Ezra Thompson and Mary Stevenson Clark House

Devoted to the L.D.S. Church, Ezra Thompson Clark helped to establish three colonies, one in Bear Lake, Idaho; one in Iron County, Utah and one in Nevada. He also built the Grist Mill in Morgan, a flour mill and molasses mill and filled five preaching missions. He possessed many fine horses and could supply teams and carriages for transportation for the church. He provided teams of black oxen to help bring immigrants from the Missouri River to Utah and provided two teams of oxen and a wagon to carry the great granite blocks from Cottonwood Canyon for the Salt Lake Temple. He often furnished teams and wagons for church authorities in their trips through Northern Utah and Idaho. Often the President of the Church and the apostles were at this house where they were put up when passing through the area.*

Ezra Thompson Clark was a farmer of consumate skill and experience. When arriving in Farmington in 1848, he was given 35 acres by Brigham Young, which he saw grow to 700 acres before he died. He raised sugar cane, cattle, hay and grain. He had the first swarm of bees in Farmington. He founded the Davis County bank and was elected its first president in 1891. He was the Davis County treasurer and kept the county funds in a safe in his house.

Built in 1856, this house has undergone a series of alterations throughout its existence. The original adobe structure was a two-story, single pile, side passage plan with a gable roof parallel to the street. The side passage plan in this form is not common in Farmington. The first alteration to the original structure, dating from 1857, consists of a one-story wing which was added to the west side of the original two story structure. The east wing was added in 1867. These wings, built with native field stone laid in a random rubble pattern, were placed to create a symmetrical massing on the main façade. The wings were staggered in front of the original main façade, thus creating a recessed entry which was covered by a wooden porch and balcony. Each wing was covered by a gable roof proportioned similar to the saltbox roof type. The next alteration consists of a major remodeling which occurred in 1914. In order to update its style and function, the original central portion was transformed to create a Mission Revival style house. Emanating from California, this style employed, among other elements, the use of plain stucco walls, curvilinear gables, and arcades, all of which are found in this example. The main porch is formed by four concrete block columns which support a hip roof which is features a curvilinear parapet which in turn forms the railing of a balcony. The upper roof, which was changed from a gable to a hip, is also graced by a curvilinear gable which complements the lower gable. Other 1914 alterations include the enlargement of window openings on the main and upper floors, and the addition of space at the rear of the house on both the main and upper levels. Windows on the main façade consist of large, fixed panels with decorative leaded art glass transoms on the main floor and single hung with decorative transoms on the upper level. No major alterations of the principle facades visible from the street have been executed since the completion of the 1914 remodel.

368 West State Street in Farmington, Utah in the Clark Lane National Historic District.

Hyrum Don Carlos Clark & Ann Eliza Porter Clark House

Wood-framed buildings of this age and older are very rare in Farmington, since nearly all historic buildings here were built of masonry. Hyrum Don Carlos Clark left Farmington in 1880 to seek his fortune, first in Idaho and then in the Star Valley of Wyoming. His wife, Ann Eliza Porter Clark, found the winters in Wyoming too rigorous and her health suffered. In 1908 Hyrum built this house, close by his family, for her. Victorian cottages such as this one became the basic middle-class house in the late 19th century. This simple “T” cottage is also evidence of the continued popularity of the cross-wing plan throughout the state of Utah at that time.

367 West State Street in Farmington, Utah in the Clark Lane National Historic District.

Joseph Smith Clark Home

This house was built by Joseph Smith Clark, the son of Ezra Thompson and Mary Stevenson Clark. He went with his father and others to Bear Lake, Idaho in 1870 in response to a call from Brigham Young. There he helped survey and locate the town of Georgetown, to which he moved in 1876 and where he lived for 15 years. The Georgetown ranch was a source of beef cattle and dairy products for his father’s family, which followed the patriarchal order of family ownership in common; great herds of cattle frequently moved between Georgetown and Farmington under Joseph’s direction.*

In 1891 he moved back to Farmington where he was a member of the Farmington City Council, president of North Cottonwood Irrigation Co., and president of David County Bank. He was also commissioner for appraisal of inheritance taxes for Davis County and appraiser of damages to farm lands for Intermountain Smelter Co.

