Preserving History Mapleton’s Historic Old Towne Square Mapleton’s Historic Old Towne Square stands on the south side of Mapleton City Park as a tribute to the city’s early settlers and heritage. Originally comprised of the Kendall Cabin (built around 1880) and the Mapleton Heritage Museum housed in the Bird Home (built in 1892), the Historic Old Towne Square now also houses a Relief Society Hall (built in 1888), a blacksmith shop and barn that were constructed in 2020, and a “Unity” statue that was placed in 2021. Following is more information about these historic buildings.
MAPLETON HERITAGE MUSEUM
KENDALL LOG CABIN
Located in the Historic Bird Home
Roswell Darius Bird Sr. and his family outside of the Historic Bird Home (Photo courtesy of UVU’s Historical Photo Collections)
Roswell Darius Bird Sr. originally settled his family in Springville, then built this two-story, seven-room, Victorian-style home in 1892 on land his father received under the Homestead Act. The Historic Bird Home stands today in its original location and is listed on the National Registry of Historic Buildings. It stayed in the family for nearly a century, with generations growing up there. Morris Bird, one of Roswell Darius Bird Sr.’s grandsons, sold the home to Mapleton City in 1991, expressing the family’s wishes for the home to become a museum.
The Mapleton Heritage Museum, located in the Historic Bird Home, opened to the public in 1999. The museum contains pioneer artifacts, records and photographs, and it has featured a variety of exhibits from “Farming & Hunting in Early Mapleton” to “Mapleton’s Military History.” The Historic Bird Home also houses the Mapleton Historical Society, a group of devoted volunteers (many of whom are descendants of the city’s original settlers) who serve to constantly provide opportunities for residents to learn about and remember Mapleton’s past.
Levi Kendall was one of the early pioneers who entered the Salt Lake Valley with Brigham Young in 1847. He assisted with the first plowing and planting of Deseret, and he and his wife Eliza were some of Mapleton’s first settlers. He built the cabin for his family shortly after their arrival to Mapleton in approximately 1880. The Kendall Log Cabin
BLACKSMITH SHOP & BARN Old Towne Square also contains a blacksmith shop and barn built in 2020. They are furnished with materials from Mapleton residents’ old barns (some dating back to the 1800s). The barn is still under construction, but when completed, both buildings are intended to honor Mapleton’s agricultural history. The Blacksmith Shop’s interior
(Photo courtesy of Mapleton City)
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SPRINGVILLE-MAPLETON CHAMBER OF COMMERCE • SPRINGVILLEUTAHCHAMBER.ORG
