Oliver John Harmon House

The Oliver John Harmon House is architecturally significant as one of the best examples of the Queen Anne style in Price. The Queen Anne style was popular throughout Utah from 1885 to 1905. Though over 20 Queen Anne and Victorian Eclectic (1885-1910) style houses remain in Price, less than half retain their architectural integrity and the majority of these eligible houses are of masonry. The Harmon House is a very late example of the Queen Anne style and remains as perhaps the best example. The original segmental hip roof above the short, second floor-level windows, above the north bay window, is also a very uncommon architectural feature both locally and state-wide.

Located at 211 South 200 East in Price, Utah and added to the National Register of Historic Places (#92001058) on August 18, 1992.

Price, located about 120 miles southeast of Salt Lake City and named for Bishop William Price of Goshen, who explored the area in 1869, was originally settled in 1877 by a few pioneers and converts to the Mormon or IDS Church (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints). Additional Mormon settlers arrived in 1879 from the Spanish Fork area. From 1881 through 1883, the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad constructed a rail line though Price Canyon. The community grew from railroad workers, additional Mormon settlers, and later, from immigrants, many non-Mormon, who came to the recently created Carbon County to mine coal. With the railhead in place, Price became the transportation and economic center for the communities of the area, as well as the adjoining counties.

Oliver John Harmon was the third child of Levi Nehemiah and Eunice Chidster Harmon. He was born 16 March 1859 in Parley’s Park, Salt Lake County, Utah. About 1863 his family relocated to help colonize southern Utah, settling in the town of Washington, five miles northeast of St. George. He attended school in St. George and Beaver, Utah.

In 1879 Oliver apprenticed to an English cabinet maker, Joseph Judd, and served for three years. On 4 May 1881 he married Almira (Allie) Terry in the St. George LDS Temple. They built a small house in Washington and remained there until the completion of his apprenticeship. In 1883 they moved to Provo so Oliver could further study carpentry and cabinet making. Because of his ability, he was quickly given supervisory responsibilities. While in Provo, he reportedly built at least one house. [The location and status of this house are unknown.] About 1886 he left Provo for Castle Valley (Emery County) in southeastern Utah.

Oliver became a successful businessman, as well as a master carpenter and cabinet maker. He helped operate two successful co-op mercantile stores, one in Huntington (1890) and the second in Price. The 1903-1904 Utah State Gazetteer lists O.J. Harmon as the manager of the Huntington Co-operative Mercantile Institute. At the time, Huntington, located about 22 miles from Price, had a population of 950. He built a 2-story brick house in Huntington which is no longer extant.

The 1912-1913 Gazetteer shows Oliver in Price as a partner with Levi N. Harmon in “Harmon Bros, general merchandise.” By this time, Price, with a population of over 2,000, had become a center of commercial activity in this coal-mining region of Carbon County. The 1924-1925 Gazetteer reveals a change in business activity: “O.J. Harmon & Sons” is first listed with Oliver J., Melvin T. f Wilford G., John H., and Joseph W. Harmon, but the type of business is not listed. However, there is also a listing for “Price Casket & Cabinet Works (O.J. Harmon & Sons).” Perhaps this enterprise was formed in response to the nearly 200 deaths in the nearby Castle Gate Mine explosion in 1924. The 1924 Sanborn fire insurance map shows a small (approximately 27 by 30 feet), one story carpentry shop located behind the Harmon house, facing north onto G Street (now 200 South Street). [This carpentry shop is no longer extant.] This enterprise continued for several years, with the 1927-1928 Gazetteer also listing O.J. Harmon & Sons as undertakers.

On 3 March 1908, Oliver had purchased two building lots along the west side of block 52 (facing 6th Street, now known as 200 East) from Alexander and Hazel MacLean for $1200. (It appears that the southern lot was later sold as the 1924 Sanborn map shows a house built on this second lot. The eastern portion of the original lot has also been subdivided and houses built c. 1950.) The c. 1910 photograph indicates Harmon built the 1-1/2-story wood frame house and the additions within a relatively short period of time. He lived in the house with his family of eight children until his death on 19 December 1937. There have been several subsequent owners. The house continued to function as a single family residence, but has also housed a dance studio, two apartments and currently, professional offices. Michael Harrison is the current owner, having purchased the house in February 1988.

The Harmon House in Price has remained relatively unaltered from the historic period and exhibits Oliver’s skill as a carpenter. Residential examples of the Queen Anne style are characterized by their asymmetrical facades, irregular plans, and varied silhouettes resulting from dormers and gables. The Victorian Eclectic style, actually an amalgamation of elements from several Victorian and late Picturesque styles, was popular in Utah from 1885 through 1910. Since the styles and their characteristics overlap, the Harmon House has been compared to examples of both styles identified in the partial reconnaissance survey of Price. The Harmon House remains perhaps the best preserved example in this comparison.

The north bay window and segmental hip roof with floor-height windows on the second level is a curious, documented historic feature. It appears to have been modeled on a similar, perhaps original, two story bay window on the c. 1890 Bryner House, located at about 90 South 100 East in Price. [The Bryner House is potentially eligible for the National Register.] These are currently the only known historic examples of multi-story bay windows with segmental, hip roofs attached to a gable end of a house. The addition of this rare and locally unique feature to the Harmon House was perhaps an attempt to incorporate some of the respectability of the more substantial Bryner House. Rather than affecting integrity, this change actually increases the local architectural significance of the Oliver John Harmon House.