Historic North Branch Meetinghouse marker unveiling Wednesday

Lara Bangerter | Lehi Historical Society

A building that once stood at the heart of Lehi’s railroad community will be celebrated Wednesday at 7 p.m., when the Lehi Historical Society unveils its 23rd historical marker honoring the North Branch Meetinghouse of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The public is invited to attend the free unveiling at 1150 N. 500 West. The program will include history, personal memories and the story of ongoing efforts to preserve the 132-year-old building. A short, guided tour will also be offered.

The meetinghouse was constructed in 1894 to serve families living in the growing community northwest of Lehi known as the “New Survey,” “Over the Creek” and Lehi Junction. With railroads, homes, stores and railroad-related industries developing in the area, the neighborhood became a community of its own.

Many residents were railroad workers, miners and laborers. For those families, attending services at the Lehi Ward Meetinghouse meant traveling a considerable distance. The North Branch was organized Oct. 1, 1893, under the direction of Thomas R. Jones, with members initially worshipping in the Franklin School. Within just four months, residents had pledged $700 toward construction of their own meetinghouse. 

Local masons Andrew Fjeld and Charles Ohran designed and built the chapel, where the first services were held Oct. 14, 1894. Primarily Victorian Gothic in style, the building is distinguished by its pointed arch windows and decorative brick corbeling. Limestone for its foundation was quarried from Zion’s Hill in the Lake Mountains, leading early records to sometimes call it the Zion’s Hill Meetinghouse.

The congregation grew quickly. Records list 64 families in the North Branch at the end of 1894 and 592 members by the end of 1897. When Lehi was divided into four wards in 1903, the meetinghouse became home to the Lehi Third Ward under Bishop Henry Lewis. Growth eventually required a major 1917 addition that nearly doubled the size of the building. 

For generations, the meetinghouse was more than a place for Sunday worship. Weddings, funerals, socials and other gatherings filled its rooms, making the building an important part of family life on Lehi’s northwest side. The Third Ward worshipped there until 1953, when a new meetinghouse was completed one block to the east. 

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Wednesday’s program will bring some of those memories back to life. Gary and Rhea Lewis will share memories of the historic meetinghouse, while Zeb and Jami Ray of Jami Ray Vintage will talk about the building and their restoration efforts. Lehi City Mayor Paul Binns will wrap up the program. Following the unveiling, the Rays will offer a short, guided tour of the building.

The unveiling offers the community an opportunity to see one of Lehi’s surviving historic buildings and remember the generations of families who worshipped, celebrated and mourned within its walls.

For more information on the building, see https://www.lehihistory.org/lds-third-ward-building