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Peachwood Park
03 Saturday Jun 2023
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22 Wednesday Dec 2021
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Farms, Historic Homes, NRHP, utah, West Valley, West Valley City
The William McLachlan Farmhouse is located at 4499 South 3200 West in West Valley City, Utah and was added to the National Register of Historic Places (#80003928) on February 14, 1980.
The William McLachlan farmhouse is significant because it is a particularly good example of the small “homestead” farmhouse which was atypical in Mormon settlement areas, where the “farm-village” system of in-town residence coupled with daily commuting to surrounding agricultural areas was generally favored. However, isolated farmsteads did begin to occur in Utah in the 1870’s following the arrival of the general land office. The practice received further impetus in the 1880 ‘s when many polygamists reputedly built homes in out-of-the-way places to shelter plural wives from the raids of the federal “polygamy .hunters”. While there are written and folklore references to this practice, the McLachlan farmhouse is exceptional in the completeness of the documentation of actual construction and of the events that brought it about. The house type is unusual, and the only one known in the Salt Lake Valley region of “over Jordan”.
William McLachlan was born in Thornhill, Dumfrieshire , Scotland, in 1840. Trained as a carpenter and contractor, McLachlan converted to the Mormon Church and immigrated to America in 1863. He was clerk of the Church emigrant company aboard the ship Amazon, assigned to keep a historical record o£ the group. This interest in record keeping persisted throughout his life, as did his high level of activity in the Mormon Church … serving as President of the mission in New Zealand (1875-77) and later as President of the Pioneer Stake.
McLachlan was a polygamist, and like many of the less wealthy polygamists of the period, extremely distressed by the consequences of anti-polygamy raids. In order that his wives not be left penniless should he be arrested and imprisoned, McLachlan purchased land and built this home in a then-remote area “over Jordan”. When it was completed in March 1885 it became home for Maggie Naismith, his second wife, and her five children. McLachlan himself vanished into the underground” for nearly eight years. Part of the time he was employed as a carpenter on the Manti temple and used his earnings there to support his families. His wives were visited as often as it was safe, and Margaret received title to her house in 1886 to protect her and her husband from loss of property should he be caught and prosecuted. Fortunately, McLachlan was never brought to trial.
17 Friday Dec 2021
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inHawarden House
Constructed in 1906 for Ira W. Bennion, this house was named “Hawarden” after his father’s boyhood home in Wales. Ira W. Bennion and other members of the Bennion family played an important rile in the development of the cattle and sheep industry in Utah, Nevada, Idaho and Wyoming.
“Hawarden,” a Granger landmark since its construction, is a locally significant example of the kind of imposing residence that the Bennions, successful agricultural entrepreneurs, could afford to mark their social and economic achievements “over Jordan”. Its Box Style design reflects the contemporary tastes in large, single family homes. The simplicity of form and detail, square massing and box-like proportions are characteristic of this mode. The Bennion family was prominent in local history, and “Hawarden” is one of the few historical reminders of past eras in a rapidly growing community known principally for extensive tracts of ranch-style homes.
Located at 4396 South 3200 West in the Granger area of West Valley City, Utah – it was listed on the National Historic Register (#80003924) on February 14, 1980.
Ira Wainwright Bennion, who built the house in 1906, was born in the neighboring “over Jordan” community of Taylorsville. Building on the work of his pioneer parents, Ira Bennion expanded the family interests to encompass cattle ranching in Utah and sheep operations in Idaho, Wyoming, Nevada, and Utah.
Because of its heavy demands on time, and the necessity of being separated from his family for many weeks of each year, Ira Bennion eventually withdrew from the family business. During one of his missions for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Ira had visited Hawarden, his father’s boyhood home in Wales. This beautiful and historic spot, alive with memories of border wars between England and Wales was the site of a major confrontation between Parliamentarians and Royalists during the English Civil War. At the time of Bennion’s visit, Hawarden was also the country seat of William Evart Gladstone, a major figure of 19th Century English politics and a Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
Impressed by these family associations, Ira Bennion returned to the United States and upon retiring from the family business, acquired farm land on the “Jordan range” where he had once herded cows as a boy. When his very substantial family home was built, he had a tablet of stone engraved with the name “Hawarden” placed on the front wall – a practice common in Great Britain. Eight of his fifteen children were born in the house, which he continued to occupy until his death in 1927.
Built in 1906, “Hawarden” in Granger stands as a stately representative of early twentieth century residential architecture in rural Utah. Constructed of red brick using common bond coursing, the two and a half story home rests on a concrete foundation. The Box style regularity of the hipped roof and rectangular plan is broken by a gabled side bay, for whose curving portion rough faced brick of identical color was used. The pedimental gable is shingled, has a moulded wood cornice and pent end. A. one story, hipped roof front porch has coupled Tuscan supports and a plain balustrade. At the foundation level of the porch, coupled rough faced ashlar stones are located beneath the columns. The symmetry of the primary façade changes with the side entrance placement, a typical feature of this architectural style. A. later, one story brick addition at the rear of the home replaces the original rear porch. A. wide moulded cornice marks the top of the wall.
Window treatment on the Hawarden House is plain but sensitively varied. Facade piercing respects the proportions of the home and its horizontal orientation. The main entance features a two-panel door with upper light and transom light, framed by Classical Revival pilasters. Side panels have leaded glass upper lights. The entire entrance configuration creates a Greek Revival allusion, which is consistent with the ornamental scheme.
