Oneida Stake Academy

Oneida Stake Academy. . The Oneida Stake Academy was constructed with hand-hewn rock by Mormon pioneers between 1890 and 1895. Its purpose was to provide an inspirational setting for their youth to obtain a first-class education, despite frontier challenges. Of 35 academies built by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) in the West. Oneida is one of the few surviving buildings and the only one in Idaho. , Joseph Don Carlos Young, a son of Brigham Young, designed the building. German immigrant, John Nuffer, was called on a mission to build the academy. He apprenticed his trade on castles in Germany. Architectural features include a wooden belfry, stone quoins, entry archway, and an imposing staircase. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975. , Many of its alumni, and of its successor, Preston High School, went on to national fame: Ezra Taft Benson, (see caption below); Harold B. Lee, president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints 1972-73; Samuel Cowley, inducted into the FBI's Hall of Fame for efforts to take out infamous mobster Baby Face Nelson in 1934; and E.G. Peterson, president of Utah State University 1916-1945. , In 2003, the Academy was schedule to be razed by the Preston School District. A few hours before the contract was awarded the friends of the academy raised $1.3 million dollars to move it. The 1,659-ton building was moved 2.5 blocks to this site over a 10-day period. To make repairs, rock from the building's original quarry was cut and chiseled to match the work of the academy's pioneer builders. , The building is now a community center-museum of local history, and an information center for travelers along the Pioneer Historic Byway.