Wards and Branches of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Bear Lake Stake, Idaho

This page includes the boundaries of wards and branches as of about 1930, a timeline history, and how to obtain the records.

Source used for this page: p.46-48.

Bear Lake Stake, 1930
Stake boundaries as of about 1930 See Encyclopedic History..., p. 46-48.


 * Area of the County: Consists of the Latter-day Saints residing in Bear Lake Co., Idaho, and the north part of Rich County, Utah, with headquarters in Paris, Idaho.
 * Headquarters in: Paris, Idaho.
 * Boundaries of stake:

Consists of the Latter-day Saints residing in Bear Lake Co., Idaho, and the north part of Rich County, Utah, with headquarters in Paris, Idaho.

History Timeline up to about 1930


 * 1863 - The first company of pioneers arrived in Bear Lake Valley where Paris, Idaho, now stands, on September 26.
 * 1869 - Bear Lake Stake of Zion was organized on June 20.
 * 1877 - A permanent and complete organization of Bear Lake Stake took place on August 25 and 26. The Utah wards in the stake were:Randolph, Woodruff, Laketown, Meadowville.
 * 1898 - Woodruff and Randolph Wards were transferred from the Bear Lake Stake to the Woodruff Stake.
 * 1917 - The Bear Lake Stake was further divided by the organization of a new stake called Montpelier Stake, Idaho.

Obtain the Records

 * List of church and other records at the FamilySearch Library.
 * For additional resources, see [[Archives and Libraries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints#Church_History_Library|Church History Library

Wards and Branches
Garden City Ward, Utah, Laketown Ward, Utah. Bloomington Ward, Fish Haven Ward, Lanark Ward, Liberty Ward, Ovid Ward, Paris 1st Ward, Paris 2nd Ward, St. Charles Ward and Sharon Ward were in Idaho.

Bloomington Ward
See Encyclopedic History..., p. 72-73.

Boundaries:

Bloomington Ward, Bear Lake Stake, Bear Lake County, Idaho, consists of the Latter-day Saints residing in a farming district lying immediately south of Paris. The town or village of Bloomington is pleasantly situated on Bloomington Creek, nestling at the foot of the mountains on the west side of the valley, about 2 1/2 miles south of Paris, and six miles north of St. Charles.

History timeline:


 * 1864 - Bloomington was settled in thee spring and was made Bloomington Branch.
 * 1877 - Bloomington Ward was organized on August 25.

Obtain the records


 * List of church and other records at the FamilySearch Library.
 * For additional resources, see [[Archives and Libraries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints#Church_History_Library|Church History Library

Fish Haven Ward
See Encyclopedic History..., p. 251-252.

Boundaries:

Fish Haven Ward, Bear Lake Stake, Bear Lake County, Idaho, consists of Latter-day Saints residing in the village of Fish Haven, including a number of families who reside on their respective homesteads adjacent to the village, which is beautifully located on the west shore of the famous Bear Lake, on a narrow strip of land lying between the lake on the east and the mountains on the west. Fish Haven is six miles south of St. Charles and 14 miles south of Paris, Idaho.

History timeline:


 * 1864 - Fish Haven settled by saints who came over the mountains from Franklin, Idaho, in the spring. Fish Haven Branch was organized.
 * 1877 - Fish Haven Ward was organized in August.

Obtain the records


 * List of church and other records at the FamilySearch Library.
 * For additional resources, see [[Archives and Libraries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints#Church_History_Library|Church History Library

Garden City Ward
See Encyclopedic History..., p.272-273.

Boundaries:

Garden City Ward, Bear Lake Stake, Rich County, Utah, consists of Latter-day Saints residing in the little town of Garden City and neighborhood in the extreme north end of Rich County, Utah. The ward extends northward to the boundary line between Utah and Idaho, including a few settlers on Swan Creek. Garden City is seven miles south of Fish-Haven, Idaho, 20 miles south of Paris, Idaho, ten miles northwest of Laketown, Utah, and 30 miles southwest of Montpelier, Idaho.

History timeline:


 * 1877 - Garden City was founded.
 * 1877 - Garden City Branch was organized on February 25.
 * 1879 - The Garden City Ward was organized in the spring.

Obtain the records


 * List of church and other records at the FamilySearch Library.
 * For additional resources, see [[Archives and Libraries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints#Church_History_Library|Church History Library

Laketown Ward
See Encyclopedic History..., p. 412-413.

Boundaries: Laketown Ward, Bear Lake Stake, Rich County, Utah, consists of the Latter-day Saints residing in the village of Laketown and surrounding country as well as a few families located in Round Valley. The village of Laketown is beautifully situated in the extreme south end of Bear Lake Valley, on Laketown Creek at the mouth of Laketown Canyon and l 1/2 mile south of the south end of Bear Lake. It is about 30 miles south of Paris.

