Historic Centerfield Old Rock
Church to be enhanced by
annex that will add amenities
By Kacie Reese
Staff wrtier
Feb. 8, 2018
CENTERFIELD—Bridging the old with the new, an annex will be built near the Old Rock Church of Centerfield. Mayor Tom Sorensen said he hopes construction will begin around the first of April.
Sorensen teases, “We should’ve started the construction a couple of months ago had we known it would have been this good weather.” He said they waited till spring hoping for good weather.
Sunrise Engineering informed the city the annex will be around 1,000 square feet, containing restrooms, storage, a service area and even a bride’s room. Currently, the Old Rock Church doesn’t have any restrooms since the original building had an outhouse out back.
The new annex building will not be attached physically to the Old Rock Church because it’s on the National Register for Historic Places, but there will be a breezeway between the two buildings.
Funding for the new building comes from a 50-percent loan, 50-percent grant from Utah’s Permanent Community Impact Fund Board (CIB).
Originally built in 1886, the Old Rock Church was expanded in 1897 and was used as a church building for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints until 1951 when a new building was built.
The 1886 building was privately owned until the city bought it in 2002 with plans to restore it and turn the church into a community center.
Plans for restoration began in 2004, with Sorensen helping to complete the planning about three or four years ago.
“Previous mayors got the ball rolling to get the restoration going, and I just helped finish that up,” Sorensen said.
With the new annex building providing restrooms and other utilities, the community will be in a better position to use the Old Rock Church for different activities.
Sorensen commented, “It’ll be a wonderful building once we get it complete. We hope to be able to use it for more activities.”
The Old Rock Church has already been rented out occasionally for wedding receptions and holiday boutiques, and Sorensen hopes the community will continue to put the building to good use.
“We want the community to be able to use it as often as they feel the need to,” Sorensen said.
