Last updated on .
After spending some time in Ogden, we drove through nearby Brigham City and made a quick stop in the small downtown. Originally named Box Elder, Brigham City is named after Brigham Young, who gave his last public sermon there in 1877 before he died.
The Arch
Home to 17,000 people, the town attracts visitors for outdoor activities, especially birding, hunting, and fishing in the nearby Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge. The arch over Main Street downtown proclaims the city is the “Gateway to the World’s Greatest Wild Bird Refuge”. It was installed in 1928.
Downtown
I took a walk through the downtown. There were a few shops and restaurants, and that’s about it. One building I liked is the Capitol Theatre.
North of downtown on Main Street is Box Elder County Courthouse. To the south are two LDS buildings. On the Brigham City Utah Temple, an LDS temple completed in 2012, and the Box Elder Stake Tabernacle, built in 1897. The tabernacle is open for tours during the summer.
Museums
There are two museums in town I couldn’t visit because of lack of time. The Brigham City Museum is a few blocks west of Main Street and tells the history of the town. The Box Elder Museum is a bit further away. It has a collection of fossils found in Box Elder County. Both museums have free admission (as of September 2024) and are open Tuesday through Saturday. (Note: the Box Elder Museum is currently in the process of developing a new exhibition space. Limited items from the collection are on display at the Brigham City Museum.)
