Our History

St. Paul’s Church began its life as a daughter congregation (or mission) of St. Mark’s Cathedral, founded by the Right Reverend Daniel S. Tuttle, the first Episcopal Bishop of Utah. The parish developed out of a Sunday school that began meeting in local Episcopalians’ homes in 1878, and construction on our first building began the following year.

It was eventually decided that the new church should be called St. Paul’s, named for the Apostle to the Gentiles and in honor of St. Paul’s Church on Broadway in New York City. St. Paul’s Broadway was the site of Bishop Tuttle’s consecration sermon, and three parishioners from that parish (Maria Charlotte, Jane Mount, and Susan Mount) made a generous donation to help pay for the new chapel. Old St. Paul’s was located on the corner of 4th South and Main Street, in the current location of Quarters Arcade Bar and Apollo Burger.

When services began in 1880, St. Paul’s became the third parish in the Diocese of Utah, after St. Mark’s Cathedral and the Church of the Good Shepherd in Ogden. Our first priest was the Reverend Samuel Unsworth, who was a graduate of General Theological Seminary and went on to found St. Paul’s Church in Evanston, Wyoming.

A collection of images of Old St. Paul’s church, which was located at the corner of 4th S. and Main St.