Providence Church (Old Rock Church)

The building is the story here. Beginning in 1869, Providence raised a meetinghouse from reddish limestone quarried on the mountainside east of town, head mason James Henry Brown laying walls thirty inches thick and twenty feet high. Finished in the early 1870s, it served as chapel, dance hall, theater, and town center for nearly a century. When the congregation sold it in the late 1960s, the Old Rock Church began a second life — fabric store, reception hall, assisted living — and today operates as a bed-and-breakfast and event center, still anchoring Main Street.

What the plaque says

Construction of this building began under the direction of Bishop William Budge in 1869, ten years after the settlement of Providence. It was completed in 1873 at a cost of $12,800 and replaced a 32 x 16 foot hewn log structure erected in 1860. Reddish colored limestone, quarried near Dry Pole Canyon on the mountainside directly to the east, was used by head mason James Henry Brown in the 30 inch thick, 20 foot high walls. Known as "The Hall" and then as "The Church," the meeting house had an excellent plank dance floor, a stage and proscenium at the east end of the hall, and a pump organ. It was a community center for dances and plays as well as religious services. In about 1877, a two-story rock vestry was added on the east. Other major additions and alterations were made in 1926, 1948, and 1968; however, the Old Rock Church of Providence is one of the best remaining examples of early Utah pioneer meeting houses.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Logan — 2.1 mi
  A vibrant college town tucked into a stunning mountain valley
• Hyrum State Park — 5.4 mi
  A family-friendly reservoir at the mouth of Blacksmith Fork Canyon
• American West Heritage Center — 6.0 mi
  A living history farm spanning 160 acres of Cache Valley
• Wellsville Mountains — 8.6 mi
  The steepest mountains in North America for their height

More markers nearby

• Providence Players — steps away
• Providence Pioneers — steps away
• River Heights — 1.1 mi
• Russell Maughan, First Flight — 1.8 mi