Brigham's academy was lasting legacy
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In 1875, two years before his death, President Brigham Young contemplated how to use his material assets to leave a lasting legacy. As any good president would do, he sought advice from his counselor. President George Q. Cannon suggested that he found an educational institution that would be named after him and thus would perpetuate his name in Utah.
"I imagine he was modest and probably would have preferred that it be called by a different name, but he took the advice and called it Brigham Young Academy," said Jed Woodworth, research editor of BYU Studies and historical consultant to This Is The Place Heritage Park.
That academy lives on today as Brigham Young University. But its original home, Lewis Hall, is being replicated inside the park's Old Deseret Village. Construction will be completed next year.
On June 2, during the 200th anniversary birthday celebration for President Young at the park, descendants of the academy's enrollees met to celebrate the project and to pledge their financial and moral support for it. Brother Woodworth's comments were part of the program, as was a portrayal by actor Michael Bennett of Karl G. Maesar, the organizer of the academy. Other actors portrayed some of his students.
When finished, Lewis Hall will be more than just a visitor attraction. The first floor will be used for on-going humanitarian service, while the second floor will house a library and will accommodate lectures, research and musical performances.
The legacy of Dr. Maesar's academy is perpetuated today at BYU in the form of the school's honor code and the integration of the scriptures with secular learning, Brother Woodworth noted.
Built originally as a mercantile house in 1866-67, Lewis Hall was the largest structure in the state. But it served the academy for only nine years; fire destroyed it in 1884.
The day after the fire, students assembled for classes as usual. They were asked to write in their notebooks the message on the blackboard: "The academy can no more be destroyed by fire than can the soul of man by death."
That declaration is verified today by the existence of BYU and the goodness it instills in its students. And it is memorialized by construction of the Lewis Hall replica now progressing at This Is The Place Heritage Park.
