Page-Hansen Park
MAINTAINING A CONNECTION WITH OUR HERITAGE
In 2021, to honor the historical significance of the original Page-Hansen Store, Riverton City created this park in the area where the iconic building once stood.
PAGE-HANSEN COMPANY STORE
The Page-Hansen Company Store was established in 1891 by Thomas P. Page. This general merchandise store carried a large stock of groceries, dry goods, boots, shoes, clothing, confectionery, and lumber. While Page served a church mission, the business was in the hands of his partner, Seth Pixton, and became the Page-Pixton Company. By 1908 John Hansen Jr. had become Page’s partner and the enterprise was eventually renamed the Page-Hansen Company. The store was progressively enlarged over the years as the business prospered. Customers were served by a large staff of efficient clerks who climbed tall ladders to retrieve requested goods. The business was regarded, at the peak of its operation, as the largest retail department store in the valley outside of Salt Lake City. After 110 years of use, the building was demolished in 2001.
OTHER NOTABLE HISTORICAL DOWNTOWN RIVERTON BUILDINGS FROM 1891-1939
SCHOOL HOUSES
In 1892, a four-room school was built. By 1909, a new eight-room school (shown above) was built just to the north. The original four-room school was demolished in 1926 to make room for a new junior high. Later that year, the eight-room school was destroyed by fire and a replacement was built on the same footprint in 1927. A gymnasium and other rooms were added in 1930. This complex of buildings would remain the home of Riverton Elementary until 1994.
DOME CHURCH
In 1898, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints began construction on a new meetinghouse in Riverton. The building, designed by Richard Kletting, architect of the Utah State Capitol, was built with red brick and stone with a granite foundation. It was completed in 1908 and served as both a church and community center. Unfortunately, the nearly six-story tall domed structure proved difficult and expensive to maintain and, as a result, was demolished in 1939.
BATE’S CORNER
On the southwest corner of Redwood Road and 12600 South stood one of the first stores in Riverton. The business opened in 1887 and also housed the Riverton Post Office. The store occupied the front of an adobe and wood single-story building, with the Bate family living in the back portion. A dance hall was added on the west side of the property. William Bate and his investors named the store the Riverton Pioneer Co-op.
COMMERCIAL BUILDING
The Commercial Building, located on the northeast corner of 12600 South and Redwood Road (left side of photo), was built in 1893 by Daniel Densley. The two-story structure housed a variety of businesses including a post office, bank, implement shop, shoe repair, harness store, barber, beauty shop and general merchandise store on the main floor; and an amusement hall, with a hardwood dance floor, on the second-level. The building was condemned and razed in the fall of 1939.
RIVERTON SECOND WARD
The Riverton Second Ward of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was organized in 1927 and construction on its meetinghouse, located at 12533 South Redwood Road directly north of the old Commercial Building, commenced in 1928. Excavation of the basement was done by hand, using a horse drawn “Fresno Scraper.” Although the building, still in use today, was completed in 1928 at a cost of $63,000, its dedication by Heber J. Grant did not occur until 1939.
DAVID BILLS MEATS
Just east of the Commercial Building on Redwood Road and 12600 South was David Bills Meats & Groceries Market, shown here around 1906. The store serviced Riverton and nearby areas. In the early years, biweekly horse-drawn wagon trips were made to sell and deliver meat and groceries to customers in Bingham Canyon. The family-owned store was a staple in the community and provided meats and groceries for many decades.
12712 South Redwood Road in Riverton, Utah
