In 1857, Robert D. Covington, directed by Brigham Young, led twenty-eight families to Washington, Utah, to establish the Cotton Mission. In 1859, a large structure was built to serve as a meeting house for the Saints, a way station for early missionaries to the Indians, and the home of Robert Covington, the first bishop in Dixie. Its spacious upper floor, entered by an outside stairway, became a community social center where parties, dances, and plays were held until 1877. Built of native Navajo sandstone, it is the oldest remaining building in Utah's Dixie.