Large two story stucco structure with a two-story double gabled wing with unusual tapered pilasters.
Some of this structure may be part of the adobe and frame dwelling built about 1873 by Levi Richards, although no nineteenth century elements are visible.
Levi Richards (1799-1877) came to Utah in 1853. He had studied medicine and served on the Utah “Board of Examination” for physicians. Richards only son, Levi W. ( -1914) inherited this property upon the former’s death and lived here until his own death.
Levi W. was a real estate and business entrepreneur. In keeping with the religion, of which he was an active practitioner, Richards had more than one wife. He married Louise Lula Greene in 1873 and her niece Persis Louiza Young in 1884. The women remained close “sister” wives until their deaths, living together in this house and other dwellings.
The George Washington Baker house in Mendon, Utah (located in Cache Valley), was constructed in 1869 and is significant as an example of a one-story stone “double-pen” vernacular type. This house form, with its distinctive six-bay, double-door façade, is significant as one of a small number of traditional house forms common in Utah communities during the 1850-80 “pioneer” settlement period. The “double-pen” type migrated out of the upland South into the Midwest during the early nineteenth century. There it was utilized by early Mormons and transferred to Utah in the late 1840s and 1850s. This dwelling was the home of the George VI. Baker family, and remains one of four stone houses that exist in original condition from the early years of Mendon’s settlement.” The James Gardner House was listed in the National Register in 1982 and the Samuel Baker, Joseph Baker, and James G. Willie stone houses will be nominated to the Register in December 1982. Baker was an early settler in Cache Valley and one of Mendon’s original inhabitants. He was a farmer and in 1870 served as the first mayor of the incorporated town of Mendon. The small two-room house was enlarged around 1875 with a stone addition of several rooms to the rear.
Located at 115 N 100 W in Mendon, Utah and added to the National Historic Register (#83004416) on February 10, 1983.
Mendon, in Cache Valley, Utah, was settled in the 1856-60 period by members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as part of the larger colonization of the Great Basin region during the second half of the nineteenth century. In the 1850s, Cache Valley served primarily as range land for the LDS church livestock herd, but in 1856-57 the Valley became the home of a small band of farmers. The effort to settle the area was temporarily interrupted by the Utah War of 1857 when an army was dispatched from Washington to quell the so-called Mormon “rebellion.” At this time, outlying colonies were abandoned and settlers pulled back to the larger towns. Mormon families came back into Cache in 1858 and permanent settlements were established, including the one at Mendon on the west side of the valley. Mendon was surveyed in 1859, and in 1860 a fort, consisting of two rows of joined log cabins, had been erected.2 The year 1865 found the people of Mendon breaking up the fort and moving out onto their city lots. The first permanent houses were built at this time, often of locally quarried stone. George Baker completed the original section of his new stone house in 1869.
George Baker was born in 1837 in Pomfort, New York. His parents were converts to the LDS church and migrated westward to Utah in 1847, settling first in Salt Lake City. During the 1850s a young George Baker worked as a herder on the LDS church ranch in Cache Valley and eventually made the area his home in 1860. Baker built one of the log houses in the Mendon fort and in 1861 married Agnes Richard. By 1862, the first of the Baker’s ten children was born. George’s brother, Joseph, constructed the first rock house in Mendon outside the fort in 1865 and George began work on his own house soon after, finishing the dwelling in 1869.
The house Baker built was a traditional type consisting of two square rooms under a gable roof. Historians have often called this house the “double-pen” type. The house form migrated out of the upland South into the Midwest during the early nineteenth century. There are Mormon examples of the type in Nauvoo, Illinois, their city on the Mississippi, and the house occurs throughout the Mormon settlement region in the West. The house often has a four- or six-bay façade with two front doors arranged symmetrically.. The presence of the two front doors has caused this house to be erroneously called a “polygamy” house. There is, after all, a door for each wife. This house type might certainly have served such a purpose, and indeed, examples can be found in the state which were occupied by two families. Yet, the double-pen type’s firm roots in the traditional architecture of the nineteenth century and single family examples like George Baker’s served to effectively dispute it’s exclusive association with polygamy. The double-pen house is typical, then, of the early domestic architecture of Utah and becomes significant as one of several stone houses remaining in Mendon from the early years of settlement. (The Robert Gardner House, c. 1875, was listed in the National Register in 1982. Research is continuing on the remaining half-dozen early homes in the town for possible nomination.)
