USU Well Represented in Cache Valley Historic Home Tour

A historic building on the Utah State University campus and several houses owned by USU faculty members and administrators, past and present, are included in the 2009 Cache Valley Historic Home Tour. The tour, scheduled Sept. 12, is presented by the Cache Valley Historical Society and Cache Valley Visitors Bureau.

 

Proceeds from the tour also support a scholarship for a USU student who studies local history and to fund transportation for elementary school children to visit the American West Heritage Center.

 

USU’s David B. Haight Alumni Center, originally the Utah Territory Model Farm House, is featured on the tour, as are homes owned by USU faculty, including the home of Keith and Elizabeth Mott and Bruce Bugbee’s home (see descriptions below). Former College of Natural Resources Dean Thad Box, along with his wife, Jenny, own a historic Center Street home that is included and former Vice President for Finance Ron Godfrey will open a historic cabin as an added bonus on this year’s tour.

 

“People are always curious about the interiors of these architectural showpieces,” said Julie Hollist, director of the Cache Valley Visitors Bureau. “This is a rare opportunity for the public to see inside and it’s a beautiful time of year to do it.”

 

The second annual home tour is Sept. 12 from noon to 5 p.m. Tickets are $10 each and can be purchased at Macey’s Food and Drug, Lee’s Marketplace, the USU Haight Alumni Center and the Cache Valley Visitors Bureau (199 North Main). Visitors are encouraged to carpool when viewing the homes. For more information, call the Visitors Bureau at 435-755-1890.

 

In addition to the USU connection, this year’s tour features two homes on Logan’s historic Center Street and four additional homes in Logan and North Logan. A bonus property is the Ludwig Einer Larsen Cabin in North Logan, a 16 by 18-foot cabin complete with early Cache Valley artifacts.

 

“These are wonderful examples of historic homes that have been beautifully and tastefully restored and decorated,” said Bernice McCowin, committee chair. “These homes were selected for their historical importance, unique elements and authenticity of their restoration.”

 

Some of the architectural styles include Stick, a Victorian sub-style; Arts and Crafts; Victorian and Gothic Revival.

 

 

 

 

This oldest state-built residence in Utah was built as a model farm house, but for nearly a century was the home to 12 presidents of Utah State University. Construction funds were obtained from the Territorial Assembly in early 1890 for the house ($4,000), a model barn ($6,000) and agricultural experiment station ($5,000). After completion of the house in 1890 the Board traded it for the five-room suite on the second floor of Old Main, which had been the president’s living quarters.

 

 

This home was built as a private residence in 1890. In 1903 it became the first hospital in Cache Valley and in 1916 was sold to the Presbyterian Church to be used for the New Jersey Academy, one of the early schools in the valley. It later became a boarding house before being converted back into a single family home in 1977. The house is characteristic of the Stick style, which is a Victorian sub-style with tall proportions and steep roofs. The home now contains a collection of works by Utah artists.

 

 

This house was built in 1915 by Charles W. Nibley for his third wife, Julia Budge. The architects, Pope & Burton, combined the symmetry of the Prairie tradition with suggestions of Spanish style to create a unique “Western” house and is one of the best and earliest examples of the Chicago School in the state of Utah. It is architecturally significant because it represents change from Victorian and Classic styles to the Arts and Crafts, Prairie and Craftsman styles preferred in Utah after the turn of the century.

 

 

This two-and-a-half story crosswing-type house was constructed about 1898 for James W. Quayle, who was the manager of his father’s Main Street store, James Quayle and Co., which carried dry goods, guns and ammunition. The house is a good example of Victorian Eclecticism.

Elements of this style are found in the asymmetrical crosswing plan, ornamental brickwork, variety of arches over the window (flat, segmental and round) and wood gable and porch trim.

 

 

This “old home,” which has passed down through five generations of Crookstons, was built on land homesteaded by Robert Burns Crookston in the 1870s. Materials used to build the house were floated down the river in Logan Canyon, then hauled 28 miles by wagon. The foundations and fireplaces were made of rock from Green Canyon. The family moved into the home in 1895 when three rooms were finished. The house, purchased by the Watkins family in 1999, is now the home for the annual Art on the Lawn celebration.

 

 

The Crockett house is significant both for its architecture and as the home of two generations of the Crockett family. The unique architecture, characterized by the steeply pitched roof with multiple dormers, reflects the Gothic Revival period. At the time of its construction in 1887, the house was one of the most elaborate homes in the Island neighborhood. Alvin D. Crockett was the first mayor of Logan and his son, John A. Crockett, also served as Logan’s mayor.

 

 

 

This 16 by 18-foot cabin was built by Ludwig Einer Larsen in 1879 about a mile east of Newton, Utah, and has been painstakingly moved to its present location. The Larsen family consisted of seven boys and one girl with all 10 members of the family living in the small log home. It is filled with original artifacts from the early days of Cache Valley.