Relief Society Hall

The Relief Society Hall was built in June 1882 for the sisters of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It served as a Relief Society Hall until the construction of the Tabernacle in 1906. After, the Hall was used as a schoolhouse by Apostle Marriner Wood Merrill to teach his children with a private teacher, Ida Cook, until 1919. That same year, the Daughters of Utah Pioneers purchased the building for a relic hall and meeting place.2

On January 16, 1959, Mayor Ross H. Plant met with the Camp to discuss purchasing the Tithing Office to house the relics and serve as the camp's new headquarters. The Camp agreed, and on May 23, 1959, the James Hendricks camp moved the relics to the tithing office. 

In 1969, the City purchased the Relief Society Hall and used it as a storage shed. A large entrance was cut in the back of the building to make it into a garage. By 1995, the building was in disrepair, and the city was about to give the building to the City Fire Department for a controlled burn. Members of the DUP Camp pleaded with the city to preserve the building and restore it to its former glory. Mayor Kip E. Panter decided to save the building. The Restoration Committee for the Richmond Relief Society Hall was formed, with Maria Lundgreen, Nancy Cornia, and Kathy Jones as main contributors to its restoration.1 The restoration was completed in 1997.

Today, the Richmond Relief Society Hall is the oldest known original Hall in Utah.3 During its reconstruction in 1996, the Hall was added to the National Register of Historic Places. Applicable national register criteria are that the "property is associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of our history." Areas of significance are religion, social history, and education.

"...Sister Eliza R. Snow arose and spoke as follows. Brothers and Sisters, I am not capable of edyfying the Saints of God, but if you will give me your faith and and prayers I will try and do the best I can.

"All the future of Zion depends upon our young Brothers and Sisters. And they must be cultivated not only mentaly but spiritually so <that> they may become useful and have wisdom and knowledge to carry on the work in the kingdom of our God. The young Brothers should be educated so that they would will make wise men, good husbands and kind fathers. And the young Sisters should be educated so as to make good wives and mothers in Israel. When the Saints first gathered to the mountains the first thing done was to find bread and water, and the next was to erect School houses So that the Children of Zion might become educated, and understand the principles of the principles of the Gospel. The young Brothers and Sisters did not have the privelege of rising and bearing their testimony before each other <then> as we have now. We should be thankful for this privelige: We can tell each how we feel, and can talk of the first principles of the Gospel. Some of our young Brothers are going <growing> up in fidelity, and some of our young Sisters in vanity. The question is now, what is to become of our young Saints? They will have to be educated and instructed so that when the young brothers are called to go on a mission to foreign lands they will know the principles of the gospel and how to pray and can teach and instruct those who have not heard the word of God. God, through his Servant, President Brigham Young called on the elder Sisters to instruct the younger Sisters in all the things pertaining to his kingdom. These Meetings are a great benefit to you if you will take an interest in them and try to make them successful. It is a pleasure for the young ladies to get <meet> together to speak, pray, and sing and bear their testimony before each other. We continued our efforts when we first came to Utah and we continue them today with a good effect. President Young, after hearing the minutes of one of our meetings, said we could read them better than men that stood in Congress. A Brother talked to me one time about this organization: He said his daughters were so vain and extravagant they had gone beyond control and he wanted them to join our meetings and try and over come this vanity and pride. Nothing would please me better than to see the young men organized into some association as well as the girls. I hope the young men here do not indulge in the use of tobacco, liquor and other bad things. My young Sisters and brothers, may you all grow up in wisdom, power and glory before your God. I was speaking this afternoon with my sisters of the Rilief Society about the culture of silk. It is little labor after the trees are planted to raise silk. I hope we will be able to promote more home Industry so we can be clothed in Zion made. I do not require the Sisters to plant out the trees, but to cause it to be done. If you have faith enough I think you could raise trees here. I want my young sisters to help the Elder Sisters in doing this great work, to provide for the poor so that by our diligence they may have something to sustain themselves with.

"I want to give some advice to my young Sisters: If you have a duty to do do not shirk it. I would reccomend every young sister after being babtized to be organized into some Association. The essential elements of a young lady are to know how to keep house, how to cook, how to sew and every thing pertaining to housekeeping, by this they will make good <house>wives and mothers. No man would be ashamed to have such a wife. The daughters of Zion are to become polished so that they may grow up in wisdom and knowledge. I would rather have a child know that this Gospel is true, that God liveth and to know how to pray and to keep all his commandments than to have all the Book knowledge they could learn and not know anything about the spiritual faculties. I would recommend the Presidentess [Martha A. Lewis] and Counselors to appoint a secretary to keep account of all those who read from the Bible, Book of Mormon and other Books since they were at the previous meeting. Those who read such, to report to the secretary what they have read. The younger sisters should have some Reading matter to learn or to commit to memory. If you all could be taught to be punctual it would prove a great blessing to you. Always be punctual in all things and at all times, for punctuality is the key to business. Now my young Sisters you could set a good example before the young men in cultivating, instructing and informing yourselves. If there is only one young man who is worthy of a good sister, seven or eight sisters could take him for a husband while the rest would have to seek elswhere, for a wife. There is no standard to great for you if you cultivate yourselves as men of God. Some have thought that our Sunday Schools were sufficient <for our young> to learn the principles of Gospel, but our meetings are indispensible. Many who do not believe in our religion rise up and oppose us, but it does not amount to anything. Now my brothers and sisters if you try to become great and good before God you will do a great work. May God’s blessings ever be with you is my prayer Amen."4

1. Cheri Housley, Marie Lundgreen, Kathy Jones. (2001). Images of America: Richmond. Arcadia Publishing. pg 123-125.

2. Bair, Amos W. (1976). History of Richmond, Utah. The Richmond Bicentennial Committee. pg 86-87 

3. United States Department of the Interior. National Register of Historic Places (1996, March). National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Richmond Relief Society Hall (Marty Higham). National Archive Catalog. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71999288

4. 11 May 1878, Richmond Young Ladies and Young Men; Richmond Hall, Richmond, Utah Territory, The Discourses of Eliza R. Snow, accessed February 25, 2024 https://production.churchhistorianspress.org/eliza-r-snow/1870s/1878/05/1878-05-11. Richmond Branch, Cache Stake, Young Women’s Mutual Improvement Association Minutes and Records (1874–1973), vol. 1s (1874–1888), pp. 53–55, CHL (LR 7478 17).