Researching Your Own House

The Horace S. Eldredge Home, 216 East 1st South, Salt Lake City

Researching Your Own House

by Lois Harris

Researching the history of a house can be one of the most rewarding experiences a property owner will have. Uncovering the house's hidden identity is fun, interesting, and economically advantageous.

Economically, it makes sense to date your house before spending time and money restoring it. Daring a building helps to uncover its proper style and tradition. In-character restoration is the best way to preserve the long-term market value of the property.

Another reason to research an old house is to discover the part that it may have played in the development of the neighborhood or city. Your house may be truly unique because of its architectural design or its history. If this is the case, it may be worthy of special recognition such as placement on the National Register of Historic Places.

When researching a house you should look for answers to these questions:

• When was the house built?

• Who was the original owner or occupant?

• What part did the house play in the development of the neighborhood or city?

• What style is it?

• Who designed or built the house?

• Have there been major structural changes?

The Preservation Office of the

Utah State Historical Society uses a Structure/Site information form to record this basic data. These forms are available to the public and can be of use to the old-house researcher.

After you have decided what to look for, it is important to know where to go to find the information. Before beginning your research, check to see if any documentation on your house already exists. State or local historical societies are usually a good source for this information. Your house maybe represented on an historic register or may be part of an historic district. Existing information should always be sought, but be sure to check its validity before accepting it as gospel. It is also important to become familiar with the location and operating hours of public offices and libraries where documents and other information, of the type discussed below, can be found.

BUILDING PERMIT BOOKS Building permit books are probably the most accurate record of construction dates. Besides the date of construction, building permit books can yield other valuable information. A building permit may also reveal the contractor and/or architect as well as provide a basic description of the house and the cost of construction. The Utah State Historical Society collection contains the permit books for Salt Lake City from 1891 to 1927. Their collection also includes building permit books for Provo from 1883 to 1912 and from 1922 to 1928. To find the location of other cities' building permit books, contact your city's offices.

SANBORN MAPS Sanborn maps can also help approximate the date of a building's construction. These maps were originally used as insurance maps for many cities. They show what existed on a street at a certain time. Using these maps you can usually get to within ten years of a building's age. Since the maps are color coded, they also help to determine the original building material. Sanborns can also be used to trace neighborhood development, and they show the original shape of the building.

Sanborn maps are available at the University of Utah Marriott Library in the Western Americana Collection.

PLAT SEARCHING Plat records are helpful if you cannot locate a building permit for your house. Plat abstract books are used to trace ownership of a building from its construction to the present time. To use the plat abstract books you will need to have the lot, block, and plat on which your house sits. This information can be obtained from your deed or from maps at county offices. Using the date or approximate date of construction, go back to the earliest record of a house on your property and work your way up to the present time. A clue to the date of construction is that the monetary value of a lot increases substantially when a

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Top: The home of Jacob F. Gates, Provo Utah. Bottom: The John C. Sharp Residence, Vernon, Utah.

USHS

house is built there. Be sure to check with previous owners because they may have an abstract of title with a complete ownership record.

DIRECTORIES As early as the 1860s city directories were published in Utah listing people at their home addresses. (These books were the forerunners of telephone directories.) Information such as a person's occupation or a spouse's name was often included in the directory. Later city directories were organized according to street address. Using the names obtained from your plat search, check to see if the owner of record was also the resident of that house.

The Utah State Historical Society, the Marriott Library, and the Salt Lake City Public Library have extensive collections of city directories. The Utah State Historical Society has city directories for Salt Lake City from the 1860s through 1977. Their collection also contains directories of Ogden, Logan, and Provo. Local or county historical societies may have additional directories.

BIOGRAPHICAL DATA

Once you have the names of the owners and residents of your house you may want to find some biographical information on these people. The Utah State Historical Society and the LDS Church Archives each have an obituary index, which is a quick and easy way to look up information on individuals connected with your house. A biographical clippings file, card catalogue, and various biographical encyclopedias can be used to supplement your findings.

The LDS Church has numerous genealogical reference materials, such as family group sheets, as well as various reference and archival matericals located in its historical department.

ORAL EVIDENCE

You may be able to find a former resident or long-time neighbor whose memory can yield a wealth of information on your house. If specific information is sought on paint colors, remodeling or furnishings, be sure to ask the right questions. In personal interviews it is a good idea to have a written checklist to guide you. Always remember that memories are not your most accurate source of information.

PHOTOGRAPHS AND DRAWINGS

Old photographs and renderings of your house, its residents, and your neighborhood are often a big help in reconstructing the past. The Utah State Historical Society, the Marriott Library and the LDS Church Historical Library have large collections of historic photographs. Old tax photographs, available at the county assessor's office, may also be of some help to you. The Utah Heritage Foundation has a complete collection of the Historic American Engineering Record and the Historic American Building Survey drawings for Utah. These sources are often the most helpful if your research is geared toward restoration of your house. If you can see what your house was like originally you might be less inclined to alter its structure or character.

Once you've discovered your home's hidden past, you are sure to take additional pride in its history and feel a renewed excitement about its future.

Informative Sources

"How to Research Your Own House," a booklet for the novice researcher is available at the Utah Heritage Foundation, 355 Quince Street, Salt Lake City, Utah 84103, (801) 533-0858.

Structure/Site Information Forms show the basic information necessary for nomination of a building to a historic register. These forms can be obtained free of charge at the Preservation Office, Utah State Historical Society, 307 West 200 South, Suite 1000, Salt Lake City, Utah 84101, (801)533-6017.

Identifying American Architecture: A Pictorial Guide to Styles and Terms, 1600-1945 will be helpful to an architectural researcher. This book has over 200 photographs and is a good guide to major architectural styles. It is available from the American Association for State and Local History, 1400 Eighth Avenue South, Nashville, Tennessee 37203.