Built in 1868 of local stone cut with a rough, or rusticated, finish, the FCMI Store exemplifies the stone craftsmanship of the Mormon pioneers of southeastern Idaho and reflects the late 19th-century transition in commercial and institutional architecture from Greek Revival to Italianate style. Its false front shows Italianate influence, while its simple form, low roof, and transom light above the door retain Greek Revival characteristics. The building first housed the Franklin Cooperative Store in 1868, and the following year the Franklin Cooperative Mercantile Institution was established as part of the Mormon cooperative movement, which sought to maintain good prices and markets for local products and to share profits more equally among community residents. Local stores such as the FMCI received supplies from regional centers that bought goods from the Zion’s Cooperative Mercantile Institution in Salt Lake City. In Franklin, local store leaders included Lorenzo Hill Hatch as president, John Doney, Sr., as vice president, and William Woodward, William T. Wright, and Charles Fox as directors. The store was discontinued in the 1880s. Franklin resident Elliott Butterworth later operated Butterworth Hardware in the building and then organized the Pioneer Association to promote and preserve local history. In 1923, the Idaho Pioneer Association bought the building for use as a relic hall, or museum, to display artifacts related to the settlement of Franklin, and it served that purpose until 1937, when a new Relic Hall was built next door.