Ephraim Co-op & Granary
The Ephraim United Order Cooperative Building was built in 1871-72 to house a Mormon cooperative store in Ephraim, Utah. The store sold merchandise from the ZCMI co-op in Salt Lake City. The two-story stone building housed to co-op stone on the ground floor and a meeting hall on the upper level. The nearby granary was built in 1876 to help store wheat for the LDS Relief Society. In 1888 the co-op's upper hall became home to the newly formed Sanpete Academy, which later became Snow College in 1917.
The front of the co-op building is clad in white oolitic Sanpete limestone on the front with coarser building stone on the other elevations. A steeply-pitched roof runs from front to back with bracketed eaves and eave returns over the three-bay front elevation. The side elevations are four bays wide, with a two-story extension to the rear. The building features the inscription "Ephraim U.O. Mercantile Institution" and a beehive surrounded by "Holiness to the Lord" in an arched panel on the building's front gable. The similarly-constructed stone granary stands nearby on the site.
The building was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on March 20, 1973. After painstaking restoration work the store now operates as a gift shop, with the upper floor serving as a dance / reception hall. In past years, after the Co-op failed it was used as a farm implement store, a car repair garage, and finally as part of Ephraim Roller Mill when a new addition connected it to the Relief Society granary to the south (they have since been again disconnected).
That use continued into the 1950s, and then it was abandoned, but after decades of neglect, the building was restored in 1989-90, and made into what you can see today. A more complete history of the co-op can be found here: History of the Ephraim Co-op. The granary meanwhile was renovated in 1991 and has since become an independent art space. During business hours, feel free to drop by and visit, and to take a look around both of these beautifully restored and historic buildings. Or check out this video which highlights both the Co-op & Granary today.
For more info, check out the following info:
The Granary Art Center
86 N Main Street
Ephraim, Utah 84627
Hours of Operation:
Wed - Sat / 12 - 5 pm
(453) 283-3456
Website: www.granaryartcenter.org
The Ephraim Co-op
96 N Main Street
Ephraim, Utah 84627
Hours of Operation:
Mon-Sat / 10 AM - 6 PM
(435) 283-6654
Website: ephraim-coop.org
Sanpete County
Sanpete is a very unique place, and there's lots to do and see. Right thru the middle of it runs the Mormon Pioneer National Heritage Area, following US-89 from Fairview all the way south to Kanab and beyond (for more info, see: their website, here's a guide to the entire area, & this video highlighting the area).
Sanpete is also home to the famed Arapeen ATV Trail, a very popular recreation destination; here's a link to a map, and a video to learn more. And if you haven't visited Palisade State Park, it is worth a visit; check out their website or watch this video for more info. We hope you have fun exploring Sanpete as you check out these geocaches and beyond, and we certainly hope to see you again soon!
Geocache and listing maintained by josephaw.