Utah Historic Site
Echo School and Church
This Victorian Gothic building stands as the remaining historic edifice of
"Echo City," one of many boom towns built along the Transcontinental
Railroad. In 1876, the Echo City School District constructed the building
with English immigrant John Shill reportedly designing and supervising
the construction. Most of the materials are local: red pine lumber
from Saw Mill in Echo Canyon, sandstone from a quarry in Grass Creek,
brick from clay in the Echo hills. The bell arrived by rail. Protestants
began using the building for evangelical purposes in 1882, and for a few
years even profided the weekday school classes. The LDS church began
worshiping here in 1905 and purchased the building in 1914 after Echo
built a new school house. In 1940 major remodeling occurred, including
a concrete basement and stairway. People of all denominations helped.
The building became idle in 1963 as a result of Echo's decline in
population. A local LDS Young Adult group used the building in the
1970's. In 1983 ECHO, a non-profit corporation dedicated to preserving
the site, purchased the building to continue its use as a community
center.
Marker placed in 1989
Division of State History