The George Baker house in Mendon, Utah, is a one-story vernacular house constructed of locally quarried metamorphic stone. The walls are coursed rubble, with special attention devoted to the regular jointing on the façade. There are large ashlar quoins at the corners. The stonemasons who worked on the house are not identified in the Baker family records. It is known that two Cache Valley masons, Robert Crookston and Robert Murdock, worked in Mendon, but no specific information is available to link these individuals with particular houses. Also, the 1870 census for Mendon includes Richard Mills, an immigrant mason from England, who could have assisted in the construction.
The original 1869 house consisted of two roughly square rooms (15’4″ x 14’4″ and 14’6″ x 14’4″ the difference being the width of the internal partition). The house had a symmetrical six-bay façade and two front doors. There was a large, centrally placed stone fireplace in the south room. External ornamentation was limited to Greek Revival returns and entablature. The sills and lintels are plain. The house originally had a porch spanning the length of the façade, but it was removed after the present owner purchased the dwelling (ca. 1940s). A rear “T” extension also of coursed rubble stone, and containing two rooms, was added to the house. Judging from the quality of workmanship and material, this addition probably occurred in the 1870s. A lean-to shed was attached to the north side of the rear “T” in the 1940s and the large central fireplace was removed at this time. Later, after the porch was removed, hooded coverings one a gable and the other a shed roof–were placed over the two front doors. These alterations do not detract from the historical visual integrity of the Baker home. The structure remains in good condition with some deterioration evident on the external woodwork.
John F. Meldrum constructed this house in 1877 and it remained in the Meldrum family ownership until 1930. The Bullock family owned the home from 1943 to 1988. The house is an architecturally significant structure that depicts the transition from the Federal style of architecture (depicted on the north-facing, two-story façade, to the early Victorian styles). The historic character of the house is intact and appears to have been restored.
From A sampling of cache valley’s historic homes: Built in the 188os (est.), the house was originally owned by Mary Ann Weston Maughan, wife of early Cache Valley pioneer Peter Maughan. Their grandson, Russell, was a pioneer pilot and fighting ace during World War I. On June 23, 1924, he made the first dawn to dusk flight across America. The media called it the “Maughanumental Achievement.”
The Charles D. White House is significant in terms of its architecture and the lives of its original occupants.
The house represents one of Thomas Frazer f s best designed homes in his mature style of building. Its proportions are pleasing, as are its lines, with all its parts contributing to the whole. The craftsmanship is unsurpassed and, structurally, the home is in excellent condition.
Charles D. White was a prominent citizen in pioneer Beaver. He was a farmer and a herdsman, both managing and owning large herds of cattle and sheep. In 1875 he managed the sheep herds of the L.D.S. Church’s United Order. He was also for many years the superintendent of the Beaver Co-op Store, a very large mercantile institution.
Mr. White also played a very active role in his Church. He served as bishop of Beaver’s First Ward (L.D.S. Church) from 1877 until 1891 when he was named President of the entire Beaver Stake.
Mr. White was a polygamist and one of his two wives was active in Church affairs.
His first wife, Mary Ann Greenwood White, grew up in Beaver and served in the Beaver Stake Relief Society as a treasurer and a counselor. His second wife was Margaret Gilles, but not much information is available regarding her life.
In conclusion, the Charles D. White house is significant because it is still regarded as one of Beaver’s mansions. It’s size and quality of construction are indicative of Mr. White’s prominence in his community. The design is representative of Thomas Frazer‘s mature style of building, a style that was first synthesized some five year earlier in the Duckworth Grimshaw House, also in Beaver, Utah. The Charles D. Whtie House is Frazer’s largest extant house and it displays five of the six architectural elements common to his style of building: dormer windows, a center gable, ashlar stonework, bargeboard along the eaves and dormers, and white-painted mortar joints.
115 East 400 North in Beaver, Utah – Listed on the National Register of Historic Places (#80003889) on February 14, 1980. The text on this page is from the nomination form for the register.
The Charles D. White House is a large, one and a half story home. It was built c. 1882 by Thomas Frazer, the local stone mason, for White and one of his two families. The house has an original “T” plan and has a simple vernacular, gabled design. It is constructed of a native black basalt, with a gray granite being used for the lintels above the windows and doors. Large basalt blocks comprise the quoin stones at the corners of the building.
On the ground floor, the front façade displays four windows and one door, all arranged symmetrically. Upstairs, there is a central gable with a door in it, and dormer windows on either side. The dormers and eaves are finished with a decorative bargeboard, while the steeply pitched roof supports two end-wall chimney stacks.