History timeline


 * 1867 - Laketown was settled by the former inhabitants of Round Valley in the spring. The Laketown Branch was considered to be a continuation of Round Valley Ward.
 * 1877 - The Laketown Ward was organized on August 26.

Obtain the records


 * List of church and other records at the FamilySearch Library.
 * For additional resources, see [[Archives and Libraries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints#Church_History_Library|Church History Library

Lanark Ward
See Encyclopedic History..., p. 413.

Boundaries:

Lanark Ward, Bear Lake Stake, Bear Lake Co., Idaho, is an outgrowth of Paris and consists of a farming district lying between Paris and Liberty.

History timeline:


 * 1893 - Lanark Ward was organized.

Obtain the records


 * List of church and other records at the FamilySearch Library.
 * For additional resources, see [[Archives and Libraries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints#Church_History_Library|Church History Library

Liberty Ward
See Encyclopedic History..., p. 433.

Boundaries:

Liberty Ward, Bear Lake Stake, Bear Lake Co., Idaho, consists of Latter-day Saints residing in and near the village of Liberty, which is situated at the forks of Liberty Creek and North Creek, about eight miles northwest of Paris and 3 1/2 miles northwest of Ovid.

History timeline:


 * 1864 - Liberty was settled. Liberty Branch was organized.
 * 1877 - Liberty Ward was organized on August 26.

Obtain the records


 * List of church and other records at the FamilySearch Library.
 * For additional resources, see [[Archives and Libraries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints#Church_History_Library|Church History Library

Ovid Ward
See Encyclopedic History..., p. 625-626.

Boundaries:

Ovid Ward, Bear Lake Stake, Bear Lake County, Idaho, consists of the Latter-day Saints residing in and near the village of Ovid, which is situated about 4 1/2 miles north of Paris, 3 1/2 miles southeast of Liberty, and five miles southwest of Montpelier, and forms the center of a fertile farming district.

History timeline:


 * 1864 - Ovid was settled and Ovid Branch was organized.
 * 1877 - Ovid Ward was organized on August 26.

Obtain the records


 * List of church and other records at the FamilySearch Library.
 * For additional resources, see [[Archives and Libraries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints#Church_History_Library|Church History Library

Paris Wards
See Encyclopedic History..., p. 637-638.

Boundaries:


 * Paris 1st Ward, Bear Lake Stake, Bear Lake Co., Idaho, consists of the Latter-day Saints residing in the south part of the city of Paris, or all that part of the city lying south of the street running east and west of the court house, and north of the tabernacle block.


 * Paris 2nd Ward, Bear Lake Stake, Bear Lake Co., Idaho, consists of the Latter-day Saints residing in that part of Paris lying north of the street running east and west, north of the tabernacle block, and also includes some families living scattered on their respective farms. The ward has a fine L. D. S. meeting house.

History timeline:


 * 1877 - Until August 26, all the saints in Paris comprised one ward.
 * 1877 - Paris Ward was divided into two bishop's wards, viz, the Paris 1st Ward and the Paris 2nd Ward, onAugust 26.

Obtain the records


 * List of church and other records at the FamilySearch Library.
 * For additional resources, see [[Archives and Libraries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints#Church_History_Library|Church History Library

Saint Charles Ward
See Encyclopedic History..., p. 724-725.

Boundaries:

Saint Charles Ward, Bear Lake Stake, Bear Lake Co., Idaho, consists of Latter-day Saints residing in the town of St. Charles and adjacent farming districts. The settlement covers a level tract of land bordering on St. Charles Creek, and the town is situated about one mile west of the extreme north end of Bear Lake, about six miles south of Bloomington, eight miles south of Paris, the headquarters of the stake, and 4 1/2 miles north of Fish Haven.

History timeline:


 * 1864 - Saint Charles was settled, and Saint Charles Branch was organized.
 * 1877 - Saint Charles Ward was organized on August 26.

Obtain the records


 * List of church and other records at the FamilySearch Library.
 * For additional resources, see Church History Library

Sharon Ward
See Encyclopedic History..., p. 789-790.

Boundaries:

Sharon Ward, Bear Lake Stake, Bear Lake Co., Idaho, consists of the Latter-day Saints residing in a farming district embracing the extreme northwest corner of Bear Lake Valley. The center of the ward, where the meeting house stands, is about 11 miles northwest of Paris.

History timeline:


 * 1897 - Sharon Branch, an outgrowth of Liberty, which was originally known as North Liberty, was organized on February 4.
 * 1910 - Sharon Ward was organized.

Obtain the records


 * List of church and other records at the FamilySearch Library.
 * For additional resources, see [[Archives and Libraries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints#Church_History_Library|Church History Library