BYU students help uncover buried treasures from Provo's first tabernacle torn down in 1919

PROVO — As the LDS Church finalizes plans to build a temple within the walls of the fire-ravaged Provo Tabernacle, history from an even earlier building at the site is being studied.

Little by little, archaeologists and students from BYU are working in cooperation with the Church History and Temple departments of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to unearth Provo's first tabernacle, a building known as the "old meetinghouse."

It stood just north of the existing Provo Tabernacle, which was gutted by a fire more than a year ago.

They are digging, sifting and discovering some of Provo's early history, and finding some surprises.

“(There's) some of the best-cut stone you will see, put together in a solid foundation that held up this building,” said Richard Talbot, director of the Office of Public Archaeology at BYU.

Not only are they learning about the old meetinghouse, which was torn down in 1919, they are finding artifacts from life in Provo during the late 1800s.

“We're finding little trinkets, beads and buttons and straight pins, a little doll. We found a little piece of a brooch pin off of a woman's dress,” Talbot said.

The building was torn down in 1919 after it fell into disrepair. Talbot says some of it was salvaged, but most of it was pushed into the basement and buried.

Another interesting architectural find has been an original stone window frame, believed to have held stained glass, which was above the front door of the old tabernacle.

As BYU students were digging on Thursday afternoon, graduate student Scott Ure uncovered the last missing piece of the frame.

"I enjoy finding these pieces and putting the puzzles together. It's just an exciting thing. I love it," Ure said.

The excavation is also allowing the archaeologists to learn more about the city's first tabernacle. For example, ash residue on the foundation wall reflects where the wood burning stove was located that provided heat to the building

“The things aren't that extraordinary to a lot of people, but finding something that is over 100 years old is pretty amazing," said graduate student Katie Richards.