At the top of Dairy Hill Road, just off Route 14 in central Vermont, in a scenic pastoral setting, is a place worth visiting, notes travel writer Tim Mulligan, in his guidebook to western New England.
"In the first place, the drive to it, up a long hill, is very pretty; but in addition, the monument and grounds are not only interesting but moving in their sincerity. The approach to the monument is tree-lined and rather formal. The monument itself is an impressive 38.6-foot granite obelisk. . . . Flower beds surround the obelisk, which is set on a slight hill. Speakers have been placed in the outlying trees, and quiet music surrounds you."Welcome to the Joseph Smith Memorial and Birthplace.
The first prophet and founder of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was born here on Dec. 23, 1805, in a log cabin built on his grandfather Solomon Mack's farm. The cabin was placed squarely on the dividing line between the townships of Royalton and Sharon. "If he was born in the kitchen, he was born in Royalton," explained Lee Beckstead, director of the visitors center at the site. "If he was born in the bedroom, he was born in Sharon. Since the bedroom is the more logical place, we've always thought it was Sharon."
Young Joseph lived on the farm until he was 3 and in the area until he was 11, when the family moved to western New York in search of more favorable farming conditions. But this place has always had deep significance to members of the church, and it was one of the first to be set aside and marked with a special monument.
That happened in 1905, on the 100th anniversary of Joseph's birth. And the story of how the monument came to be erected - an extraordinary feat in those days - is a tale worth telling.
The work was accomplished under the direction of Elder Junius F. Wells, who on July 24, 1905, contracted with a Vermont company to build the monument from granite in the Marr and Gordon Barre quarry. The design called for a single 39-ton shaft of polished stone 38 1/2 feet tall - each foot representing one year of Joseph's life. There was to be a die and capstone to come out of one piece of granite, and a 9-foot base and a 12-foot secondary section to come out of other pieces of stone.
The smaller stones were easily found in the quarry, but not until after the Marr and Gordon quarry was bought by the Milne and Varnum quarry next door was a chunk of rock found in that place that would work. "Workers showed us a boulder that measured 46 feet," Wells said in an address at the dedicatory program. "By cutting down both sides and taking off the top, we got the ends a little more than 4 feet square, and it was long enough to give us the shaft. That was a happy day."
The shaft alone weighed nearly 60 tons and could be lifted only one end at a time. So even after the pieces were cut and polished and inscribed (with a tribute and scriptures), the work was far from done. The pieces had to be moved up the hill to the site, a task that at times seemed overwhelming.
Wells was told, for example, that a team of 12 horses would be able to move the stone. "Mr. Ellis of the Bethel quarries was kind enough to send down 20 of his most magnificent horses to help us draw that first load along the highway." But when they got to the hill, not even the 20 horses could pull the load up. It was then, Wells confessed, that he considered putting it on the train and sending it on to Salt Lake City to be assembled on Temple Square - a task that would surely be easier than getting up Dairy Hill. He even went so far as to write a telegram. But before he sent it, the crew tried one more time, using a system of blocks and tackles, and they were able to move the stone.
Then came a problem with the bridges. On the second trip, "we had a load that measured 12 feet, 2 inches from the ground up, and we had a covered bridge to go through that measured only 11 feet, 4 inches." Wells found a Barre resident who had a specially designed wagon that was "rigged low and would pass through the bridge. This wagon had tires 12 inches wide."
Next came the matter of the mud hole. "The day before we had to cross Mr. Button's mud hole, it rained. There was an empty hay press tried to go through it, and the wheels went out of sight. It took four horses to get it out." Wells worried about crossing that mud hole, until it began to snow and the temperature dropped and the ground froze so hard they could cross right over. "I call that Providence. I asked a man who was riding with me, one who does not believe much in anything, if it was so hard to believe in Providence now. `Well,' said he, `I almost believe it.' "
Eventually - and only a few days before the scheduled dedication - the great shaft was raised. So skilled were the workmen, noted Wells, that it was moved into place flawlessly. At the time, and possibly even today, it was the largest polished shaft of granite in America and maybe the world. As Wells pointed out, the greatest obelisks are larger stones, but they were not polished and did not have to be so carefully moved. The monument is a total of 51 feet high and weighs 100 tons. In all, the project cost $30,000, a staggering amount for 1905.
