Santa Clara Relief Society House

WASHINGTON COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY     (Washington County, Utah)

SANTA CLARA RELIEF SOCIETY HOUSE

Santa Clara, Utah

LOCATION

3036 W. Santa Clara Drive   (on the Santa Clara Heritage Square)
Santa Clara, UT 84765

37° 7' 59" North Latitude,   113° 39' 10" West Longitude

A portion of Lots 13 and 14, Block 22, Santa Clara Townsite and Field Survey, located in Section 16, Township 42 South, Range 16 West, Salt Lake Base and Meridian, being more particularly described as follows:
The area beneath the existing Santa Clara Relief Society Hall with a ten foot wide yard surrounding the entire building. The boundary describes the parcel of land that completely includes the historic 1908 Santa Clara Relief Society Hall. The adjacent LDS meetinghouse and the historic Gubler House are not included.


HISTORY

Built in 1907.

The L.D.S. Church purchased the property, including the Relief Society Building and the Hug-Gubler Home, from the Gublers.

In the early 1990's, Bruce Anderson was a bishop in the building adjacent to the Gubler property. He came home from a meeting and told his wife, Sherri, that the two buildings were to be torn down to add more parking space around the church.

At this point, a group of interested citizens (Claudia West, Clark Ence, Pam Graf, Vicki Lasswell and Sherri Anderson) formed a committee to save the buildings. It was a fight, but they won and ended up purchasing the property with the two buildings from the L.D.S. Church for $22,000. The committee had no money so it was decided to have a town celebration to help raise the funds and thus Santa Clara Swiss Days was begun.

As money became available, the restoration began slowly. First it was the Relief Society House, then the front of the property with the landscaping and monument, then finally the restoration of the Hug-Gubler Home.

The Relief Society House was put on the National Register of Historic Places (#1993001577) on February 2, 1994.

In September of 2007, the Washington County Historical Society awarded a Certificate of Commendation to the Santa Clara Historical Society for their work in restoring the old Relief Society House.


PHOTOS

Santa Clara Relief Society House
South/front and east sides (Charles M. Shepherd, May 8, 1993)
        Santa Clara Relief Society House
        South/front and west sides (Charles M. Shepherd, May 8, 1993)

Santa Clara Relief Society House
North/back and west sides (Charles M. Shepherd, May 8, 1993)

Front side of the Santa Clara Relief Society House
WCHS-00355     Front side
        East side of the Santa Clara Relief Society House
        WCHS-00331     East side

Southwest corner of the Santa Clara Relief Society House
WCHS-00332     Southwest corner
        Northwest corner of the Santa Clara Relief Society House
        WCHS-00334     Northwest corner

Northeast corner of the Santa Clara Relief Society House
WCHS-00335     Northeast corner
        Southeast corner of the Santa Clara Relief Society House
        WCHS-00336     Southeast corner

Other WCHS photos:
WCHS-00330     Photo of a late 1940s school bus in front of the Santa Clara Relief Society House and Hug-Gubler Home
WCHS-00333     Photo of the west wall inside the Santa Clara Relief Society House
WCHS-00337     Photo of an old sewing machine inside the Santa Clara Relief Society House
WCHS-00338     Photo of a display cabinet inside the Santa Clara Relief Society House
WCHS-00339     Photo of a model of the old Santa Clara Public School on display in the Santa Clara Relief Society House
WCHS-00340     Photo of an old organ in the Santa Clara Relief Society House
WCHS-00341     Photo of an old photo of Santa Clara hanging in the Santa Clara Relief Society House
WCHS-00342     Photo of an old photo hanging in the Santa Clara Relief Society House showing some pioneers and their wagon
WCHS-00343     Photo of a painting of the old Santa Clara Fort displayed in the Santa Clara Relief Society House

Other photos on the web:
Front of the Santa Clara Relief Society House
Webpage that includes a photo of the Santa Clara Relief Society House
Photos from the National Register of Historic Places nomination form


REFERENCES

Santa Clara, Utah's Little Relief Society House
By Nellie M. Gubler

Dedication Prayer: Old Santa Clara Relief Society Building
Given by H. Bruce Stucki on September 24, 1993

National Register of Historic Places, Inventory - Nomination Form