Built in 1895, the design of this one and a half story brick crosswing house, which has been influenced by the Queen Anne style, is the most elaborate of the district. Among the elements used to further enrich the Victorian design found on adjacent residences is an engaged corner tower at the junction of the projecting and flanking wings which form the main entry to the house. Capped by a steeply pitched pyramidal hip roof, the tower formed the centerpiece of a richly elaborated silhouette created by the tower, ornate dormers, and a tall decorative brick chimney. The tower was elaborated by an arched opening which opened onto an upper floor porch with a turned wood balustrade. The original main hip roof, which was punctuated by a continuous decorative sheet metal ridge cap, was pierced by two gable dormers on the main façade and two hip dormers on each side elevation. The dormers were embellished with carved inset panels, dentiled cornices, and scroll-cut brackets. The roof was detailed with a wide frieze and spindled corner brackets at the canted corners of the projecting wing. The original hip roof porch was supported by full height Tuscan columns. The exterior brick walls, which rest on a stone foundation, were pierced by one-over-one double-hung windows, paired in several locations, and by a fixed window with a leaded and stained glass transom in the main floor parlor. The window openings are articulated by segmental arched heads formed by soldier courses and projecting header courses. In 1919, the original upper floor and roof were destroyed by fire. The tower was removed and the roof was rebuilt with a bungalowstyle hip roof which excluded the dormers. In 1979, a restoration was undertaken whereby the 1917 roof was removed and replaced by the current construction which was based on historic photographs. The tower, porch, roof, and dormers were rebuilt to reflect the original massing, and original detailing.

340 West State Street in Farmington, Utah in the Clark Lane National Historic District.

Eugene Henry Clark & Sarah Ann Sessions Clark House

The original owners of this Victorian Eclectic house were descended from some of the earliest and most prominent LDS pioneers. Eugene Henry Clark was the sixth child of Ezra T. Clark and Susan Leggett Clark. Sarah Sessions was the daughter of Perrigrine Sessions, who founded the second settlement in Utah, now Bountiful City. This 12-story brick home was built around 1895. It combines a rich variety of elements from a number of Victorian-era architectural styles. Although the top story was destroyed by fire in the early 20th century, it was soon rebuilt. Throughout his life, Eugene Henry Clark farmed and raised livestock. This lovely home was known for having some of best gardens and fruit orchards in Farmington.

307 West State Street in Farmington, Utah in the Clark Lane National Historic District.

Annie Clark Tanner House

In 1901, Annie Clark Tanner, daughter of Ezra T. Clark and Susan Leggett Clark, arranged to have this Victorian Eclectic house built with money from her father. It replaced all but one room of an old adobe home on the same lot. She was 16 years into her polygamous marriage as second wife to Joseph Marion Tanner and had spent 10 years fleeing anti-polygamy persecution. Annie was grateful finally to settle near her beloved relatives. She oversaw the home’s design, hired the mason, and ordered all of the materials, including local fieldstone for the foundation and fired brick from Kaysville. Joseph, who eventually had five wives, lived elsewhere. He served a 3 1/2 – year mission overseas, and became a prominent LDS educator. As the couple gradually became estranged, Annie rented rooms to performers at Lagoon and, in 1911, took a lien to build a rental home to the east, and an addition to her home, which she divided and also rented. In 1913, Joseph formally abandoned Annie and six of their children (two had died in childhood; two had married). She then did housework for neighbors and worked as a midwife to pay for her children’s education. Six of her children graduated from college, including her youngest, Obert Clark “O.C.” Tanner, who was a U. of U. professor, wealthy entrepreneur and philanthropist. Annie wrote biographies of her mother and father. Her autobiography, “A Mormon Mother,” is considered a classic in Mormon literature.

291 West State Street in Farmington, Utah in the Clark Lane National Historic District.

Amasa Lyman Clark, Alice Steed Clark & Susan Duncan Clark House

This brick, cross-wing “T”-form house was constructed in 1885 for Amasa Lyman Clark and Alice Steed Clark. It is influenced by the Queen Anne Victorian style. When Alice died in 1895 leaving three young sons, Amasa married Susan Duncan and lived with her here for the rest of his long life. Susan raised Alice’s boys, plus five children of her own, and wrote short stories and poems, many of which were published. Amasa served as the Davis County Bank cashier when his father, Ezra T. Clark, established it in 1892, and became bank president in 1945. He was mayor of Farmington 1908-1912, and during his administration electricity came to the city. It is said that this house was the first in Farmington to have running water from a tank mounted outside the kitchen window.

290 West State Street in Farmington, Utah in the Clark Lane National Historic District.

Anni Clark Tanner Rental House

This historic one-story, wood-clapboard bungalow, featuring a stone foundation, was built circa 1912 by Annie Clark Tanner for use as a rental home. Annie, the daughter of LDS pioneer Ezra T. Clark, had another house adjacent to this at 291 West State Street. Annie’s polygamous husband, Joseph Marion Tanner, had squandered most of her inheritance and asked her to sell her home at 291 West State to help finance his farm in Canada, but she refused. She built this rental house next door and rented rooms in the main house to famous orchestra musicians employed at Lagoon. She worked for neighbors, washing and scrubbing floors for fifteen cents an hour to help her children receive an education. Six of her children received a college education, including Obert Clark Tanner, founder of the O.C. Tanner jewelry company. The home retains its historic integrity and contributes to the Clark Lane Historic District.

269 West State Street in Farmington, Utah in the Clark Lane National Historic District.