RELIGION & CHURCHES

in Box Elder County

    Since the majority of early white settlers to Box Elder County (and Utah in general) were Mormon pioneers, it's easy to understand why most of the early religious congregations were of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  

    In 1869, the railroad was completed and Corinne -- a railroad boomtown -- was settled by non-Mormons.  There were several church start-ups, but few lasted for an extended period of time.  

    Reverand Malanchton Hughes held the first Presbyterian service there in June of 1869.  By November, 1870, a Presbyterian Church was built.  

    The first Methodist Church in Utah was built in Corinne in 1870.  Church records are limited for the time period 1870-1892, but it's obvious that the church struggled during that time.  Services were discontinued in 1957 and the building was used sporadically afterwards.  In 1994-1995, the Corinne Historical Society and Methodist church agreed upon the building being used as a living museum.

    The Reverand Samuel L. Gillespie, who also served the Protestant Church in Evanston, Wyoming, arrived in Corinne in 1874.  The town had been declining (due to Mormon opposition) and Rev. Gillespie found a larger following in Brigham City.  Although opposition was also felt there, the Brigham City Church was formally organized in 1890 and the Gillespies became well respected citizens of the community.  Today, this congregation is still known as the Community Presbyterian Church in Brigham City.

    Many of the early settlers to Box Elder County were L.D.S. Scandinavian converts.  Possibly as many as one-third of these converts left the Mormon Church after arriving in Utah.  About 1885, the Scandinavian Methodist Church was organized in Brigham City.  Services were held in Danish and English for a while.  The Church was closed prior to 1910 and the buildings were sold by 1918. 

    In 1897, Methodists began meeting in Tremonton.  They met in various places, and finally dedicated their church in 1906.  After many years of activity, the membership dwindled and their doors were closed in the late 1980's.  Since then, the building has been used by the Catholic church and the Baptist congregation.

    Today, the majority of Box Elder County residents continue to be L.D.S.  A 1999 church roster showed 353 ward/congregations in the county.  It is unlikely much genealogical information can be found at the ward level, as boundaries have changed much over the years and most records are not kept at the local level.  L.D.S. Church membership records are on file at:

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
Membership Department
50 E. North Temple
Salt Lake City,  Utah  84150

    Microfilmed copies of LDS Church membership, ward rosters, and other church-related records are available at the Family History Library and can be viewed at Family History Centers worldwide.

    To locate records of other churches, contact them directly (see below).  

Please contact the County Coordinator if you have additional information that can be posted to this page.

BRIGHAM CITY

History of the Brigham City Tabernacle    

HONEYVILLE

TREMONTON

Please send comments and questions to  Annette Nelson, Box Elder County Coordinator

Last updated March 18, 2005
© 2000, 2001, 2002 Annette Nelson

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