L.D.S. Tenth Ward Square

When the pioneers laid out Salt Lake City in 1849, each of the original nineteen wards got a square for its public buildings. Only the Tenth Ward's still stands whole. Clustered here are the pieces of a complete pioneer neighborhood: the 1873 meetinghouse, the oldest built purely for worship; an 1887 schoolhouse that is among the earliest known works of the great architect Richard Kletting; the Gothic Revival church of 1909; and the ward store of 1880, joined to its bishop-proprietor's house. Nowhere else in the city does a ward square survive so intact.

What the plaque says

As a result of the organization of the original 19 wards of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints “Mormons” in Salt Lake City on February 22, 1849, ward squares or blocks were created on which the public buildings for each ward were constructed. Of the original squares, only the Tenth Ward Square retains the buildings which served the settlers’ spiritual, economic, cultural and education needs. Still standing are the 1873 meeting house, the first building used exclusively for religious purposes; the third schoolhouse, built in 1887 and one of the earliest known designs of Richard K. Kletting, prominent architect and Mormon immigrant of 1883; the late Gothic revival church constructed in 1909; and the Tenth Ward store built in 1880. The store is connected to a house which was built in the 1890s by Adam Speirs, bishop and proprietor of the store. Originally the Tenth Ward was bounded by Sixth East on the west, the foothills on the east, Third South on the north and Sixth South on the south. The First Bishopric of the Tenth Ward consisted of: David Pettegrew, Bishop, with Daniel Tyler, First Counselor and Sanford Porter, Second Counselor. All three of these men were members of the Mormon Battalion.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Liberty Park — 1.2 mi
  Salt Lake Citys beloved 80-acre urban park since 1882
• Gilgal Sculpture Garden — 1.2 mi
  A surreal and eccentric sculpture garden hidden in a residential neighborhood
• Salt Lake City — 1.4 mi
  Utah's capital and largest city — where the Wasatch Range meets the Great Salt Lake.
• Temple Square — 1.4 mi
  The spiritual and architectural heart of Salt Lake City

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