1205 East 1300 South
Salt Lake City, UT, USA

National Register of Historic Places - Lorenzo and Emma Price House and Barn

Statement of Significance:

The Lorenzo and Emma Price House and Barn are locally significant for documenting the transition of this area of Salt Lake City from farmland to residential subdivisions during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The barn, completed in 1896, is one of the few agricultural structures remaining in what was known as the "Big Field," a large plat of farmland adjacent to the southern edge of the city. By 1890 this land was being parceled into subdivisions to accommodate the growing city, and by the 1920s the transition to residential use was virtually complete. The stone and frame barn itself is a rare remaining example of an English two-bay barn in Salt Lake City, where only a handful of structures such as this remain. The Price House and its occupants also represent the transition of this area from rural to urban uses. The house was constructed in 1899, replacing an older house on the property that had been in Emma Handley Price's family since at least the 1860s. After the house was built, Lorenzo Price shifted his career from farming to non-agricultural endeavors: most notably mine superintendent then contractor. As a contractor he built a number of homes on land that he had previously farmed. His own house remains on a generous parcel with the barn and adjacent garden plot, maintaining a vestige of both his own and the property's agricultural past.
House Construction and Price Family History
On February 27, 1899, Lorenzo Price obtained a building permit to construct this two-story brick house. The permit listed a Mr. Birkenshaw (no first name given) as the builder; no architect was listed.2 Lorenzo's wife Emma Nancy Handley Price (1867-1965) had officially received title to this property in October 1895 as part of the final distribution of her father George Handley's estate. City directories indicate that Lorenzo and Emma had been living across the street since their marriage in 1890, sharing a house at 1180 E. 1300 South with her widowed mother Elizabeth for at least part of that time. During the 1890s Lorenzo's occupation was listed in the city directories as either farmer or gardener. He likely helped run the Handley family farm with Emma's brothers Charles I. and William F., who, according to city directories, were also farmers and lived nearby. This property had been in the Handley family since at least 1867.3 According to family history, the Price's new house replaced an older stone house that may have dated from the 1860s. City directories show Charles I. Handley living at that location, apparently in the stone house, as late as 1893.
Within about a decade of the house's construction, a large porch was added across the front, replacing the original small porch (visible in historic photos), and a two-story addition was subsequently added to the back. The full-width front porch was in place by 1911, and the rear addition was built some time after that, likely around 1920. The rear addition provided additional space for the family, which had grown from four children to eight children since moving into the house.
Lorenzo Price and Emma Nancy Handley Price were both born and raised in Salt Lake City. They were married on June 26, 1890, and were the parents of eight children: George Bithel, Inez Elizabeth, Lorenzo Vern, Blanche, Ona, Evona, Myna, and Kathleen. After farming for several years, Lorenzo Price served as the superintendent of the U.S. Lime Stone Quarry in Topliff, Utah (Tooele County), for about nine years. Beginning around 1913 he worked as a contractor in Salt Lake City. He died in 1922 after being ill for a year. According to his obituary, "In the nine years he had been engaged in the [contracting] business he built many beautiful and substantial houses which have contributed greatly to the growth and development of Salt Lake City." He is credited with building a number of houses in the vicinity of his own home, including most of the houses along the south side of 1300 South (across the street) between 1100 East and about 1200 East.
After Lorenzo's death in 1922, Emma continued to reside in the house with some of her children. She remained there until her death in 1965. According to family history, she enjoyed gardening and spent many hours in the garden at the back of the house near the barn. The produce from the garden was stored over the winter in the barn.
Following Emma Price's death in 1965, the property was given to her youngest child, Kathleen Schlosar. She lived in the house until her death in 1992, at which time the current owners Richard A. Schooley and Susan M. White purchased the home.