The rear section of the house is similar to the front façade in that it has two dormer windows upstairs, on either side of a door which leads out to a porch. The eaves and dormers are again finished with bargeboard and there is another end-wall chimney.
The masonry work is very typical of Thomas Frazer’s building style. The two facades that face the street are built of cut stone, while the remaining facades are composed of rubble stone. With the cut stone blocks, Frazer squared them roughly, then set them in place and gave them a perfectly square appearance by adding black-dyed mortar to their edges. He then either beaded the mortar joints or recessed them and he always painted the mortar joints white. At the C. D. White House, the mortar joints are recessed and their white appearance is perfectly preserved under the porch in the corner of the house.
The most interesting detail on the interior of the house is the hand-painted graining on the French doors of the music room.
One of the original granaries is still standing on the east side of the house. It displays one façade of cut stone, the side that faces the street, and has a door and a window on the same façade.
The Hall house is one of the best examples of the Spanish Colonial Revival style in Salt Lake City. Especially significant are the tiles of the front entry. They are probably the work of Ernest Batchelder, an important southern California artist of the Arts and Crafts period. The house was built for Nels G. Hall, a prominent businessman, and designed by the architect Slack Winburn and his sons. Hall desired a simplicity and elegance in the exterior design and a functional interior, which are reflected in the house.
The Nels G. Hall House is located at 1340 East Second Avenue in the Avenues of Salt Lake City, Utah and was added to the National Register of Historic Places (#80003923) on October 3, 1980. The text on this page is from the national register’s nomination form.
Nels G. Hall was born on December 29, 1884, in Provo, Utah, a son of Nels and Josephine Bergstrom Hall. He was educated in Provo and graduated from Brigham Young Academy’s School of Business. He married Hazel Greaves at Ephraim on September 5, 1910. They had three children; Katherine, Jeanne and Nels G. Hall.
Hall’s business career began in 1905 when he moved to Salt Lake City to accept a position with the Utah Savings and Trust Company. He then became assistant to Heber M. Wells, who later became the first governor of Utah, in 1914 Hall helped create the Columbia Trust Company and became vice president. In 1920 he left to become secretary-treasurer of the Panama Sugar Company. He soon returned to Salt Lake City to become manager of the Utah Wholesale Grocery, and at that time lived at 275 llth East. He then assumed vice presidency of the Columbia Trust Company and entered into the mining business with several business associates, forming the South Mountain Mining Company at Jordan Valley, Oregon. It was during this period of Mr. Hall’s life that he began the plans for the house. He had visited California and resolved to build a Spanish Colonial or Mission style similar to houses he had seen, and eventually decided on the Spanish Colonial Revival plans. In 1945 Hall sold the mining company and devoted his time to personal investments and business. l He was active in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Federal Heights Ward, and he was also active in civic affairs.
Nels G. Hall lived in the house from the day it was ready to occupy until his death at the age of 80 on December 31, 1964. His widow, Hazel, remained in the house until her death some six years later. Their only son, Nels, lived in the home a short time until his untimely death in 1971. The house remained vacant as such for five years and later occupied by Dr. Alien S. McGaughey. The Thomas Buranek family are the current residents.
Nels G. Hall hired the architect Slack Winburn and his son to design a house similar to Spanish-style houses he had seen in California. According to Hall’s daughter, he wanted simplicity and elegance in the exterior design and a functional and warm interior. The builder was J.H. Johnson.
The exterior appearance of the house is in keeping with the simplicity and elegance desired by Mr. Hall. The principal building material is brick, with a stucco finish. The house has a very solid appearance, with the windows recessed from the exterior façade about six inches. One exception to the brick construction is a frame extension of the master bedroom in the rear of the house. This is also covered with stucco.
Wood was used on the exterior of the house mainly for the cornice and the openings. Doorways, window frames, balconies and support posts in the rear of the house are wooden. There is also a small wooden deck extension in the rear. Simple wooden posts support a roof over a sun porch located above the concrete garage. The garage is partially underground, and was built at the same time as the original structure.
In the Spanish Revival style chimneys were commonly placed in the interior of the house. The Hall house, however, has both its chimneys located on the exterior walls, one on; the east and one on the west façade. The physical appearances of the two chimneys are in keeping with popular designs used for this style. One chimney is used for two fireplaces, one below the other.
The wooden posts which support the rear extension of the second floor (the master bedroom) are designed in the style of the Spanish Colonial Revival. Two posts are placed very close together, as if to resemble a single post. A common feature of the Spanish Colonial Revival style is the balcony. Typical balconies are long and extend around a portion of the exterior. Two balconies are situated on the Hall house on the street façade, second floor. The first is made of wood, with panels having a cutout sun motif in the center. These panels of wood were quite common for privacy as well as for wind protection. The second balcony, around the corner from the other, is ornamented with wooden spindles.
