Revisiting Brigham Young's Baptismal Site

It is so amazing to live in western New York, in the midst of so many LDS historical sites. We live in Mendon, which is about 20 miles west of Palmyra. This is the area where the Youngs and the Kimballs lived. Brigham’s father, John, came here in 1828. He and Brigham built the home that we live in. In December 1829 Brigham moved to Mendon and built a water-powered wood mill and home about ¼ mile to the east of his father’s home. For year there has been an old simple sign at the site of Brigham’s mill/home/baptismal site. Every year it was removed as a precaution against vandalism by deer hunters. Then it was put back up. When we arrived here in August we saw the old faded sign and knew that it needed to be replaced. The Mission Office staff talked about getting a new sign. We wanted to have it done by someone from the church facilities management (FM) group. Finally in December we were going to have an event at the John Young home, and wanted to have a better sign. I made a temporary sign and mounted it at the site. Recently Elder McVea was encouraged by President Christianson to get a new sign put up at the site. Saturday the Office Staff went to the site and installed a beautiful new sign. It was determined that the temporary sign that I had made would also stay in place.
We met at 10 am and had a short devotional at the site, after installing the new sign. We sang “Come Come Ye Saints” and President offered a prayer of safety and protection for the site. We then took pictures. This site is not as well known as other sites in the area, but in the summer busloads of tourists stop near the site and some walk the 400 feet along the grassy path to Trout Creek. Brigham built a dam there to hold water for a mill pond; to provide more water volume and pressure to run the water wheel of his mill, which he had built over the stream.
In 1832 Brigham and Miriam Young, John and Mary Young, Fanny Young, Phineas and Clarissa Young, Heber C. and Vilate Kimball, John P. and Rhoda Greene, Nathan Tomlinson and his wife, John and Betsey Monson, Israel Barlow with his mother, brother and sister, and many others were baptized in the mill pond. We have read that 65 people were baptized there, including half of the local Baptist Church congregation. It is an amazing privilege to live so close to the site and to be able to walk there in 10 minutes is great.

We hope that you enjoy learning more about Church history here in New York. We will try to tell you more as the months progress.