Deseret Manufacturing Company

Deseret Manufacturing Company

Industry	Sugar beet processing
Founded	1851 (1851)
Founders	John Taylor John W. Coward Joseph Russell Philip DeLaMare
Defunct	1853 (1853)
Key people	Brigham Young
Parent	The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

The Deseret Manufacturing Company () represented an early initiative by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the 1850s to establish a local sugar beet refining operation. Their experimental facility was situated in the area now known as Sugar House, Utah.

Background

Due to freight expenses ranging from forty cents to one dollar per pound when shipping goods from the Missouri River Valley to the Utah Territory, the Church sought to cultivate a homegrown sugar beet industry beginning in 1850. This was intended as a vital cash crop for Mormon settlers. The Church’s First Presidency released estimates regarding regional sugar consumption and dietary requirements. Among the principal founders, John Taylor, who had studied sugar beet factories in France, provided valuable technical expertise for this pioneering industrial effort.

Company formation

In 1851, under the leadership of Brigham Young and John Taylor, the LDS Church launched industrial development in Utah by founding the Deseret Manufacturing Company with an initial investment of $35,000. Equipment was procured from Faucett, Preston and Company in Liverpool, shipped to New Orleans, and then transported overland to Utah. The journey was hindered by severe snow conditions, resulting in the company earning the nickname "Damn Miserable Company." Some machinery was abandoned during transit, and by late 1852, the original factory site near Provo was deserted. Instead, the equipment was installed in Salt Lake City within an adobe blacksmith shop located in present-day Sugarhouse for testing purposes. This test facility became operational by December 1852.

Although Brigham Young lacked expertise in sugar production and doubted John Taylor’s business acumen, he assumed control of the enterprise. The 1852 attempt failed due to defective vacuum pans and insufficient industry knowledge. Financial resources were exhausted, leading the LDS Church to take over its debts by early 1853. Following this transition, key individuals with sugar industry experience—including Taylor, DeLaMare, and Mollenhauer—departed.

Philip DeLaMare later clarified that while initial machinery operated adequately, essential parts such as retorts—necessary for producing animal charcoal used in clarifying beet juice—were never ordered. This critical oversight doomed sugar production that year. Despite these difficulties, DeLaMare affirmed that successful sugar manufacturing was achievable with proper clarification techniques and resources, suggesting Utah might have become a leader in U.S. beet sugar production two decades earlier had these problems been addressed.

The full factory

In 1853, Truman O. Angell designed a complete sugar beet processing plant under Brigham Young’s guidance, with construction managed by A. O. Smoot. The project experienced delays as labor and materials were redirected toward building the nearby Salt Lake Temple. Although planned for completion in fall 1854, the factory only commenced sugar beet processing on February 1, 1855. It continued operations until March 17, 1855, but did not successfully produce sugar.

The factory ceased operations in fall 1856 without achieving its goals despite ongoing optimism from Church leaders. Subsequent investigations confirmed that equipment had been correctly manufactured and installed; however, failure stemmed from a shortage of skilled operators and missing crucial procedures such as sufficient vacuum pump speed and a proper graining process for crystallizing sugar. Financial difficulties faced by the LDS Church along with the onset of the 1857 Utah War further contributed to abandoning the project, compounded by Brigham Young’s inadequate response to criticism.

Legacy

The expensive machinery found new uses throughout various Utah industries, including Young's woolen mill, Thomas Howard's paper production, and the bookbinding department of the Deseret News. Ultimately, this endeavor ended with a financial shortfall of $50,000.

Concerns over sugar availability persisted within the region. In 1863, Young expressed disapproval of dependence on imported sugar, viewing it as a depletion of local funds. After trials with sorghum and a preference for sugar beets, Arthur Stayner advocated in 1887 for the LDS Church to engage in sugar beet cultivation, yet limited church resources and unfavorable assessments from the church-affiliated ZCMI committee delayed advancement. By 1889, Stayner alongside Elias Morris persuaded Wilford Woodruff to endorse sugar beet farming, which culminated in establishing the Utah-Idaho Sugar Company.