Downtown Salt Lake City by the Mormon pioneers. Downtown Salt Lake began to form in 1847 when Brigham Young chose the site of the Salt Lake Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, forming the core of the settlement. Temple Square became the center of the grid system, bounded by South Temple, West Temple, North Temple, and East Temple Streets. Streets are named according to their distance and direction from the southeast corner of Temple Square; for example 200 West is two blocks west of this meridian, while 400 South is four blocks south. East Temple was popularly known as Main
William R. Smith (Mormon) religion. In 1837, the Parrishes and Smith moved to Stark County, Illinois. In the late 1830s, as Latter Day Saints began gathering in nearby Nauvoo, the Parishes and Smith became interested in Mormonism. Smith was baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in 1841, on his 15th birthday. In 1849, Smith traveled to the Salt Lake Valley as a Mormon pioneer. In Utah Territory, Smith settled in Centerville. In 1855, Smith was appointed as the bishop of the LDS Church's Centerville Ward, and served in this position until 1877. During his time as bishop, Smith was