The Brigham Young Winter Home and Office is a historic residence and museum located in St. George,

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

Brigham Young Brigham Young (; June 1, 1801August 29, 1877) was an American religious leader and politician. He was the second president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), from 1847 until his death in 1877. During his time as ch ...

was the foremost

Mormon pioneer The Mormon pioneers were members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), also known as Latter Day Saints, who migrated beginning in the mid-1840s until the late-1860s across the United States from the Midwest to the S ...

and second

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The ch ...

(LDS Church), who led its members to the

Utah Territory The Territory of Utah was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from September 9, 1850, until January 4, 1896, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Utah, the 45th state ...

. As Young grew older, his arthritis precluded him from spending winters in the

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the capital and most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in Utah. With a population of 200,133 in 2020, th ...

region, so a winter home in St. George, in the

arid A region is arid when it severely lacks available water, to the extent of hindering or preventing the growth and development of plant and animal life. Regions with arid climates tend to lack vegetation and are called xeric or desertic. Most ...

Dixie Dixie, also known as Dixieland or Dixie's Land, is a nickname for all or part of the Southern United States. While there is no official definition of this region (and the included areas shift over the years), or the extent of the area it cover ...

region of Utah, was built for him. Young seasonally occupied the home and office from 1873 to 1876. The building was eventually deeded to the division of Utah State Parks and Recreation; it is now open as a

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make thes ...

where missionaries of the Church provide guided tours.

History

Brigham Young was a

tradesman A tradesman, tradeswoman, or tradesperson is a skilled worker that specializes in a particular trade (occupation or field of work). Tradesmen usually have work experience, on-the-job training, and often formal vocational education in contrast ...

from Whitingham,

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...

who converted to the LDS Church in 1830. He joined with Joseph Smith, founder of the

Latter Day Saint movement The Latter Day Saint movement (also called the LDS movement, LDS restorationist movement, or Smith–Rigdon movement) is the collection of independent church groups that trace their origins to a Christian Restorationist movement founded by J ...

, in 1832 and moved the church's headquarters to Kirtland,

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

. After the church relocated to Nauvoo,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

, Smith named Young to the first

Quorum of the Twelve Apostles A quorum is the minimum number of members of a deliberative assembly (a body that uses parliamentary procedure, such as a legislature) necessary to conduct the business of that group. According to ''Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised'', the ...

and then, in 1839, as the quorum president. In 1844, the residents of Nauvoo were split over the issue of plural marriage, leading to the arrest of Smith. A mob of men killed Smith while he was in

Carthage Jail Carthage Jail is a historic building in Carthage, Illinois, listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). It was built in 1839 and is best known as the location of the 1844 killing of Joseph Smith, founder of the Latter Day Saint mov ...

, resulting in the succession crisis. By the time Young became church president, tensions between the Mormons in Nauvoo and non-Mormons in nearby settlements was at a peak. In early 1846, Young left with most of the

Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The c ...

and headed west to establish a new settlement, away from persecution. When he arrived at the base of the Salt Lake Valley, he decided to create a permanent settlement,

. Young assigned groups of Latter-day Saints to settle nearby territories and communities, convert the natives, and provide infrastructure. BrighamYoung1

St. George was a commissioned settlement in Utah's Dixie. Intended to be a

cotton Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor pe ...

-growing colony, the region was noted for its warm temperatures, even in winter. As Young aged, he found that warm weather helped his arthritis. St. George settlers built a home and office for Young in 1871, and he frequently spent his winters there after a front extension was added in 1873. Young's presence motivated the locals to complete the St. George Temple, which Young himself dedicated in 1877. Young died on August 29, 1877, and willed the land to Judd Gates, the local dentist. It was later abandoned until Georgius Cannon Young, a descendant of Brigham, purchased the lot and restored it. He deeded it to Utah State Parks and Recreation in 1959 and the house was again restored. The house and office was designed by

Miles Romney Miles Romney (July 13, 1806 – May 3, 1877) was a British convert to Mormonism, Mormon pioneer and early settler of the American west, including St. George, Utah. In 1837, Romney and his wife, Elizabeth, joined the Church of the Latter Day Sa ...

. An 1873 addition was designed by his son,

Miles Park Romney Miles Park Romney (August 18, 1843 – February 26, 1904) was a prominent American builder in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He was born in Nauvoo, Illinois, the son of Miles Romney. He was the president of the St. George Soci ...

. The house stands at two stories and is constructed with beige adobe brick. The red

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates ...

basement has two rooms, and the roof

gable A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aesth ...

has

wood shingles Wood shingles are thin, tapered pieces of wood primarily used to cover roof shingle, roofs and walls of buildings to protect them from the weather. Historically roof shingle, shingles, also known as shakes, were split from straight grained, kno ...

. Inside, the house has four fireplaces, three made of red sandstone and one from adobe. The church relocated all of Young's existing former furniture, some of which was built by Young himself, and added other period pieces to replace those lost. The office is east of the living quarters, featuring stucco walls and a sandstone chimney. Wood for the house was cut from the

Mount Trumbull Wilderness The Mount Trumbull Wilderness is a 7,880 acre (31 km2) wilderness area located on the Uinkaret Plateau in the Arizona Strip. It is managed by the Bureau of Land Management. The Mount Trumbull Wilderness is north of Grand Canyon National ...

and the

Pine Valley Mountain Wilderness Pine Valley Mountain Wilderness is a wilderness area located in the Dixie National Forest in the U.S. state of Utah. It is the fourth-largest wilderness area located entirely within the state (following the High Uintas Wilderness, Zion Wildernes ...

. The Brigham Young Winter Home and Office was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

in 1971. It is located at the southeast corner of 100 West and 200 North and is open to the public as a

References

External links

Utah.com: Brigham Young Winter Home
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Young Winter Home and Office, Brigham National Register of Historic Places in Washington County, Utah Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Utah Historic house museums in Utah Brigham Young Museums in Washington County, Utah Buildings and structures in St. George, Utah 1871 establishments in Utah Territory Historic American Buildings Survey in Utah Houses in Washington County, Utah

History

See also

References

External links