A Tabernacle in Utah’s Dixie
Less than a year after moving to southern Utah, Erastus Snow received a letter from Brigham Young. In it the prophet urged Elder Snow to move quickly on building a large meetinghouse in St. George. Finding the means to follow this counsel in the red-rock desert of southern Utah was not easy. But despite challenges, Latter-day Saints came together across the region and completed the building. Today the St. George Tabernacle preserves evidence of the faith, unity, artistry, and industry of these Saints.
Virgin River in southern Utah 
Traveling from Salt Lake City to St. George 
A monument to Erastus Snow stands near the St. George Tabernacle.
After Latter-day Saints began growing cotton in southern Utah, the area was nicknamed “Dixie” after the cotton-growing region in the southeast United States. In 1861, 309 families were called to a new settlement named St. George. In addition to cotton, the area would supply Utah with warm-weather crops like figs and grapes.
Cotton grown in southern Utah 
Grapes were a major product of the region. 
Plat of St. George, February 27, 1862
Although plans for a meetinghouse started early, settlers first took time to plant crops and build shelter from winter rains. Large meetings occurred outdoors, where windblown sand could disrupt the proceedings. Finally residents voted to begin no later than June 1, 1863. Brigham Young visited St. George in May and gave general dimensions for the building.
Brigham Young wrote to Erastus Snow in 1862, reminding him to build a meetinghouse in St. George. “This morning, agreeable to previous arrangements, we laid the South East corner stone of our Meetinghouse.”
—Erastus Snow letter to Brigham Young, June 1, 1863
Realizing the Prophet’s Vision
Elder Snow knew that building the tabernacle was a priority for Brigham Young, but the large building project in the face of other pressing needs required faith and diligent effort over many years. Men and women sacrificed money, time, labor, and talents before the building was finally completed and dedicated in 1876. When difficulties arose along the way, individuals acted with faith and humility on inspired counsel from the Lord.
Church architect William Folsom helped design the St. George Tabernacle. 
Miles Romney was the supervising architect in St. George during the construction of the tabernacle. Construction Time Line
Feb. 1862
Discussions begin about a tabernacle in St. George.
May 10, 1863
Brigham Young gives the tabernacle’s dimensions.
June 1, 1863
First cornerstone laid.
July 30, 1865
Limestone foundation completed.
June 1, 1868
Basement walls completed.
Jan. 31, 1871
While in St. George, Brigham Young announces a temple.
Sept. 1871
Window frames completed.
Dec. 29, 1871
Last stone laid. Last roof shingle placed the following day.
Tools on display at the St. George Tabernacle Even after designs for the tabernacle were ready, progress was slow. St. George had carpenters and stone masons but not a large, skilled workforce. The construction of the tabernacle competed with farming and other building projects. Work stopped when floods washed away crops or when nearby mining operations drew away wood and labor.
Stones on the tabernacle’s exterior show 19th-century chisel marks. “Many weary toilsome days have I labored on the St. George Tabernacle, lifting the heavy rocks in the wind, cold, and scorching heat of this climate, yet I have felt happy and contented.”
—Charles Lowell Walker, May 1872
Tabernacle under construction, circa January 1872 More than seven years passed between laying the first cornerstone and the final capstone. The capstone ceremony was a grand celebration for the entire community. But even with the building enclosed, it was still not complete. Work on the wooden clock tower and the interior of the building would continue for almost five more years before the building was dedicated. Finally, on May 14, 1876, Brigham Young’s son Brigham Jr. dedicated the building.
Record Stone
The window glass was installed in spring 1872. 
The balcony sits lower than the rest of the second floor. Interior Time Line
Feb. 5, 1872
Basement floor laid.
Spring 1872
Window glass installed.
Feb. 1873
Spiral staircases completed. Balcony lowered to its current height.
June 1873
Bell and clock installed in tower.
Spring 1875
Plastering is completed. Relief Society sisters make floor carpets.
