Mink Creek Ward: Chapel Interior

The chapel used to be quite ornate, especially for a small community. Apparently, local Church leaders were scolded for building such an ornate (and expensive) building here.

(Image Source: Church History Library)

The building has been very, very well preserved, but the chapel has been remodeled, and it was flipped. The mural remains on the same wall, but it's now at the back of the chapel, instead of behind the pulpit.

The mural was painted by Harold Helgeson, depicting Temple Square at that time. He did other murals for chapels in the area, including Riverdale, Idaho (the Susquehannah River); Preston (one was painted over; another was taken to Church archives)

The chapel is the same size it was in 1929. The Church has looked into extending the chapel (to increase capacity). If that is ever done, this mural will be moved to another wall. While a lot of the interior details have faded over time, many of them are still present in this beautiful building.

But Harold did many more paintings in this building besides the chapel. We'll look at more of this very unique building in the next few posts.

Mink Creek Ward

Mink Creek is a small farming community northeast of Preston, Idaho. It has a nice chapel that was built in 1928-1929. I originally visited it way back in 2016, but I revisited it recently, and documented the interior.

(Image Source: Church History Library)

 

There are some changes to the building, of course, but the basic floorplan has remained intact.

It's a beautiful chapel in a gorgeous setting. This is the Church's backyard: a small cemetery, and pastures.

Beaver Dam Ward: Window Detail

This ward recently had an open house celebrating the history and architecture of their building. For more images, see the other posts I have on this building.

Bancroft Idaho Ward (Interior & Murals)

Like many chapels of the 1950s, Bancroft had commissioned paintings that were donated by someone in the local area. In this case, Iva Nelson and Moses William Rigby--who lived in Logan--donated these paintings done by Everett Thorpe. (The Rigbys commissioned other paintings done by Thorpe for local chapels in this same time period, including the one in Newton, Utah.)

A print of Salman's Head of Christ, a very popular painting in the post-WWII era, also hangs in the chapel.

The mural on the north side depicts Joseph Smith receiving the plates, as well as pioneers crossing the plains.

On the south side, the mural depicts the Miracle of the Gulls.

Let's hope these paintings stick around for a long time!