Bigler Cabin

Built: ca. 1852
Original Location: Nephi, Utah
Built By: Jacob G. Bigler, Sr.

Bigler Cabin in Fall 2005. Photo: B. Miskin

Nephi, Utah, located roughly 80 miles south of Salt Lake City, was first settled in the summer of 1851 as Salt Creek.

Jacob G. Bigler, Sr. arrived in October 1852. This small cabin was where he lived and worked weaving cloth for trade. The small cabin has been closed to guests for decades now, but when it was open, it displayed weaving items such as a spinning wheel and a large loom.

Bigler was born in 1813 in Virginia where he lived until age 25. According to his autobiography it was at that time he “heard ‘Mormonism’ taught and was a believer, but did not join the church until I went to Far West, Missouri in March, 1838. There I investigated the principals more fully and was thoroughly convinced of their truth.”

Jacob G. Bigler, Sr. Photo: FamilySearch.org

He later lived in Nauvoo, Illinois where he helped build the temple and became a close friend of Joseph Smith and his family. When other members of The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-Day Saints made their journey westward across the plains, Bigler went along as far as Winter Quarters, Nebraska where he remained for a time. He moved next to Kanesville, Iowa before finally continuing on to the Salt Lake Valley in 1852. He was only in Salt Lake City for a month or so before moving on to Nephi where he resided until his death in 1907. There he contributed in many capacities such as mayor and a representative in the Territorial Legislature. For his church he served missions in Europe and was also a bishop, stake president and stake patriarch.

His old cabin was acquired for the original Pioneer Village in Salt Lake City where it sat next to the Smokehouse and Schoolhouse.