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Group proposes converting Rexburg Pump House into history visitor center
Summary
A local historical group proposed repurposing the city’s historic Pump House as a Rexburg History Visitor Center. Council members and residents expressed support but the city says ownership is unclear and funding and renovation costs remain to be resolved.
Doug Laidle proposed to the Rexburg City Council that the city repurpose the old Pump House on the corner of Second East and First South as a Rexburg History Visitor Center.
Laidle told the council the Pump House, built in 1906, sits on the same lot as Rexburg’s first church meeting house and early school and is constructed from the same stone as the Tabernacle. He said the well on the Pump House was discontinued in 1958 and that the site now holds rescued archival publications and photographs that lack a permanent public home after the museum’s move.
“This pump house is built with the same stone as the Tabernacle,” Laidle said. He explained volunteers from the Rexburg Historical Society and allied groups would staff a small visitor center rather than a full museum and suggested grants and local donations to fund remodeling.
Why it matters: Laidle and other presenters said the city lacks a single, public site for local history after the museum moved. Laidle cited collections including volumes of the Snake River Echoes and other indexed publications and said community requests for historical information are increasing.
City response and next steps: Mayor Merrill told the council staff have declared the building surplus in earlier work but that an office search showed no recorded deed on city files. “We have since then discovered that we can't find any historical record or paperwork that that it belongs actually to the city,” the mayor said. Council members asked staff to follow up with the church and other title sources and to schedule a site visit. Councilor Deborah (surname not specified in record) volunteered to schedule a field trip for council members and interested volunteers.
Public comment at the meeting reinforced support. Resident Keith (230 Harvard Ave) urged a permanent visitor center rather than “a hallway” display at City Hall, stressing tourists and students use such resources. Frank Williams said he feared fast demolition of historic structures; Joe Duclat asked the council “not to be too fast with the wrecking ball.”
Costs and constraints: Council members and staff noted the Pump House needs masonry and other repairs; the mayor referenced recent masonry work on the Tabernacle that cost approximately $800,000 and warned restoration is expensive. Staff also said the Pump House may not be city-owned, which would affect the council’s ability to remove it from surplus status. Council members said grants and volunteer staffing could reduce operating costs but that a funding plan and title resolution would be required before the city could commit.
What comes next: Council directed staff to continue title research, pursue conversations with the building’s current owner(s), and arrange a council site visit. No formal action to transfer or commit city funds was taken at the meeting.
