Wikipedia

Brigham Young Forest Farmhouse

The Brigham Young Forest Farmhouse is a historic home in Salt Lake City, Utah. The building was once owned by Brigham Young, an early leader of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) and first governor of Utah Territory. Built between 1861 and 1863, it was located on Young's Forest Farm near the southern boundary of Salt Lake City. Restored from 1969 to 1970, the home was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971, and subsequently relocated to This Is the Place Heritage Park in 1975.

Brigham Young Forest Farmhouse
Photo shows a pink pioneer-era home.
The Forest Farmhouse at
This Is the Place Heritage Park
LocationThis Is the Place Heritage Park, Salt Lake City, Utah
Coordinates40°45′12.23″N 111°49′14.15″W / 40.7533972°N 111.8205972°W / 40.7533972; -111.8205972
Built1861–1863
ArchitectUnknown
Architectural styleGothic Revival Cottage
Restored1969–1970
Restored byThe Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
NRHP reference No.71000852
Significant dates
Added to NRHPMay 14, 1971
Removed from NRHPMay 29, 1975

Forest Farm

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Brigham Young's Forest Farm was located approximately 4 miles (6.4 km) southeast of downtown Salt Lake City;[1] today this area is known as Forest Dale. The farm was well known for its agricultural experiments, especially attempts to grow crops new to the area. It was the first location where alfalfa and sugar beets were grown in Salt Lake Valley. The local silk industry (overseen by Zina D. H. Young) was also moved to a cocoonery on the farm, where nearly 30 acres (12 ha) of mulberry trees were planted to provide food for the silkworms. For many years, the farm's primary produce came from its large dairy.[2]

Farmhouse

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Dwellings on the farm were adobe or log cabins until construction of the farmhouse began in 1861 and was completed in 1863. The home was constructed with a rock foundation and wood frame walls, covered with stucco. It was built using the balloon framing technique, likely the first such structure in Utah. The floor plan is a double cross-wing and its style is Gothic Revival Cottage. Its original cost was $25,000 (equivalent to $618,649 in 2023).[3] The front door opened to the dining room and on either side were the kitchen, social room, and sitting room; the second floor contained the bedrooms.[4]

 
Susannah Snively Young, who lived at the farm longer than any other of Young's wives

Brigham Young did not regularly live in the Forest Farmhouse, and one of his 56 wives (the "wife in residence") would supervise the farm. Young's wife Ann Eliza Young later complained that the home was inadequate against the winter cold and summer heat, and that Young only sent disliked wives to Forest Farm, where they were heavily worked. Susannah Snively Young lived at the farm longer than any other of Young's wives; she was particularly skilled with the dairy work.[5] Young would commonly bring guests to stay at the Farmhouse, including actress Julia Dean Hayne.[4]

After Young's death

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Young died in 1877 and the farmhouse remained in his family until 1889, when it was sold to George Mousley Cannon. Cannon divided up the farm land into building lots, creating what is today Forest Dale. After Young's death and as the new neighborhood grew, the farmhouse was used as a schoolhouse, ward meetinghouse, and community gathering place.[6]

In 1923, the home was heavily remodeled, including removing the porches and southern portion of the building, to create a "modern" house.[7][8] What remained of the home was purchased by Frank and Gwen Wilcox in the 1950s, and after learning it had once belonged to Brigham Young, they started to restore what had survived.[9][10] In 1968, the Wilcoxes donated the equity in the house to the LDS Church, which then owned the building after paying off the remaining mortgage. The Wilcoxes, together with the church (and its curator Florence S. Jacobsen), restored the farmhouse, including rebuilding the demolished portion of the home.[9][11][12] On April 2, 1970, Spencer W. Kimball, the LDS Church's Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, dedicated the home as a historic site visitors' center of the church.[13][14] The restored home was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on May 14, 1971.[4][15]

Relocation

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In 1974, the LDS Church and Utah state government agreed to a property trade, in which the church would give the Forest Farmhouse to the state and in return the state would give the church two historic sites it owned in southern Utah (the Brigham Young Winter Home and Office and Jacob Hamblin House). The church would then operate the two southern Utah homes as historic site visitors' centers and the state would move the Forest Farmhouse to Pioneer Trail State Park (currently This Is the Place Heritage Park) where it would be a feature of Old Deseret Village.[16]

In order to move the house from its original location, the building was sawed in half horizontally, where the gables reached the walls.[17] On Monday, May 12, 1975, the top half of the home was lifted off and placed on a large moving carriage. The following day this half was moved to the park, and on Wednesday the bottom half of the home followed.[18][19][20] The two pieces were then joined at their new location on Saturday, May 17.[21][22] During the move, original pieces of stucco were discovered, which appeared to be deep red and scored to look like brick. Because of the move, the walls had to be redone and craftsmen were brought in to complete the work.[23] At the park, the farmhouse was placed away from the rest of the recreated village and is surrounded by farmland, to reflect the home's original location outside of Salt Lake City proper. The relocated house first reopened for tours on July 24, 1976 (Pioneer Day in Utah).[24]