At the second story level of the main façade are a pair of tripartite windows. A. central double hung, sash window is flanked by pilasters similar to those at the entrance, and by oblong side lights of the same height which have leaded glass border designs. Centered between these windows is a carved stone tablet with a foliated scroll ornament bearing the inscription HAWARDEN, the Welsh estate after which the home was named. Sills for these windows are dressed red sandstone.
Side elevation windows are generally double hung, sash types with dressed red sandstone lintels and brick of red sandstone sills. In the gable area of the southern projecting bay, however, is a fine Palladian window, contributing further to the emphasis on classical detail.
North elevation windows conform to the given window configurations in type and proportion, except for a double-hung and semicircular window combination creating a round arched window unit which lights the interior stairway. Lighting the upstairs hall is a double hung, sash stained glass window.
The original façade piercing pattern on the West (rear) façade has been altered by the later brick porch enclosure. The second story door probably opened onto a balcony.
Interior alterations of the Hawarden House include updating by the installation of electricity, a bathroom on each floor and a natural gas furnace. The original large kitchen has been converted into a formal dining room. Closets have been added to the upstairs bedrooms, and two of the bedrooms have been combined to create a master bedroom suite.
The present owners are carefully restoring the home, reversing later modifications by removing false ceilings and stripping woodwork. The original main fireplace with carved mantel is extant.
Hawarden and the surrounding grounds stand together in the midst of urban sprawl as an imposing remnant of the culture they represented. Structurally sound and with only sympathetic modifications, Hawarden is an important local example of early twentieth century domestic architecture in a rural setting.
25 Thursday Nov 2021
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West Valley Posts:
The earliest known residents of the western Salt Lake Valley were Native American bands of the Ute and Shoshoni tribes.
The first European people to live in the area were the Latter-day Saints (Mormons). The Euro-Americans arrived in the Salt Lake Valley in 1847. The area was first staked out by settler Joseph Harker and his family in the area they named as “over Jordan” (referring to the land west of the Jordan River, which runs through the valley).
The Granger area was settled by Welsh Latter-day Saints who had come to Utah with Dan Jones in 1849. Irrigation systems and agriculture were developed in the area, and it was Elias Smith who proposed the area’s name on account of its successful farming. At other times high alkali content made farming difficult, but there were enough Latter-day Saints to form a separate Granger Ward in 1884. Granger and vicinity had about 1,000 people in 1930.
Hunter was not settled until 1876. This settlement was started by Rasmus Nielsen, Edward Rushton, August Larsen and about seven others along with their families. Irrigation began in 1881 and the main crop was fruit trees.
17 Saturday Dec 2016
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03 Monday Oct 2016
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historic, Historic Buildings, Jordan River, Salt Lake, Salt Lake County, South Jordan, utah, West Jordan, West Valley
Pioneer Crossing Bridge
Erected 2013 – This bridge commemorates the area where the first pioneers crossed the Jordan River to settle the West side of the Salt lake Valley. In November 1848, the family of Joseph and Susannah Harker were the first “over Jordan” and built a log home near 3300 South and 1400 West.
On January 9, 1849, the families of Thomas MacKay, John Bennion, Samuel Bennion, Thomas Tarbet, William Blackhurt, William Farrer, John Robinson and James Taylor crossed the Jordan River on the ice and built dugouts and cabins in this area.
Other settlers followed these first pioneer, resulting in many prosperous communities West of the Jordan River. Pioneer Crossing Bridge honors these first families and all others who have sought a brighter future by making their home on the Salt Lake Valley’s West side.
Moesser – Rushton Granary
Erected c1878 in Hunter, Preserved 2014 – As pioneers and homesteaders moved West across the Salt Lake Valley they prospered in developing farming communities. Harvested lumber from Bingham, Harker and Coon Canyons in the Oquirrh Mountains was used by settlers to build area homes, barns and granaries.
Pioneer Joseph Hyrum Moesser constructed this granary near his adobe brick house in c1878 at approximately 4450 South 5400 West in Hunter. Newly wed Alma E Rushton acquired this granary and surrounding farm in 1917. Merging it into the Rushton homestead across the street. This historic granary was in use for over 100 years of agricultural production and is perhaps the oldest building in West Valley City today. It commemorates all those that seek to build and shape their community into a better place.
30 Friday Sep 2016
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in23 Friday May 2014
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Cemeteries, DUP, Forts, historic, Historic Markers, Salt Lake County, Taylorsville, utah, West Valley
In 1853 the settlers west of the Jordan River were advised by President Brigham Young to build a fort, to protect them from Indians. Thick walls of rock and adobe, with one gate surrounded two acres of land. Adobe partitions separated dwellings that faced a central area containing a combined church and school and a well of brackish water. The fort was located north of the present site of Taylorsville Cemetery. The foundation of this marker is built of rock from pioneer homes of this community.
Above: The historic marker that was there from 1941 until at least 2007 when I took the photos.
Below: I returned in 2017 and the plaque is replaced with a new look and slightly rearranged wording.
Upon the advice of Brigham Young, the first settlers west of the Jordan River built English Fort in 1853 for protection from Indians. Thick walls of rock and adobe with one gate surrounded the two acres of land. Adobe partitions separated the dwellings within which faced a central area containing a combined church and school and a well of brackish water. The fort was located north of the present site of Taylorsville Cemetery. The foundation of this historic marker is built of rock from the original pioneer homes of this community.
Check out all of the historic markers placed by the Daughters of Utah Pioneers at JacobBarlow. com/dup