One of the loveliest features of the house is the front door surrounded by beautiful ceramic tiles. These tiles were probably the work of Ernest Batchelder, an artist of the Arts and Crafts period who lived and worked in southern California. The tiles depict popular Spanish motifs. Extra tiles were purchased in case tiles were damaged by weather or age. These tiles were ordered, as were the roofing tiles, through the Cahoon Brick Company.
The Hall house main floor plan consists of a living room, dining room, breakfast room, study, kitchen and one-half bath. There are two fireplaces on the main floor. On the second floor, there are three bedrooms, a full bath, and the master bedroom is in the rear of the house. The lower level consists of an amusement room, a bedroom, a laundry room and a three/quarter bath.
Built in 1896, this two-story Queen Anne and Victorian Eclectic style house was constructed for Amanda James Conk Best, a polygamous wife of Alfred Best, an early pioneer farmer and merchant. Architecturally significant, the house is unusually large and elaborate for its setting and time period; character-defining features include its prominent tower, asymmetrical floor plan, bay windows, detailed stone and brick work, and decorative shingles. This house has a twin, known as the Historic Barlow House, built by the same builder, located at 187 A Street in the Avenues.
Located at 3622 South 1100 East in Salt Lake City, Utah and added to the National Register of Historic Places (#08001154) on December 4, 2008.
The Melvin Harley Randall House is a representative example of early stone building in the vernacular tradition which was strong in the Centerville area and which may be detected even today. Unlike other parallel stone dwellings of the period which are extant, however, the Randall home retains its original exterior and interior character. The house also served as the residence of Melvin Harley and Frankie Bennett Randall until 1940. Melvin Randall served as the first Centerville Town Board President, and remained active in local church and civic affairs.
Located at 390 East Porter Lane (400 South) in Centerville, Utah and added to the National Historic Register (#80003896) on June 20, 1980.
Melvin Harley Randall was born August 1, 1852 in Salt Lake City, Utah, the son of Alfred Jason and Margaret Hawley Randall. In 1875 he married Frankie Bennett. Randall’s family had settled in the fertile land in Centerville, Utah shortly after its initial settlement in 1848. Centerville, originally called Cherry Cheek, became an important agricultural area, located some twelve miles north of Salt Lake City. As other early Mormon communities, Centerville contained a strong church organization headed by a bishop and counselors who presided over all church affairs. Civil matters also became of concern on the local level.
By 1880 Melvin Randall was listed in local directories as a farmer, with his stone home having been built around 1875. Randall was active in church, political, and educational affairs of Centerville, gaining recognition in various sources as among the prominent pioneers of the town. In 1888 Randall became a First Counselor to Centerville Ward Bishop Aaron B. Porter, and in 1899 he was ordained Bishop, serving in that capacity until 1911.
In 1915 Centerville organized into a town in order to issue bonds to install a needed waterwork. The Davis County commissioners granted the petition by Centerville residents seeking town stature, and resolved that,” the following named persons are hereby appointed as the Board of Trustees of said Centerville Town: M.H. Randall, President of the Board, and as additional members Don Major, William Barber, Joseph E. Williams and F.W. Walton.” Thus, Randall became the first Centerville Town Board President, heading the town from May 15, 1915 to December 31, 1915, and helped to install the Centerville water system. He continued active in civil affairs by serving as a Davis County Commissioner and school trustee.
Melvin Harley Randall died at his home on April 21, 1930, followed by his wife Frankie, who died in November, 1940. The home is cited in the Smoot and Sheriff history of Centerville as one of the historic homes in Centerville, recognizing it as locally significant.
The Randall House is a two-story stone hall and parlor house, two rooms wide with symmetrical door-window-door façade piercing on the first floor with matching six-over-six windows but no center opening on the second floor. A one-story frame addition has been added to the rear, which made the house into a simple “H” plan. The cornice is undecorated, as are the lintels. The door surround is done with very plain pilasters. The wall beneath the cross gable connecting the one and two story sections of the house is set back below the roof, creating a narrow porch.
A later addition containing a utility room and bathroom was built on the west façade of the original house. The interior of the house retains most of the original door, window and baseboard moulding.
A very early twentieth century photograph of the house shows ornamental pediments over the windows of the frame section. The pediments were probably removed when aluminum siding was added.
