Spotlight: Clarkston, Utah
by MAGEN OLSEN
You might be hard pressed to find a restaurant in Clarkston, Utah. The small town serves as a quiet suburb near the Idaho border with an LDS meetinghouse, a post office, and a cemetery. This, however, should not deter you from packing a picnic and visiting this historic town.
Set in the northwest corner of the beautiful valley of Cache County, Clarkston is most famous for being the final resting place of Martin Harris, a prominent early member of the LDS church and one-time confidant of the religion’s founder, Joseph Smith. After Smith’s death in 1844, Harris found himself migrating between several religious communities with ties to Smith’s teachings. In the 1870s, Harris joined the Utah church and settled in Clarkston for the last four years of his life. A monument in the town’s cemetery, donated by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, marks Harris’s resting place.
It’s Harris’s story that inspires a unique Clarkston’s event that draws hundreds of patrons every other odd-numbered year.
Martin Harris: The Man Who Knew is a pageant retelling Harris’s life, with an emphasis on his faith and role in the early years of the LDS Church. The pageant runs for three weekends in August and Clarkston steps up to be accommodating. Food is served at the local LDS meetinghouse for visitors and the pageant is free, although hosts advise that reservations be made beforehand.
Martin Harris may be the best-known resident of Clarkston, but the city does claim one more occupant of interest. The LDS meetinghouse in the center of town happens to be one of the most unique and historic ones in the state. It has a circular chapel with a balcony that sits on the second floor and has been in use since the building’s dedication in 1913.
What’s even more unique? Legend has it that the chapel is haunted by the spirit of an elderly woman who continues to play the organ after services end. So, whether you’re a ghost hunter, historian, or live theatre connoisseur, Clarkston offers much.