Our History
In 1875 John H Bott started his memorial business in a thatch roofed hut at what is now the corner of 300 So and Main in Brigham City. He had worked on the Salt Lake LDS Temple prior to coming north. It is unknown whether he worked quarrying the blocks at the temple quarry or the finish work at Temple Square.
One of his closest acquaintances was Lorenzo Snow who was sent to settle the Brigham City area. In 1892 Pres. Snow suggested that John H Bott purchase the Grist Mill from him for his growing business and family. John H. employed many who came to their small community until they could build a home and start either their own business or farm. Grandpa John’s business was a family affair as much as a community employer. The men would cut, shape and polish the raw materials acquired locally or shipped by rail from the East Coast. Back then the headstones were produced from local sandstone, limestone and marble.
The girls in the family learned the trade too as they would do the lettering and carving. They had learned that the fairer sex had a lighter touch when it came to the intricate details of the memorials. Their method of carving was the wooden mallet and iron chisels forged in the blacksmith shop located at the back of the shop property.
Finding workers was never a problem as John H. had a large family, 3 wives and 32 children, which was the byproduct of their faith that they would gladly have died for. Instead John H was imprisoned for what he would later call “Conscience sake”. John H Bott would later pass away leaving a legacy of memorial craftsmanship that would be passed through the family for the next 5 generations and flourish throughout the intermountain west. In fact at one point not too long ago 90% of the monument shops in Utah, Idaho and Wyoming were either John H’s posterity or trained by them.
Today the old Mill and the family trade have passed to DJ, and Mike Bott (brothers) and their sons Andrew, Seth and Jonathan. 5th and 6th generation craftsmen, determined to carry on the tradition and excellence of our forefathers. Today the trade isn’t as labor intense as the “mallet and chisel days” of the past but the craftsmanship is still the same.
We are still as much a part of the communities we serve today, as we were in the past. You may not even have known it. For instance our grandfather and great grandfather erected the “This is the Place” monument at the mouth of the canyon in Salt Lake City. Our uncle Nephi made the monument for Old Ephraim. The monstrous grizzly that roamed No. Utah and So. Idaho. When a flash flood washed the headstones away in the Bothwell/Thatcher cemetery, it was our father that helped the good folks of that community repair their cemetery. My brothers and I have had the opportunity to improve and expand the war memorial on the grounds of the Box Elder County courthouse and the list goes on and on. We are proud, active members of both the Brigham City Area Chamber of Commerce and the Bear River Valley Chamber.
Perhaps the greatest legacy passed on is “save the customer money and then give them a memorial crafted like they spent the mint”
