The Uintah Stake Tabernacle was built from 1898-1907 under the direction of Uintah Stake President Samuel R. Bennion and counselors Reuben S. Collett and James P. Hacking, with T. T. Davies as architect and William Cook as builder. Fathers and sons labored long days and nights with primitive tools, hauling logs from nearby canyons, using locally made bricks from Swain Brothers, painting pine woodwork to resemble oak, and painting pillars to resemble marble. Modest in construction, the building featured stone window heads and sills, arched vestibules, a U-shaped gallery, and a simple cupola crowning the roof, at a total cost of $37,000. Invited by Stake President William H. Smart, Church President Joseph F. Smith dedicated the tabernacle on August 24, 1907, and crowds filled it for two days of services as children sang and recited the Articles of Faith. It served as a meeting house and stake tabernacle until 1949, when a new stake center was built, and afterward until 1984 it was used as a cultural center, political hall, and the scene of many spiritual events. After standing vacant for several years, it was announced on February 13, 1994, that the building would be converted into a temple for use by Latter-day Saints in the Vernal area.