[2] The building was a notable construction for a settlement of Smithfield's size, and it served as a geographic and symbolic center for the early town, functioning as an important religious and public space.

[4] By 1880, the Smithfield Ward had outgrown the three-room building in which it was meeting, and in 1881, Bishop George L. Farrell and his counselors Preston T. Morehead and James Mack decided the time had come to erect a tabernacle.

The tabernacle was designed in a Victorian Gothic style[3] by Logan resident James Quayle of architecture firm Cannon and Mullen.

[4][7] The building was constructed of approximately 220,000[9] yellow bricks distinctive to Smithfield and manufactured locally by Lars Mourtisen in his clay-pit brickyard near the Bear River.

One twenty-first century news report stated the building commenced in 1881,[2] but the tabernacle's own datestone and other early or expert sources indicate it began in April 1883.

[10][12] The tabernacle's north and south walls each housed six tall pointed-arch windows with rectangular lights of varigated green.

After its completion, the building served as the center of religious and civic life in the city, as the setting for both worship services and secular occasions such as musical performances, graduations, and other community meetings.

[4] For example, United States Vice President Charles Curtis reportedly visited the tabernacle during a fall 1932 trip to Utah.

The building apparently remained unused for some period between 1951[2][3] and 16 May 1955, when it was deeded to the Cache County School District,[4] which planned to renovate it as a storage facility and maintenance garage.

[7] The tabernacle's vacancy following the relocation of the Second Ward attracted some local criticism, particularly among older residents who felt the building was being desecrated by standing unused.

The school board agreed to sell the tabernacle back to the church for the nominal sum of $1 USD, under the stipulation it be used as a recreation facility.

The prayer circle room was eventually relegated to storage of elements from either the tabernacle itself or the later-demolished First Ward building, including window pieces and a pulpit.

The addition also included an upper-level classroom that was apparently used, at one point, for seminary classes by the nearby Smithfield Junior High (which later became part of Summit Elementary School).

[3][8] Following the construction of the new complex, the Youth Center is still occasionally used as of 2023 for basketball games, public and private events, and as a storage facility for sports equipment.

[8] The society, citizens, and city officials worked to remove vines from the north side of the building, suppress volunteer trees, install a rain gutter system, and effect repairs to the masonry and foundation.