Granary

In 1876, Brigham Young challenged the Relief Society members to store grain and provide for their communities and others through the Granary. This started something that would benefit many throughout not just Utah, but the world. It took a lot of effort for these women to accomplish, but they found success in their efforts through the things they were able to earn and the amount of people they were able to assist. It helps that it had a well organized system of doing things.

This was the thing that gave birth to the Ephraim Granary’s first purpose, and the building served it well for the time it was used. It assisted in helping many of the locals in times of hardship like, but not limited to, drought, frost and famine. 

This building was one of the buildings that served as a safe place to store Grain and was actually built for that purpose.  In some communities they just used pre-built granaries for storing grain, and Ephriam was no different. Thus it began its life when it was completed in 1877. It was designed to be practical, having very little ornamentation aside from a little cupola on the top. Its north and west side entrances once opened onto a platform that led to a wood and brick shed for storage. At the lower northwest area, there was a chute that transported grain to the basement where it would be placed in bins by manpower. They were quite engaged in the practice of storing and dispensing grain by trade, money, or for free if needed.

Early on, the granary had some connection with the mill east of town on Mill Hill. This was a water-powered mill that milled wheat into flour. It was called Marcus Hermansen’s water-powered Climax Mill. There was much that connected them together, especially after 1913.

In 1913, a flood went through the mill and destroyed some of the Grain and Equipment. Through this, it was determined that it wasn’t worth saving and rebuilding. Thus, Marcus Hermansen’s son, Niels or Nels, moved the mill operations to a now empty granary in Ephraim. Here the operations changed from water-powered to electricity and in 1915 when Marcus Hermanson took over once again, the name was changed to Ephraim Roller Mill. It was around this time that an addition was made to the north that connected the granary and the neighboring co-op as their operations grew. They made a business out of manufacturing flour, cereals and various animal feeds. Then, eventually, when Marcus retired, his son, Lawrence took over and everything seemed to be going well. That was until the 1950s.

By the 1950s,  the changes in technology took out the business and they had to close their doors. Both the co-op and granary were abandoned and deemed an “eye sore” and plans were in the works to potentially tear down the structures. By 1969, the structure connecting the co-op and granary was torn down and this worried those people who did care about the historic structures on the site. Thus Richard and Nadine Nibley attempted to save the structures. They were only successful in not getting them torn down, they didn’t have enough money to fix them. That’s why it was a true blessing and turning point in 1989 and 1990  when funds came in to fix them, They used the funds to fix the buildings. If it wasn’t for that they would be in extensive disrepair or worse.

The granary was completely redone on the inside. The mill equipment was removed and stored (meaning the mill equipment still exists somewhere). It still stands as it was when it was fixed in the 1990s to this day. It was redesigned to be an art gallery, which it still is. It’s great to still have this little piece of Ephraim history still standing, being a reminder of both local and Utah history combined. Even though it now houses art that stands in a contrast to that, being very contemporary art. It’s interesting to see the changes and the ways that the building was saved. It can be certain that this wasn’t what those first builders were expecting to happen, though we still should all be grateful that it wasn’t torn down like it could have been in 1969.