The Stewarts of Ballymena: The Provo West Coop: The 2nd Site for the First Store in Provo (1860-1869)

The Provo West Coop on Center Street, originally the store of Andrew Jackson Stewart from 1860-1869 [1]

As early as 1853, Andrew Jackson Stewart, Sr. and his wife Eunice Pease Quinby Stewart ran the first store in Provo from their home, which was adjacent to the Public Square. In 1855 and 1856-1858, Andrew served as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; Eunice ran the business during his absence. [2]

The Stewart Home at 55 South 500 West, the first store in Pioneer Provo [3]

Upon returning from his mission to Australia in October 1858, Andrew resumed merchandising in Provo. [4] During his absence, the Utah Territory had been occupied by the US Army under General Johnston, based at Camp Floyd. Andrew saw this as a business opportunity and began trading with soldiers at the fort to obtain goods from the East in exchange for provisions and other necessities.

A.J. had some rather extensive business dealings with members of Johnston’s Army and was evidently told by Brigham Young to sell his pigs to them for $6.00 a piece, but to others for two. [5]

Camp Floyd in 1859 [6]

To expand and separate his business from his residence, Andrew obtained a property for a new store. The Deseret News of September 27, 1860 reports under “Improvements at Provo”:

Mr. A. J. Stewart is building a large store on Centre street. [7]

Once the building was completed, Andrew transferred his merchandising business from his Provo house to the new building, located at 466 West Center Street. Tullidge’s 1883 history of Utah describes it as “the first store of any importance in Utah County.” [8]

The earliest mention of the building in use is in 1861:

On May 4, 1861 the trustees and teachers of the Utah County schools held a convention in the new building that Benjamin Franklin and his brother Andrew Jackson had built in Provo. [9]

The withdrawal of the U.S. Army from Camp Floyd in July 1861 proved to be economically advantageous for Andrew:

When the army was leaving Camp Floyd, he purchased a great many horse and mule shoes, over a thousand wagons, guns and a great many other things, and engaged for a time in extensive wholesale and retail merchandising at Provo. [10]

Andrew and Eunice ran the store continued to run the store until Eunice passed away.

On June 30, 1868 his wife Eunice passed away with a severe case of pneumonia. She had never been robust, but was a capable manager and financier, helping her husband to accumulate and manage his property well. She was forty-three at the time of her death. [11]

This 2003 photo shows the Provo West Coop building with the original 1890 trim at the top, which has since been removed. [12]

Around 1869 Andrew left the merchandising business and sold the store to the Relief Society of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Church opened the Provo West Cooperative Mercantile Institution in the structure, better known as the “Provo West Co-op.” Around 1890 the building was remodeled to its current form.

The historic site plaque on the Provo West Coop building.

The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places on March 21, 1996, and a plaque on the front reads:

Constructed c.1866 and remodeled c.1890, this building is historically significant as one of the oldest extant examples of stores that were developed in the cooperative merchandising movement sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints during the late 1800s. The cooperative system was devised by LDS church leaders in order to encourage trading among church members and to combat the increasing outflow of financial resources to non-Mormon businesses. In 1869, this cooperative movement had its start in Provo with the formation of the Provo Cooperative Institution, which was later known as the East Co-op. The West Co-op was established later that same year in this building, which had been purchased from A.J. Stewart, a Provo merchant, who had built it about three years earlier.

Note: The year of construction ca. 1866 on the plaque and on the National Registry is incorrect as documented in the earlier statements; the correct year of construction is 1860, and this error has been communicated to The National Register of Historic Places: Division of State History.

The current structure is described as follows:

A two-story painted brick building, the Provo West Co-op is in relatively good condition today. The inside of the Co-op consists of wood and adobe. One bay deep and three bays wide, Tuscan columns built on pedestals surround the entryway, and the Victorian Eclectic style detail is evident in the double hung sash windows on the second floor. Dentils and consoles are symmetrically aligned on the cornice. Although changes have been made and the building does not retain its original integrity, it still preserves much of the character of the buildings of the late 1800s. [13]

The building is currently occupied by Foxglove, "a full service flower and gift shop located in historic downtown Provo, Utah." [14]