Historic preservation conference draws 150+ to Mt. Pleasant City

Preservation Engaged attendees stop for conversation in front of Rodgers Dairy Freeze during a tour of Mt. Pleasant’s Main Street. A guide points out its classic sloped glass windows, typical of the diner era, and that it originally featured walk-up only windows.

MT. PLEASANT – Sanpete County history was on display when the Utah State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) hosted “Preservation Engaged,” its annual conference, in Mt. Pleasant on Friday June 13.

The Wasatch Academy campus and Mt. Pleasant Main Street became the first locations off the Wasatch Front since the annual conferences started in 2022.

A crowd of about 150 people, ranging from historians, preservationists, architects, designers, city officials and residents were welcomed at the Wasatch Academy Student Center by Anne-Evan Williams, Wasatch Academy’s Head of School.

“To say that preservation runs in my blood is a bit of an understatement,” Williams said as she described growing up in historic Williamsburg, Virginia, where her mother held significant preservation roles.

She said preserving history is a great responsibility, and in particular mentioned the recent celebration of Wasatch Academy’s 150th year.

Williams lives in a house that was built in 1899, “that has housed generations,” she said. It was built “by the great-great-grandfather of one of my current students.”

While architecture is the most accessible art form, she said, “this word ‘preservation’ is about so much more than architecture,” but about the stories connected with notable places.

Williams was followed by keynote speaker Thomas Carter, professor emeritus of architecture and history at the University of Utah, who began a study of pioneer-era Sanpete County architecture decades ago.

“Sanpete has a real sense of belonging,” Carter stated. He said he had a sort of coming home to Sanpete as he began field research in the Sanpete Valley in 1978-79 for his architecture dissertation dealing with the beginnings of Mormon settlements.

“Their people became my people,” Carter said as he described how he developed relationships, not just with the elderly he met in person at that time, but as he got to know their ancestors, recognizing early settlers not just by name but in the walls they called home.

Carter later published his field studies in his book “Building Zion: The Material World of Mormon Settlement.”

A woman looks at a glass plane in a building. While the building looks a lot newer, the glass plane shows old weathered brick behind it. The glass pane views into the wall — KIm Duffy, who belongs to the Holladay Historical Commission, peers at the preserved brick construction encased in glass at Liberal Hall, the original home of Wasatch Academy. Duffy was one of the attendees at “Preservation Engaged,” a conference hosted by the Utah State Historic Preservation Office.

After Carter’s presentation, the conference featured tours and lectures on preservation techniques and approaches.

Jared Stewart, a representative of Economic Development Corporation of Utah (EDCUtah), gave a presentation titled “Investing in the Past, Building the Future.”

Stewart found Sanpete County to be a perfect host city. “Sanpete County has a unique and rich history—I admire the state’s goal of sharing that history with the preservation community,” he said. “It allows…increased participation of the Central Utah community.

“…Preservation can help Sanpete County lean into its unique identity. Part of economic development is knowing your ‘brand.’ The history and heritage of the community is part of who we are today.

“Historic preservation is more than just buildings—it’s the stories of who lived and worked there and what they accomplished. These stories can be inspiring and instructive as we decide how to grow and develop into the future,” Stewart said.

Historic preservation can create opportunities for tourism, he added. “Architecturally and culturally significant properties often have a charm that is admired. With the right entrepreneurial spirit, a small town can draw in new visitors who will enjoy spending time and money in the region.”

A Main Street architectural tour focused on intricate facades, stepped parapets, cast-iron columns (to combat the threat of fire), and recessed entryways that increased window capacity, letting in more light while still shading the front).

One example of Victorian commercial architecture was the Erickson building, originally Erickson’s Grocery, built in 1893. Abe Kimball and his wife, Serenity, are the current owners. The building is under renovation, where it will house a lithography studio for Abe and Serenity’s CuriosiTEA Bookshop , with a short-stay rental planned for upstairs.

The couple gave conventions-goers an opportunity to step back in time, placing their feet in the well-worn dips of 100-year-old treads. Downstairs gave viewers a look at hand-hewn ceiling joists and an art deco, tapered vault door.

Mt. Pleasant Mercantile, a quaint ice cream parlor, featured the smallest space on the tour, as it was originally an alleyway before it was enclosed. The owners, Wendy and Mark Hightower, and Alicia and Levi King, offered a scoop of ice cream to everyone on the tour.

A crowd gathers around an old building. A woman emphatically points to the building in discussion. — Abe and Serenity Kimball, owners of the historic Erickson Building on Main Street in Mt. Pleasant, explain their plans for the building at the Preservation Engaged conference. They plan to create a short-stay rental upstairs, Abe’s lithography studio in the back, and Serenity’s CuriosiTEA bookstore in the front.

The only “modern” building on the tour was the Mt. Pleasant City Offices. One of the tour guides, Monte Bona, explained how the building, built in 1972, and thus barely meeting the requirement of being at least 50 years old to be placed on the national historic register, became the city offices.

It was originally a Wells Fargo Bank branch. When the bank closed the office, it donated the building to the Mormon Pioneer National Heritage Area (MPNHA).

Wells Fargo asked the MPNHA to feature a history-of-banking art collection in the bank. It also asked the heritage area to produce two specified episodes of “Discovery Road,” its TV documentary series. One was to depict the history of banking on Main Street in Mt. Pleasant and the other the history of the Wells Fargo Stagecoach. One can view the episodes on the MPNHA website.

The MPNHA leases the building to Mt. Pleasant City for $1 per year. The art collection, done in lithography by Abe Kimball, is on display in the buildling.

A highlight at the conference was a hands-on lecture on the care of masonry taught by Jeff Eakle, owner at Accent Stone Carving. After some instruction, Eakle gave attendees a chance to practice grout “pointing.” Eakle showed three examples of oolite bricks, one from Manti, one from Mayfield and one from Gunnison.

Emily Bentley, director of municipal museums in Kanab, praised the conference location. “Coming from Southern Utah, I hadn’t had the opportunity to visit Mt. Pleasant or Wasatch Academy before, so attending the conference there was a real highlight, she said.

“The setting couldn’t have been more fitting for conversations about historic preservation. Being surrounded by such rich history underscored the importance of our work; it was a powerful reminder of why preservation matters…The setting truly…reinforced the idea that historic preservation is about more than just buildings; it’s about place, context and community.”