Holladay's First General Store

Before this store opened, buying anything meant a trip to Salt Lake City or Murray. In 1869 an association led by Bishop David Brinton — the blacksmith at this corner — opened Holladay's first general store, the Big Cottonwood Cooperative. It was part of a wider Latter-day Saint experiment: cooperative stores owned by local stockholders but run under church guidance for the community's benefit, meant to keep trade and money close to home. From 1871 the store doubled as the post office under Brinton's son. A larger store went up just south of it in 1880.

What the plaque says

Near this site in 1869 opened Holladay's first general store, called the Big Cottonwood Cooperative, built by an association headed by LDS Church bishop David Brinton, the blacksmith at this intersection's southeast corner. Elsewhere and here, local LDS-related retail cooperatives were owned by stockholders but regulated by Church policy for the communities' good, here reducing the need to travel to Salt Lake City or Murray for supplies. In 1871, with the appointment of Brinton's son, David Branson Brinton, as a county postmaster,the store also served as community post office. In 1880 a larger store was built immediately south. In the early 1850s, main roads were made throughout the valley. One of them called County Road (today's Highland Dr.) was located here because nearby sprawling Big Cottonwood Creek beds made stream crossing much easier for horse and wagon. An east-west route came from Murray (today's Murray-Holladay Rd.), making this intersection a natural business center. Similar crossroads occurred at Holladay's eastern end. The Murray-Holladay Rd. bent northeasterly to follow the 1847-48 settlers' survey road. Within a few years another north-south route, called Upper County Rd. (today's Holladay Blvd.), crossed Murray-Holladay Rd. a mile east of here. These two intersections created Holladay's business centers.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Gilgal Sculpture Garden — 5.5 mi
  A surreal and eccentric sculpture garden hidden in a residential neighborhood
• Liberty Park — 5.7 mi
  Salt Lake Citys beloved 80-acre urban park since 1882
• International Peace Gardens — 5.9 mi
  A hidden garden where 28 countries are represented in miniature
• This Is The Place Heritage Park — 6.1 mi
  A living history village at the mouth of Emigration Canyon

More markers nearby

• The Expansion of 1849 — steps away
• Brinton's Blacksmith Shop — steps away
• The Lower Canal — 0.2 mi
• Holladay's First Church & School Bldg. — 0.2 mi