Santa Clara Tithing Granary

Santa Clara Tithing Granary. . The Santa Clara Tithing Granary was built in 1902-1903 by the Santa Clara First Ward of the St. George Stake of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Tithing granaries were used throughout Utah during pioneer times as a depository for Church members' tithing. Where modern-day Church members pay 10 percent of their income to the Church, pioneer Church members often paid in kind with a 10 percent equivalent of their new crops or livestock to the Church. , The Santa Clara granary contained an upper room with various compartments for storing grain-primarily wheat and corn. A basement with an earthen floor provided a cooler space for fruits and vegetables. The main door to the granary was on the east, and a window was placed on the south in the upper part of the small building. The basement had small windows on the east and west and was reached by steps that went down on the south. , The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints owned the granary until about 1927. At that time it was sold to Emil Gubler along with the tithing barn that had been to the south and east of the granary. The purchase took place with the stipulation that Adolph Hafen could purchase the front part of the property to build a grocery store (Santa Clara Merc). , Upon possession of the granary, Emil eliminated all but one of the bins in the top to increase space for his storage needs. The basement bins were left in tact. After a number of years, the roof over the fruit cellar steps collapsed and was never replaced. , Local lore recalls that a favorite pastime of teenage boys was to "lighten" the store of apples. They would sharpen the ends of long sticks and spear apples through the west windows for an afternoon snack. . This historical marker was erected in 2007. It is in Santa Clara in Washington County Utah