Built in 1877 for William Bonner, this is one of several Gothic Revival style houses in Midway that were designed and constructed by John Watkins, an accomplished local builder. Watkins, an emigrant from England in 1856, demonstrated his considerable architectural knowledge and skills by combining variations of the cross-wing house form with Gothic Revival stylistic elements to create houses which, though similar to each other, are each unique. Watkins’ houses are among the best examples of Gothic Revival style in Utah. William’s father’s house, located across the street to the north, and his brother George’s house on the corner to the west, were also built by John Watkins. This house and George’s house were reportedly built and completely furnished in time for both their weddings in January 1878. Together, William and George operated the Bonner Mercantile for a number of years, then William devoted full time to his livestock operations, raising purebred horses and cattle. William and his wife Sarah Eliza Bronson remained in this house until their deaths in 1925 and 1946, respectively.

Located at 110 East Main Street in Midway, Utah and added to the National Register of Historic Places (#86001361) on June 17, 1986.

Constructed in 1877, the William Bonner House is one of seven houses contained in the ARCHITECTURE OF JOHN WATKINS THEMATIC RESOURCE NOMINATION, .having been designed and built by John Watkins, an accomplished early Utah builder. John Watkins’ work effectively illustrates the dynamic role the professional builder played in shaping Utah’s early architectural landscape. While it has been customary for historians to explain Utah architecture from the time of first settlement in 1847 up to about 1890 as the simple extension of eastern folk styles or the replication of popular pattern-book designs, John Watkins1 houses suggest a more generous appraisal. Slave to neither tradition nor pattern-book, Watkins found useful ideas in both, ideas that formed the basis of essentially new if nevertheless familar designs. From two-room cottages to elaborate Gothic Revival houses to houses intended for multi-family polygamous living, Watkins drew upon his broad building experience to create not copies of other houses, but new ones designed to meet his client’s functional, aesthetic, and symbolic needs. This house is significant not only as a fine Utah example of the Gothic Revival style, but also because it demonstrates Watkins’ ability to deftly manipulate basic picturesque design concepts. Drawing upon the basic form the popular stylebook house, the cross-wing, Watkins was able to create a rich variety of basic housing designs, each in its own way new and exciting. Also included in this nomination are two outbuildings, a large English-type box frame barn and a stone granary. These buildings were constructed in 1877 and effectively document the range of support structures found on early Midway city lots.

This house was built in 1877 for William Bonner at the same time that his brother George’s house was being built on the corner lot across the street to the west. Both William and George were married in January 1878, and these houses were reportedly built and completely furnished in time for their weddings.’ Their father, George Bonner, Sr., lived across the street at 103 E. Main, and had purchased the property upon which his sons’ houses were built in 1874. All three houses were designed and built by the Bonners 1 neighbor, John Watkins, whose own house at 5 E. Main exhibits some of the same Gothic Revival features that are found on the Bonner houses. Also at this time two important outbuildings were erected on the William Bonner property, a large frame barn and a stone granary. The barn is a three-bay English type of heavy box-frame construction and is one of only two examples of this once-common barn type remaining in the state. The granary is built of the local volcanic stone and is the typical gable-entry type found in Midway. During the second half of the nineteenth century, most Midway town lots contained a barn and granary as well as a house. The demise of the town as a farming community and recent recreational developments have led to the gradual demolition of most of the early barns. Many stone granaries remain in town (now used simply as storage buildings), but the fact that both the barn and granary remain intact on the William Bonner property make these outbuildings particularly significant and worthy of nomination to the National Register.

William Bonner was born December 19, 1854, in Langrig, Scotland, to George and Margaret Edmundston Bonner. After converting to Mormonism in their native land, the Bonners came to the U.S. in 1858 to join the Latter-day Saints in Utah. They settled near Midway in 1861. William worked for a time in the mines at Park City and later contracted with the mines to provide them with timber. Around 1874, he and his brother, George, established a mercantile business in one room of their father’s house. The business grew and in 1879 they constructed a store on the corner to the west of their father’s house. The brothers are also credited with operating the first grist mill in Midway.^ George eventually took over operation of the mercantile business, and William became involved in the livestock industry, raising purebred horses and cattle. William’s wife, Sarah Eliza Bronson, was born in Provo, Utah, on July 4, 1858, and moved to the Midway area with her family in 1862. She and William had ten children, eight of whom grew to adulthood, and all of whom were born in this house. William died in 1925, and in 1934 Sarah transferred ownership of the house and property to their youngest son, Floyd, though she continued to live in the house until her death in 1946. The house is currently owned by Floyd’s widow, Lois Thacker Bonner.