Completed in1946, the Moroni Cannery in Moroni, Sanpete County, is significant under Criterion A in the areas of Industry, Social History, and Politics/Government. In the area of Industry, it is significant as it was the only community cannery in Sanpete County during the 1930s-1950s period. That was a time when the exigencies and shortages of the Great Depression and WWII stimulated communities across the country to grow and preserve food, both to get by and to support the war effort. In the area of Social History, the Moroni cannery reflects the popularity of community canneries nationwide during that period. It represents an important cooperative social movement involving citizens working with all levels of government—local, state, and federal—to address the needs of families and community organizations and programs, especially school lunch programs. Though its run as a cannery ended in 1952, the Moroni Cannery building continued to play an important role in the community. In the Area of Politics/Government, the cannery is significant as it housed a variety of essential city government functions into the 1970s, including housing the city’s fire engines, its first ambulance, and water department operations, among other uses. The building is also one of the last remaining structures constructed through local cooperative efforts that were a significant part of the town’s history dating back to its founding in the 1850s. Given the building’s ongoing use for a variety of important community programs and services after its cannery functions had ceased, the Period of Significance is 1946-1976. This includes the date it was constructed and continues up to fifty years ago, as it continued this use up into the 1980s
