New directors of Historic Kirtland, Scott and Shauna Barrick excited to help tell its story

May 24—In the few months that Scott and Shauna Barrick have been the directors for Historic Kirtland, they've experienced how a green Northeast Ohio springtime helps tell the century-old story of the first few years of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Shauna said her heart has been touched by hearing the stories from 1831 to 1837 in the place where they happened. That's when followers of Joseph Smith came here from western New York to establish what then was known as the Mormon community and to build the stately Kirtland Temple.

"That's the beauty of the historic sites," Scott said. "They are a living record of the events around the restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. When you have experiences like that, it touches you to the core. You just know things in a different way."

Church members believe that Jesus visited Kirtland and a historic church site in Hiram during the 1830s.

"God and Jesus were at the Morley Farm and the Newel Whitney store," Scott said.

The Whitney store was where church edicts prohibiting the use of tobacco and alcohol were developed by early church fathers.

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Like many others of their faith, the Barricks have been here before — the first time in 2003, shortly after the restoration of the historic village was dedicated. That's when the LDS church spent $15 million — including the cost of rerouting of Route 615 — to recreate the village as it existed in the six years the Mormons were here.

The Barricks came in again in 2007, when Scott was serving as the general manager of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, which performed at Blossom Music Center in Cuyahoga Falls as part of its tour of the eastern United States.

A large part of his mission as the Choir's manager, which began in 2001, was aimed at eliminating "Mormon" from the choir's name, he said. It's now known as The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square, and Scott was responsible for its marketing, website, social media, tour logistics and legal affairs, including the choir's recording business.

"Even though Jesus Christ is part of our church's name, some thought we weren't a Christian faith," Scott said. "So we've re-emphasized our name as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

"Today's church includes 17 million followers worldwide," he said.

Historic Kirtland is operated as part of the church's history department with no attempts to convert others to the faith of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

During this two-year mission, the Barricks will be focused on returning the grounds to the less-manicured way they likely looked in the 1830s, repainting the yellow Newel K. Whitney home its original white and opening the Joseph Smith home to visitors.

The two-story wood frame home where Smith and his wife, Emma, lived from 1833 to 1838 was purchased from the Community of Christ. Next to the cemetery near the Temple across Route 306 from Historic Kirtland, it is undergoing restoration and is expected to open in August. Ways to grant visitor access still need to be resolved.

"There are nuances that we have to work out, since it is a very small space, so we need to figure out how to get people through there without a long wait but still give them the chance to experience the spirit of the home," Scott said.

"We want people to come and feel the magic and the spirit of Historic Kirtland," he continued. "We really do have a sense of responsibility to get that off to a good start. Historic Kirtland just doesn't belong to the Church, it belongs to the community, in so many respects. We want to be good stewards of this place, and to be good neighbors, as well."

The Barricks have served other two-year missions, including Rome for Scott and Japan for Shauna. He has a master's degree in business administration from Harvard University, while she has her master's in education administration and worked as an honors advisement manager for nine years at Brigham Young University.

Their mission in Kirtland is to share the church's early history, something they do with help from 10 single young women missionaries age 19 to 24 and 11 other senior couples. The young women, who have just recently arrived in Kirtland, will lead tours of the village through October before moving on to proselytizing missions elsewhere during their two-year term.

"I love working with that age group," Shauna said. "And the senior couples, who serve 12 to 18 months, are the backbone of Historic Kirtland."

Tours are given every day according to visitors' interests and the time they have available. A 20-minute orientation film at the Visitors Center is recommended for the start of each tour.

"I suggest allowing an hour for the tour, although it can also take much longer," Scott said.

More than 75,000 people visited each year prior to the pandemic, but numbers were down the past three years. Several tour buses full of visitors are common on summer days.

"We don't require reservations, but if you want to avoid tour bus groups, it's a good idea to call first," he said.

Many Historic Kirtland visitors also go up the hill to tour the Kirtland Temple. Those tours are offered by the Community of Christ.

Historic Kirtland

Where: 7800 Kirtland Chardon Road, Kirtland.

Info: 440-256-9805.