Thomas Frazer House
The oldest section of the Thomas Frazer House (the middle part) was built in 1870 while an addition to the east was completed in 1872. Both of these portions of the house are constructed of a basalt-like black rock. The third section of the house was completed c. 1890 and was constructed of a pink tufa rock. All facades, except the north, display well cut and finished stone masonry.
The house was built by and for Thomas Frazer, a Scotch immigrant and convert to the Mormon church. Frazer was a stonemason by trade and worked in this capacity both in Scotland and Utah. In 1868 his mason’s skills were requested in Beaver, and Frazer initiated a vigorous building campaign in that pioneer town.
The Thomas Frazer House is one of the earliest permanent homes in Beaver, a town that was originally settled with log cabins and dugouts some 20 years prior to Frazer’s arrival. As the town gradually acquired prosperity, people desired more permanent, comfortable houses and these were mostly built by Frazer and his apprentices.
In his own home Frazer paid attention to special details, such as an inscription plaque of sandstone, bearing the date (1872) and the initials of Frazer and his wife Annie. Another example would be the bas-relief portraits, in green granite, of Frazer and Annie that enfrom the south door.
Besides such details, the house also displays several of the characteristics of Frazer’s style of building. These characteristics include: 1) stone bay windows, 2) dormer windows, 3) fancy work along the cornice, and 4) exacting treatment of both the cut stone and the mortar work. In summary, the Thomas Frazer House is significant not only as a fine example of pioneer architecture, but also as the residence of the architect/building who profoundly shaped the character of the town of Beaver.
The Thomas Frazer House is located at 590 North 300 West in Beaver, Utah and was added to the National Historic Register (#78002650) on November 16, 1978. The text on this page is from the nomination form from when the home was added to the national register.
The Thomas Frazer House still retains its original appearance and is in excellent condition. It is a one story stone house, and due to later additions, it has a low, linear character. The two oldest parts of the house display Greek Revival and Federalist Revival elements in the partial boxed return cornice (with fancy brackets) and the door surrounded by transom and side lights. The gabled roof is of medium pitch and is topped by three chimneys.
The nature of the stonework is very fine and exacting and this contributes to the rather formal character of the house. The stones are laid up in broken courses, and each block is nicely squared and finished. The mortar is beaded and originally stained white. The house contains two stone bay windows and one dormer window that used to give light to the attic/loft.
There are four types of rock used in the Thomas Frazer House. The first and most prevalent is a basalt-like black rock. The two earliest sections of the house were constructed out of this stone. The second type of rock is a pink tufa, which is much softer, and therefore easier to work with than the black rock. The third and last section of the house is built with this pink rock. Red sandstone and green granite are used a lintels and decorative motifs throughout the exterior.
The decorative elements and the care lavished on the construction of the house emphasize the fact that the house was built by Thomas Frazer, the town stonemason, as his own home. While Frazer’s workmanship was always excellent no matter what he was building, his own home displays extra small decorative motifs and items of interest.
