Old White Church

Escalante's first church was a two-story block of white sandstone, put up in 1885 under Bishop Andrew Schow by the stonemason Morgan Richards — the same hand that had shaped the town's tithing office the year before. Latter-day Saints worshipped and held recreation on the upper floor; the lower rooms held classes, for the church and, at times, the public school. A bell in the belfry called the ward to services and tolled for funerals for close to sixty years. The building is gone now; the marker keeps its place.

What the plaque says

Escalante's first church stood on or near this spot. It was a two-story building made of white sandstone. The upper floor was used as the LDS Chapel and for recreational purposes; the lower floor provided classrooms for church organizations and at various times for public school classes. The building was erected in 1885 under the direction of Bishop Andrew P. Schow, with Morgan Richards as the stone mason. The bell that hung in the belfry called ward members to church and to funerals for nearly sixty years.

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 — 0.4 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

• L.D.S. Tithing Office — steps away
• Escalante — steps away
• Escalante-Boulder Veterans Memorial — steps away
• First Public Building — steps away