The foundation for this home was completed in 1925, and it was occupied as a “basement house” for 15 years. In 1940, the above-grade home was added on by Thomas Logan Sanders and Martha Allen Sanders. This new home was designed as a single-story, hip-roofed bungalow.
Thomas Sanders was a local carpenter who helped build many of the homes in the Farmington area. He also worked at Miller Floral (which was located a block south of the house) in the 1920s.
During the late 1800s, this property was used as an LDS tithing lot for hay, grain, and produce. At that time, all of Davis County was one LDS Stake. The president of the Davis Stake was Joseph Hyrum Grant, who resided in Woods Cross, making him inaccessible to most church members. The LDS leadership ordered a Stake President’s Office to be located near the center of the Stake’s population, and here it was built in 1907. The building’s construction was supervised by James H. Robinson, bishop of the Farmington Ward. After the North Davis and South Davis Stakes were formed in 1915, the South Davis Stake Presidency moved its headquarters to Bountiful, and the Farmington office was put up for sale. Farmington City purchased the property and moved its offices from the top floor of the County Courthouse, turning this building into the Farmington City Hall in the fall of 1917. Part of the building was converted into a library, and the Volunteer Fire Department used the east bay for storage of fire-fighting equipment. In August of 1970, Farmington City moved its offices into a new building to the north. The Farmington Lions Club leased the old City Hall until 2001, when the city regained ownership and renovated it into a museum. The Farmington City Historical Museum opened on July 9, 2004.
Originally built by Thomas and Electa Hunt in the 1860s, the VanFleet Hotel was probably first used as a residence. Located next to a Wells Fargo stagecoach stop and county courthouse on what was once the highway connecting Salt Lake City and Ogden, it was at the center of commerce and government in the city and county. This location made the building well suited for a public function and it was apparently used as a hotel after the 1870s.
Hyrum VanFleet purchased the hotel in 1908 during an era when the city was enjoying a period of wealth and expansion fostered by the Farmington Commercial Club. After a fire in January 1913 nearly destroyed the structure, VanFleet undertook a major renovation which resulted in the doubling of its size. The hotel became known as the “Honeymoon Hotel” because many couples who married in the courthouse would spend their honeymoon here. The VanFleet family lived in and operated the hotel for more than four decades until 1953 when they converted the building into apartment space. In 1995, after years of vacancy, the building was rehabilitated by Drs. P. Berrett Packer and Scott W. Corry for dental offices.
This courthouse was the 3rd Davis County Courthouse built, it was completed in 1932. I stopped by in 2021 to document the demolition of the 1958 addition.
It is located at 28 East State Street in Farmington, Utah.
It was also the location for filming this movie scene.
The description of a friend’s geocache says: Alley Stephen Rose was one of the early settlers in Farmington. He built a home in about 1877 which became known as Rose Cottage. It was located halfway between Salt Lake City and Ogden. It has been vacant since 2007, when it was purchased by UDOT as part of a project renovating US Highway 89. It has been vacant since that time, and has been vandalized and fallen into disrepair. Currently (Sep 2010) efforts are being made to find funding to restore the home. UDOT is working with the City of Farmington toward that end. (Standard Examiner; Davis Plus section September 2, 2010) Alley S. Rose is the 2nd great-grandfather of Mr. lv2wj. He served with Major Lot Smith in the Utah Volunteers during the Civil War. They are buried about 25 feet from each other in the Farmington Cemetery.
Excerpt from diary of Alley S. Rose: Jan 18, 1899 [This was a Wednesday.] Clear and pleasant. At home, wrote a letter to my brother Wm. S. Rose, Syracuse, N.Y. Evening had a meeting here for the purpose of dedicating my house and receiving our patriarchal blessings. Apostle John W. Taylor was present. Also 3 patriarchs, viz. John Kynaston of East Bountiful, Ezra T. Clark and James R. Millard, with about 40 others. . . . Apostle Taylor then dedicated our home and E.T. Clark pronounced the benediction. After this a fine lunch was served and all expressed themselves as being well pleased with the exercises. Adjourned at midnight.
It is fun to try to imagine this meeting/party going on until midnight in the dead of winter in what must have been at the time a grand but relatively small home! Sad to see it in its present condition. We hope they are able to find funding to restore it.
Originally known as North Cottonwood, Farmington was permanently settled by Mormon pioneers in 1847. The Children’s Primary Association of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was organized here on 11 August 1878. It was the birthplace of one of the longest lived Latter-day Saint apostles, LeGrand Richards. His maternal great-grandfather, Joseph Lee Robinson, was the first bishop of what was then the North Cottonwood Ward. Lagoon Amusement Park was founded here in 1886 and occupies 100 acres of the city. Ezra T. Clark was an early settler of Farmington who later founded the Davis County Bank and built several houses in the area, some of which are located in the Clark Lane Historic District, listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
This is the site of the North Farmington School built in 1860. Ut was a two-story, red brick building and the first public building in North Farmington. The “little res school house,” as it was called, was used for school, church, and social functions. When the North Farmington Ward was organized on March 11, 1917, meetings were held in this school until the L.D.S. chapel across the street was built in 1919.
This marker was placed in commemoration of the 75th anniversary of the North Farmington Ward by the young men and young women of the Farmington Utah North Stake in 1992.
The home was constructed in 1914 by George Ernest Spackman. George, a local farmer, and his wife Bertha resided in the home for many decades. The single-story, stucco bungalow has a full-width front porch, front-facing gable, and features a projecting bay. The house retains excellent historic and architectural integrity and is a contributing resource to the Farmington Main Street Historic District.