From the 1850s to the 1950s, Latter-day Saints built about 100 tabernacles in communities across the western United States. They were primarily places of worship but also served as a gathering place for the community. While more than half of the 100-plus-year-old historic jewels have been razed or sold over the years, many have not only survived the century but are still functioning houses of worship. The Oakley Idaho Tabernacle, also called the Cassia Stake Tabernacle, was completed in 1902 and was used until 1953. An organ that was in the old Oakley Tabernacle now sits in the town museum. (Contributed by Trent Toone of the Deseret News.)
The Oakley City Park has a historical marker on the place where the Oakley Tabernacle once stood. The marker was erected by the Daughters of the Utah Pioneers and reads, “In April 1879 members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints from Tooele, Utah, under the direction of Wm. E. Martindale, arrived in Oakley where James Dayley and his two sons had staked claims and built cabins. On Sept. 24, 1882, the Saints were organized onto a ward with Horton D. Haight, Bishop. In 1902 the Cassia Stake Tabernacle was built of native stone. With a seating capacity of 700, it was completed at a cost of $12,000. Destroyed by fire in 1965.”
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