Apr. 1877
First organ purchased.
Apr. 18, 1883
Chandeliers paid for by free-will donations and installed.
At the Center of Community
“St. George Tabernacle Dedicated. Brigham Young Jr. Prayer. President B. Young spoke about the best I have ever heard him do for years. About 1500 present.”
—John Lyman Smith, St. George resident, May 14, 1876 
View of St. George with completed tabernacle, circa 1883
Since its dedication, the tabernacle has been in almost continuous use, with only brief closures for repairs. Prophets and apostles have taught from its pulpit, and community events have been held here. Even before the roof was finished, the community started to hold meetings in the basement. Those who built the building also sang in the choir, administered priesthood ordinances, organized social activities, and applied in their lives the gospel messages that they heard here.
George A. Smith gave one of the first public addresses in the tabernacle on March 20, 1869. 
Thomas and Elizabeth W. Kane were honored at a dinner held in the tabernacle in 1873.
Music for worship services and other activities is a large part of the tabernacle’s history. One memorable event occurred on May 25, 1879. The reverend Lawrence Scanlan, a Roman Catholic priest living in nearby Silver Reef, conducted high mass in the tabernacle as the St. George Stake choir sang.
The St. George choir sang W. C. Peters’s “Mass in D” in the tabernacle in 1879. 
St. George Stake choir, circa 1880 
The tabernacle’s first organ was installed in 1877.
Visiting Church leaders have often spoken in the tabernacle. Lorenzo Snow spoke on May 18, 1899, about Zion and becoming a Christlike people. He commended the Saints for paying their tithing and urged them to continue to observe this law. He later testified that he had received a revelation on tithing for the Church while in St. George.
View from the St. George Tabernacle pulpit
Heavy, continuous use made maintaining the tabernacle challenging. St. George residents loved the building and were willing to make repairs, but little money was available in the cash-poor community to buy expensive supplies. By the 1930s, parts of the ceiling were collapsing, and the building was closed.
The tabernacle hosted thousands of people over more than 60 years of constant use. 
By 1935, the tabernacle was closed for needed repairs.
Renovations
In 1938 the Church began a three-year project to repair the St. George Tabernacle. When it reopened in 1940, it had new paint, new seating, a new roof, and many other updates. Later projects replaced foundation stones, restored original paint colors, and fixed the clock.
The most recent project completed in 2018 upgraded the building to meet current seismic standards. Despite a century of use and changes, the building still preserves evidence of the pioneers’ industry and craftsmanship.
After renovations in the 1940s, the tabernacle had a new color palette. 
The most recent project completed in 2018 upgraded the building to meet current seismic standards.
In the 1990s, workers discovered and restored original stenciling. 
The tabernacle earned a historical preservation award after renovations. 
A seismic upgrade and other restoration work began in 2016.
Harrison Pearce, a 56-year-old construction worker, wrote these lines in 1874 as work on the tabernacle was coming to a close. They were found hidden inside the front steps of the tabernacle during a renovation project in 1992.
“Today I close this little place
And throw this in to leave a trace
Of me the boy that done it.
This is February the twenty six
Few to work but they all are bricks
This ends my little sonnet.”
“The neatest place I've seen today
Some little thing to lay away
In memory of this present day
Come now good fellow what do you say?”
Construction poetry on exhibit
“This is one of the finest structures of the LDS Church, architecturally speaking. It is more than a local building. It is a shrine to the whole church.”
—Raymond J. Ashton, architect, 1938 Explore Further
Michael N. Landon, “‘A Shrine to the Whole Church’: The History of the St. George Tabernacle,” Mormon Historical Studies, vol. 12, no. 1 (Spring 2011), 125–46.
Douglas D. Alder and Karl F. Brooks, A History of Washington County: From Isolation to Destination (Salt Lake City: Utah Centennial County History Series, Utah State Historical Society, 1996).
