Former church building in Rush Valley prepares to reopen as museum

RUSH VALLEY, Tooele County — Originally dedicated in 1907, the historic Clover Ward LDS meetinghouse has undergone a facelift over the last five years, with more than 4,000 volunteer hours poured into the building to make it look like new.

Now, more than a month after a ribbon-cutting officially ended construction, the building is undergoing final preparations for its public dedication on April 28, 120 years to the day after it was originally dedicated.

Dedication

The single-story red-brick building just off of state Route 199, at 630 S. West Shambip Road, in Rush Valley in Tooele County, was built by members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as a chapel for Sunday services.

For years, John Cluff, project manager for the Clover Church Restoration Project, had heard rumors that then-Elder Heber J. Grant of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles dedicated the building more than a decade before he became the seventh president of the Church of Jesus Christ.

Despite the rumor, Cluff never found first-hand sources confirming Elder Grant's involvement in the dedication. He spent five years searching archives for any documentation about the building and its dedication, but found nothing.

Finally, in July, Cluff and his wife traveled to the Church History Library in Salt Lake City and searched its vast collection with help from the staff. A day after their visit, Cluff received a scan of a handwritten program showing that Elder Grant had indeed dedicated the building.

Thanks to the document, the building's rededication as a museum was planned 120 years to the day of its original dedication, according to Cluff.

Restoration

However, much work remained before the building was ready for visitors, inside and out.

In the 1950s, the Clover Ward combined with the St. John Ward and moved into the St. John building, abandoning the old Clover Ward meetinghouse. For years, Cluff said the building was used as a place for kids to play basketball, but it was eventually turned into storage for the town's fire truck.

They removed the front door and installed a rolling garage door in its place. The ceiling was lowered to help keep the building warm during the winter, and the floorboards were removed and a dip cut into the floor to help water drain from the truck parked inside.

Eventually, the town built a new fire station, and the building was abandoned. In 2021, the mayor told Cluff was considering selling the building, as he wasn't sure how the town would be able to restore the nearly 115-year-old building.

"He said, 'Well, who's going to restore it?'" Cluff said. "I said, 'I don't know, we're too old to do that.' And he said, 'Oh, you guys can do it!' So we took on the project to restore the building."

Over the next five years, local residents, Tooele residents, youth groups, and missionaries from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints poured more than 4,000 hours of volunteer work into restoring the building.

"All the time that I was doing this, there's been an energy, a divine energy that has motivated me when we wanted to give up," said executive assistant project manager Carol Cluff. "I just feel that my father's hands are on it. It was his inspiration, and we have felt his spirit while we are doing it."

Teams of volunteers removed the ceiling beams for the lowered ceiling, restoring the height of the building to its original stature. The beams were then used to reinstall the stage that the firefighters had removed to make space for the firetruck.

The "Clover" sign in front of the church had been lost to time, but students in the Grantsville High School shop class built a new sign using old photos to get as close to the original as they could.

Several companies and contractors donated many of the services used to restore the building. Cluff said they received more than $200,000 worth of services for just $90,000. Community members raised the funds, and companies and the Tooele County Tourism Board also donated.

Carol Cluff cut the ribbon at a community celebration on Sept. 11 after completing major interior renovations. John Cluff thanked everyone who helped with the restoration project, though additional work remains on the exterior, along with collecting artifacts to fill the museum.

"I'm just really happy that we've saved that building and excited to see how the residents of Rush Valley use it and enjoy it," John Cluff said.

Carol Cluff agreed with her husband, saying she looks forward to the official dedication.

"Almost everyone that's on this committee has heritage out there," she said. "We have the hope that we can see it come to fruition as an asset to the whole county, because of our connection to it."

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