The A. N. Tanner House

From the national register’s nomination form:
Once undoubtedly the most substantial residence in Grouse Creek, the A.N. Tanner house, built in 1899, is significant as a late example of the central hall house type. In size and proportion the home demonstrates a confidence in the vernacular building genre, and because of its late date documents the enduring strength of the folk vocabulary in rural locales. The home must be seen as a function of its remote location, of the isolation and rural nature of the Grouse Creek area, of the isolation of the Tanner family there and of the builders who participated in the construction. A tradition, a continuum in the minds of builder and patron is expressed in the home. When viewed in this manner the Tanner house becomes a significant site in the history of architecture in Utah.

Allen N. Tanner was born March 27, 1862, in Tooele, Utah to Thomas and Elizabeth Ann Newbury Tanner. Thomas, a shoemaker, had emigrated from England, a Mormon convert. A hard life in Tooele sometimes “living on dandelion greens, pig weed greens, sego lily roots and rabbits,” left little time for schooling and Tanner soon went to Grouse Creek to work for a brother berding horses and cutting posts. He was eventually able to buy a small tract of land, upon which he built a three-room log cabin, to which he brought his widowed mother. In 1894, he married Mary Emily Barlow by whom he had nine children.

Tanner successfully built his holdings into a farm of over 2,000 acres. In 1899 he began the construction of this substantial brick house, completed in 1900. In 1906, he was called on a three-year mission to New Zealand for the LDS Church. Because of Tanner’s generosity and the size of the house, many social gatherings were held there. Tanner died in 1935 and the house has remained in the hands of his descendants. The house and its outbuildings are being renovated by Robert W. and Eilene Tanner Torrey, leasing from Tanner and Tanner Enterprises.

A.N. Tanner’s home in Grouse Creek illustrates the persistence of the folk tradition in rural Utah. The two story brick home is a late variation of the “central hall” house form. In Utah this form signaled the integration of the folk vernacular of the earliest years of settlement in the United States with Georgian formality. The rectangular, central hall plan with rear extensions, the gable roof, end chimneys and symmetrical main façade piercing, point to a highly evolved house type which had predominated in England and the eastern United States for several centuries. The result was a formula which pervaded early Utah settlements but which was subsequently replaced in favor of the more exuberant and usually larger, “modern” Victorian styles. Thus, the date 1899 is late for such an “old fashioned” scheme, since by this time even interest in the Victorian forms was waning in favor of turn-of-the-century styles.

The home is a two story brick structure, with a 1 1/2 story rear extension. The foundation is stone. The main part of the home has the rectangular plan, gable roof and symmetrical organization linking it to the Georgian/Vernacular tradition. A gabled pavilion is centered on the main elevation. The pavilion is incorporated into the basic three over three scheme, not breaking the bilateral symmetry of the vernacular tradition. Chimneys are located on the gable end of the two story portion, also staying within the folk vocabulary. Also of brick is the rear portion of the home. This extension has a rectangular shape and a hipped roof. Centered on the rear of the extension is a gable-roofed dormer. Ornament of the house is in the form of molded cornice, and segmental brick openings which are corbelled out and have drops. Though it has suffered the effects of many years of vacancy, the home is structurally intact and the present owners, descendants of A.N. Tanner, have plans for renovation.

A stone granary belonging to the house is also on the site. It is a single story rectangular structure with a gable roof. On one gable end the door and a window are located. Granaries were common structures in rural Utah even until the 1930s. Most were built of frame and have since disappeared. The stone examples, though fewer, survived because of the permanent nature of their materials.

Located at 11490 Grouse Creek Road in Grouse Creek, Utah and added to the National Register of Historic Places (#82004107) on February 11, 1982.

From preservationutah.org:
Allen N. Tanner was born March 27, 1862, in Tooele, Utah, where he lived a hard-scrabble adolescence. Eventually, Tanner moved to Grouse Creek to work for his brother, who was herding horses and cutting posts. He ultimately bought a small parcel of land, on which he built a three-room log cabin. In 1894, he married Mary Emily Barlow, with whom he eventually had nine children. Over time, Tanner consolidated his assets into a farm of over 2,000 acres. In 1899, he began the construction of this substantial brick house, which was completed in 1900. After his death in 1935, the home was passed on to his descendants, but was eventually vacated due to its extreme remoteness.

Despite its remote location, the building remains an important example of architectural significance and rural life in Utah. According to the home’s National Register of Historic Places form, “ [its] size and proportion… demonstrates a confidence in the vernacular building genre, and because of its late date documents the enduring strength of the folk vocabulary in rural locales. The home must be seen as a function of its remote location, of the isolation and rural nature of the Grouse Creek area, of the isolation of the Tanner family there, and of the builders who participated in the construction. A tradition, a continuum in the minds of builder and patron, is expressed in the home. When viewed this way, the Tanner house becomes a significant site in Utah’s architectural history.”