Today, that granite shaft is still an impressive sight. It is the central feature of a small complex of buildings that include a chapel, lodging for missionary couples stationed there and a visitors center.
"We think this place is the best-kept secret in the church," said Beckstead. They do get a number of church-history bus groups, particularly in the summer. Leaf-peeping season is very busy. And at Christmastime, lights and displays are put up that have earned the site a designation as one of Vermont's top 10 Christmas attractions.
But, says Bill Rader, a missionary at the center, a lot of people don't know quite what to expect when they get here. "One woman from Salt Lake said she thought that all that was here was a pile of rocks. I guess that's true, but they are stacked very nicely."
And, he says, too many people just come and click a picture without taking time to really learn what the site is all about.
The visitors center features a number of exhibits, a diorama and a film that tell about Joseph Smith's early life and his work.
Not a lot is known about those early years. The only actual artifacts associated with the Smith family that are at the center include a rocking chair made by Joseph and the hearthstone that was in front of the fireplace in the cabin where he was born. Given what life was like in those days, says Beckstead, there's a good chance that Joseph would have played on the hearthstone as a toddler.
There's a painting of his mother, Lucy, and one of his father that is actually a composite based on early descriptions; Joseph Smith Sr. never had his portrait painted. "We do know that he was over 6 feet tall and Lucy was only 4 feet 11 inches," says Beckstead.
Joseph Smith Sr. was born in Topsfield, Mass. He met and married Lucy in Tunbridge, Vt. In fact, the little general store where they met is still in use today. The family moved seven times in 11 years, due to bad luck in business as well as bad weather for farming, but church members see a divine hand in those moves.
For example, says Beckstead, one of the moves was to Lebanon, N.H. "They were there when the typhoid epidemic of 1812-13 swept through, and Joseph got that infection in his leg. The common treatment for it in those days was amputation. But there was one doctor in the country who could perform the kind of surgery that would be needed to save the leg, and he worked four miles up the road at Dartmouth."
The family moved back to Norwich and had three years of bad crops, including the famous 1816 when snow came in June and July. It has been forever after known as the year 1800-and-froze-to-death. That was when the Smith family decided to separate from the Macks and move to Palmyra, N.Y. "And, of course, we all know why they needed to be there," says Beckstead.
There are a few other reminders of those Vermont years at the birthplace memorial. Down a little dirt road behind the granite shaft are some stones from the foundation of the Solomon Mack home. And there is an original stone bridge that still covers a tiny creek.
In all, the memorial site covers 360 acres, and the woodsy grounds include camping and picnic sites, popular in the summer.
It is a quiet place, allowing for reflection and devotion. "Elder Wirthlin said that for church members this was the second-most sacred site, after Bethlehem," says Rader.
With the beauty and strength of the polished granite shaft and the peace and serenity of the surroundings, it is a fitting memorial to the humble birth of an exceptional man. There are many who would agree with the London Chronicle, which in 1851 wrote: "It cannot be denied that Joseph Smith was one of the most extraordinary persons of his time. A man of rude genius, who accomplished a much greater work than he knew; and whose name, whatever he may have been whilst living, will take its place among the nobilities of the world."
And for him and for the church celebrating its sesquicentennial this year, here, at the top of Dairy Hill Road, is where it all began.
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Additional Information
For information
Call 1-800-VERMONT to request a vacation planner that lists motels, inns and campgrounds.
Accomodations and commercial campgrounds are available in towns near the Joseph Smith Memorial including Sharon, White River Junction and Rutland, all in Vermont, and West Lebanon, N.H.
The Joseph Smith Birthplace is open 365 days a year; 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. from May to Ocotober; and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. the rest of the year. For information call 802-763-7742.
There is no admission charge.
Presently, limited camping facilities for self-contained units are available on the grounds of the site.
Additional campsites at the new Camp Joseph are scheduled to open next summer. No hookups for Rvs. Minimum camping fee.