L.D.S. Tithing Office

Before cash reached the frontier, Latter-day Saints paid their tithing in kind — a tenth of what the farm produced — and every town needed somewhere to put it. Escalante's tithing office, the settlement's second public building, went up in 1884 from native stone, the work of mason Morgan Richards under Bishop Andrew Schow. Produce, eggs, and hay came through the door; potatoes and anything perishable went down to the cool basement. The in-kind system faded early in the next century, and the little stone building now serves the town as a Daughters of Utah Pioneers relic hall.

What the plaque says

This structure, the second public building in Escalante, was erected in 1884 of native stone by Mormon pioneers under the direction of Bishop Andrew P. Schow, Edwin Twitchell and Thomas Heaps. The stone mason was Morgan Richards. It was used to receive and house the tithing of the people, which was paid in kind and consisted chiefly of produce from the farms and gardens. Potatoes and perishable foods were stored in the basement. The building is now used as a D.U.P. Relic Hall.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Escalante Interagency Visitor Center — steps away
  Your essential stop before heading into the backcountry
• Escalante — steps away
  The town that gave Grand Staircase-Escalante its name
• Escalante Petrified Forest State Park — 0.3 mi
  Walk among 150-million-year-old stone trees
• Lower Calf Creek Falls — 9.9 mi
  A 126-foot waterfall hidden in a desert canyon

More markers nearby

• Old White Church — steps away
• Escalante — steps away
• Escalante-Boulder Veterans Memorial — steps away
• First Public Building — steps away