Porterville Meetinghouse

While we were on our barn hunt last weekend, Craig and I found the most amazing treasure.  This beautiful thing is the Porterville Ward Meetinghouse in Morgan, UT.  It was constructed in 1898 and later dedicated in 1908 by Joseph F. Smith and housed a congregation of about 300.  In the 1940s, it was sold and converted into a private residence.    It was abandoned sometime after the 1970s, though, and heavily vandalized,  Later, in 2000 it was almost entirely destroyed by fire.  Only the exterior walls are still standing. The building is currently for sale...and don't think the thought didn't cross my mind a couple of times that we should purchase this amazing thing and attempt to bring it back to life.  :)

This is a picture I found of the church with its roof in tact...

And this is a painting of the building that was done in 1948 by LeConte Stewart...

This beautiful historic building and one other abandoned house that we also found in Morgan were my two favorite finds of the whole hunt.  I lingered with both of them for a really long time, and would have LOVED to have gone inside and taken a few pictures.  Too bad I wasn't brave enough...or skinny enough...to wriggle through that wrought iron fence surrounding the whole thing.