The Cedar City Pioneers had made their homes in the Old Fort and had built an adobe schoolhouse 28 feet by 60 feet when, in May 1855, President Brigham Young advised them to move to higher ground. By 1859, the majority of the people had moved to the new Cedar City site and had a small, adobe room available for school, church and civic affairs. As more and more people occupied the new Cedar Site, it became apparent that the small building was not adequate.
On January 6, 1861, a committee was appointed, composed of Samuel Leigh, John M. Higbee and Isaac C. Haight, who recommended building a social hall. With materials scarce and labor plentiful, the schoolhouse in the Old Fort was dismantled, brick by brick, and reassembled in the new location (Block 37 Lot 18) to become known as the "Social Hall." This one-story building had four windows on each side, a fireplace in the west end, and a door in the east end. It was set back from the street to where the center of the State Bank of Southern Utah parking lot is located.
The Social Hall was used for church, school, dances, dramatics, funerals, civic and social needs. School functions were transferred from the Social Hall in 1881 when the new school building was finished on the southeast corner of the block.
The tabernacle was completed in 1888 for religious purposes, but the Social Hall continued to serve for recreation and other needs until the ward hall was built north of the school building in 1897. At this time the Social Hall was considered unsafe for public use and was torn down.
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