The home was delisted from the National Register of Historic Places on May 29, 1975, due to it being removed from its historical location, which had provided important context to the structure.[4][25]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Hyde, 2002, p. 147.
  2. ^ Hyde, 2002, pp. 149–154.
  3. ^ Hyde, 2002, pp. 155–157.
  4. ^ a b c d "NRHP nomination for Brigham Young's Forest Farmhouse". National Park Service. Retrieved August 4, 2024.
  5. ^ Hyde, 2002, p. 168.
  6. ^ Hyde, 2002, pp. 170–171.
  7. ^ Cannon, Paul B. (April 28, 1923). "'Old Farm House,' Landmark in Forest Dale Soon to be a Memory". Deseret News. Salt Lake City. Section 4, page 3. Retrieved August 4, 2024.
  8. ^ "Old Farm House Now Modern Home". East Salt Lake Times. Salt Lake City. August 31, 1923. p. 1. Retrieved August 4, 2024.
  9. ^ a b Hyde, 2002, p. 171.
  10. ^ Irvine, Arnold J. (May 19, 1962). "Brigham Young Farmhouse still in use..." Church News. Salt Lake City. pp. 8–9. Retrieved August 4, 2024.
  11. ^ Heslop, J M. (March 28, 1970). "Forest Farm Home Restored". Church News. Salt Lake City. p. 6. Retrieved August 4, 2024.
  12. ^ Barnett, Alan B.; Sanchez, Maria (December 2018). "Series 29707: Department of Natural Resources. Division of State Parks. Brigham Young Forest Farm House plans, ca. 1969". Utah Division of Archives and Records Service. Archived from the original on August 5, 2024. Retrieved August 5, 2024. The Church then reconstructed the missing wing and developed the surrounding site to accommodate visitors.
  13. ^ Mitchell, Robert C. (April 3, 1970). "Brigham Young's 'Forest Farm': A Reminder Of Utah Heritage". Deseret News. Salt Lake City. p. A7. Retrieved August 4, 2024.
  14. ^ "LDS Leaders Dedicate Brigham Young Home". The Salt Lake Tribune. Salt Lake City. April 3, 1970. p. 8B. Retrieved August 4, 2024.
  15. ^ "Rampton Gives Plaques To Honor 9 Historic Sites". Deseret News. Salt Lake City. June 30, 1971. p. 2E.
  16. ^ "State, church agree on swap of 3 properties". Deseret News. Salt Lake City. March 19, 1974. p. B1. Retrieved August 4, 2024.
  17. ^ "Brigham Young's 'Forest' home to be moved". The Salt Lake Tribune. Salt Lake City. May 1, 1975. pp. S5, S15. Retrieved August 4, 2024.
  18. ^ "Roof goes first to new home". Deseret News. Salt Lake City. May 13, 1975. p. B1. Retrieved August 4, 2024.
  19. ^ Webb, Vandra (May 13, 1975). "Get Moving! First You Raise Roof". The Salt Lake Tribune. Salt Lake City. p. 13. Retrieved August 4, 2024.
  20. ^ "Forest Farm House Rides to Park Site". The Salt Lake Tribune. Salt Lake City. May 15, 1975. p. B11. Retrieved August 4, 2024.
  21. ^ "Brigham Young House Put Together Again". The Salt Lake Tribune. Salt Lake City. May 18, 1975. p. C23. Retrieved August 4, 2024.
  22. ^ "First the Roof: And the House Followed". Church News. Salt Lake City. May 24, 1975. p. 6. Retrieved August 4, 2024.
  23. ^ Rollins, Judy B. (June 27, 1976). "Utah's past pieced together under one roof". The Salt Lake Tribune. Salt Lake City. p. W1. Retrieved August 4, 2024.
  24. ^ Schoenfeld, Elizabeth (July 24, 1976). "Brigham Young farm home opens". Deseret News. Salt Lake City. p. 4A. Retrieved August 4, 2024.
  25. ^ "Brigham Young Farm: Register Drops Historic Site". The Salt Lake Tribune. Salt Lake City. June 1, 1975. p. 2B. Retrieved August 5, 2024.

Bibliography

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  • Hyde, Elinor G. (2002). "The Brigham Young Farm House". In Whitley, Colleen (ed.). Brigham Young's Homes. Logan, Utah: Utah State University Press. ISBN 0-87421-442-4.

Further reading

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