Editor's Note: This article is part of the Utah Inventions series, which features a different inventor or invention with Utah ties each Wednesday. Tips for future articles can be sent to ncrofts@ksl.com. SALT LAKE CITY — Beaten down by a hostile business community and emboldened with the impending completion of the railroad, Brigham Young sensed an opening for economic independence for the pioneers and ran after it.

"For years past the necessity of being self-sustaining and of confining their trading and mercantile operations to those who had the welfare of Zion at heart, and were willing to spend their time and means for the upbuilding of the kingdom of God upon the earth have been persistently and continually urged upon the attention of the Latter-day Saints by their leaders," Deseret Evening News editor George Q. Cannon wrote of the circumstances leading up to the events of October 9, 1868.

Despite having been headquartered in the Salt Lake Valley for the past 21 years, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints generally were not well thought of by residents of surrounding areas. As a result, Mormon business owners were often charged higher prices by wholesalers once their religious affiliation was discovered. So, in order to facilitate a more business-friendly atmosphere, Young founded the Zions Cooperative Mercantile Institution in 1868.

"Owing to the teachings on this subject, the great necessity of adopting such a policy has long been very apparent to the people at large, but through circumstances, too well known to need recounting here, it has not been so generally adopted as was desirable," Cannon wrote in the Deseret News.

With the First Transcontinental Railroad nearing completion, Young sensed an opening.

ZCMI was dubbed "America's First Department Store," which soon became its popular tagline. While ZCMI was the first in the United States, department stores were already all the rage in Europe. The first department store there was was Harding, Howell & Co., which was established in 1796 on Pall Mall Street in London. These stores catered more to the affluent middle class. ZCMI sought to unite all in the pursuit of a vibrant downtown economy.

The venture turned out to be quite successful, earning over $1.25 million during the first year. ZCMI soon became the go-to store for just about everything the pioneers needed, including household items, clothing, and beauty products. Boots and shoes also became hot commodities, with ZCMI eventually manufacturing 83,000 pairs a year.

In 1876, all the departments were consolidated into a single building. An expansion in 1880 doubled the square footage. The company's success allowed for the opening of branch stores in Logan and Ogden in 1873 and 1881, respectively. The twentieth century saw ZCMI's further expansion to the suburbs, with branch stores being established in Holladay, Granger (now West Valley City), and Orem.

In December 1999, felled by shrinking profits, ZCMI was sold to the May Department Stores Company (now known as Macy's, Inc.). It retained the name, however, until becoming Meier & Frank in April 2002. Adorning the west face of Macy's at City Creek Center, ZCMI's front facade is all that remains today. It stands forever in tribute, a monument to the entrepreneurial spirit the Beehive State was founded on and one of the things that truly made Utah the crossroads of the west.

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Ryan Curtis is a proud seventh-generation Utahn and also writes for Utah Political Capitol. In his spare time, he enjoys doing family history research and listening to '70s and '80s music. You can contact him at ryancurtis4218@gmail.com.

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