Curated by: The Brigham City Heritage Tours Team
The two-story brick Tithing Office was built in 1877 on an acre lot. Construction was supervised by tithing clerk Peter F. Madsen. William Cox and Hyrum Stow laid all the home-made brick, and James Pett and William Wrighton did the carpentry work.
Mormons in good standing are required to contribute one-tenth of their earnings as tithes to the Church. During that period, instead of paying cash, farmers and industrialists gave a tenth of their net production. The new Tithing Office had several ground-level storage rooms for perishable goods such as butter, eggs, cheese, and meat as well as non-perishable merchandise. A rock wall was built around the large yard to confine animals received as tithing.
Offices for local church leaders were built on the second floor, and a baptismal font was installed in the basement for the baptism of Mormon children and new converts to the faith.
When tithing was paid primarily in cash instead of animals or produce, the tithing office was no longer needed by the church. The old stone wall was torn down in 1920 and the Tithing Office building sold to Alfred Fawson of Brigham City in 1937. Mabel Fawson Davis, his daughter, recalled that the family removed the upper story and used the bricks to add a ground-level wing on each side.
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