The unveiling of a remarkably detailed model of Manti’s Historic Grist Mill will mark the 172nd year of the Settlement of Manti/Sanpete in November 1849. The public is invited to participate in this event on Friday Nov. 26, the day after Thanksgiving.
Jim Maxwell, skilled artisan and creator of the model, will be in attendance from noon to 3 p.m.
Maxwell has been in charge of the Grist Mill section of the Utah Heritage “This Is The Place” Park in Salt Lake City, and for years he has had a special interest in Manti’s Grist Mill, which is fed by the Mill Stream and located about a half block east of Main Street on Union.
The open house for the model unveiling is sponsored by the Two Josephs Foundation, which was recently organized in the State of Utah as a corporation with headquarters in Manti. The foundation name is in honor of two great prophets of God: Joseph of old, with the coat of many colors; and Joseph Smith, Jr., to whom the Lord granted keys by which the gospel of Jesus Christ could be restored in these latter days.
The Book of Mormon, integral to the settlement of Manti/Sanpete, makes clear that Joseph Smith is a literal descendant of the biblical Joseph, and that he would play a pivotal role in the regathering of scattered Israel—the posterity of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—preparatory to the Second Coming.
The unveiling and open house will be from noon to 3 p.m. and will be held at 21 North Main. This site has housed the Lindell Book Store, Dave’s Photo, Carpenters, and, farther in the past, was a vital part of the Tuttle Hotel.