the Rock Church was completed in 1867.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Brian Head — 10 mi
  Utah's highest town — a ski-and-bike base camp at the top of Parowan Canyon
• Parowan Gap Petroglyphs — 10 mi
  An ancient rock art gallery hidden in a desert canyon
• Panguitch Lake — 13 mi
  A Blue Ribbon trout lake at 8,400 feet on the Patchwork Parkway
• Cedar Breaks National Monument — 14 mi
  A 2,000-foot-deep amphitheater of vivid orange and red rock

More markers nearby

• Pioneer Sundial — steps away
• John C. Fremont — steps away
• Pioneer Rock Church — steps away
• Public Works — steps away