13518 South 1700 West
Riverton, UT, USA

National Register of Historic Places - Draper/Steadman House

Statement of Significant:

The Draper/Steadman House, built c. 1894, is architecturally significant as one of the best examples of the Victorian Eclectic style in Riverton and as a rare example of the double cross-wing house type. Victorian styles were popular in Riverton as well as throughout Utah during the 1880 to 1910 period. Though over fifty Victorian Eclectic style houses remain in the community, less than half retain their integrity. The Draper/Steadman House is one of only two eligible Victorian Eclectic style houses that is also a double cross-wing. The two rear additions were made to the house c. 1906 and c. 1915, but they do not affect the overall character of the house.

The first non-Native American settlement of the Riverton area occurred in the mid-1850s but was confined primarily to the bluffs near the Jordan River about 18 miles south of Salt Lake City. The lack of irrigation water on the benchland to the west prevented any significant agricultural development. With the completion of the South Jordan Canal in 1876, thousands of acres of land could now be cultivated. Additional settlement occurred and in 1879 the community of Riverton was formally created. The "Rural Development Period" (1881-1898) started with the completion of the Utah and Salt Canal in 1881. Additional land was put under cultivation, commercial farming expanded and community infrastructure (e.g., roads, bridges, wells) was installed. By 1903, Riverton had a population of about 600, largely based on agriculture with some small-scale commercial development.

In 1885, Lars Jensen had obtained title from the U.S. Government, via a patent deed, to the entire 1/4 section of Section 3 which includes the subject parcel. Following his death, Jensen's estate sold a five-acre parcel (most of which is included in the current Draper/Steadman site) to Edward M. Morgan in October 1889.

In February 1892 Morgan sold the property for $650.00 to Josiah Draper. Draper owned the property for five years and constructed, or had built, c. 1894, the original, double cross-wing plan house

In November 1897 the house and land were sold to George Washington Beckstead, who owned the property for five years, apparently making no changes or additions to the house. In November 1902 he sold the property to James Steadman, a farmer, and his wife, Mary Ann Winder. The Steadmans were just beginning their family, and by March 1906 had three young children. For his growing family, Steadman felt the need for more space. Interviews with surviving members of the Steadman family indicate that the first addition was constructed c. 1906. After this, two additional children were born to the family. The Steadmans built the second addition to the house c. 1915. They owned the property for some eighteen years before selling i t to Vernon H. Morgan in 1920.

Vernon H. Morgan was a son of Edward M. Morgan who had owned the property (1889- 1892) before the house was built. Vernon H. Morgan was a front-line veteran of World War I and was unmarried when he purchased the property, which was known by him and his relatives as "the farm". In June 1928, he married Jane Garfield, a school teacher and boarder at the house on his property. Morgan had been living in an outbuilding which has since burned down. Originally a farmer, his other jobs included being a guard at the Garfield Smelter during World War II, a Salt Lake County Road Supervisor, and foreman for the Utah State Road Commission. He was a director of the Utah-Salt Lake Canal Company for several years and was its president for twelve years. After Vernon H. Morgan's death in 1957, the title was transferred from his estate to his son, Edward E. Morgan in 1979.

In December 1985, the Prows Plastering Company took ownership of the property. In April 1991, the property, now consisting of 3.616 acres, was sold to Kevin R. and Shauna Leake, who are the current owners.

Analysis of extant historic houses in Riverton shows that the original c. 1894 house was built during a decade of relatively little house building, most of which was concentrated near 1895. The first addition to the house, c. 1906, came at a time of major house building in Riverton. The c. 1915 addition preceded a very significant building phase c. 1920. Located on the most prominent street in Riverton, the Draper/Steadman House stands as the best remaining example of the houses which were constructed in this locale from the "Rural Development Period" (1881-1898)

Stylistically, the Draper/Steadman House is one of six extant Victorian Eclectic style houses built from 1890 to 1900 in Riverton that remain potentially eligible for the National Register. Six potentially eligible Victorian Eclectic houses remain from the 1880s and eight from the period 1900 to 1910. The Victorian Eclectic style, actually a combination of elements from such popular styles as the Italianate, Queen Anne, Neoclassical and Colonial Revival, was common in Utah from 1885 to 1910. Common characteristics of the style present in the Draper/Steadman House include segmental or arched window openings, and projecting window lintels.

The cross-wing house type is characterized by a forward projecting wing intersected by a perpendicular side wing in either an "L" or "T" arrangement. Representing a revival of a Medieval English house form, the cross-wing was prominent in the architectural literature of the 1840s and the 1850s and is perhaps the most important contribution of the stylebooks to nineteenth-century American architecture, for i t was the main innovation picked up and widely distributed by vernacular builders. I t is commonly found in both England and America during the mid-nineteenth century and was attractive both for its romantic connotations and for its irregular "picturesque" appearance. In Utah, the cross-wing was especially popular from 1880 to 1910, with a brief resurgence during the 1920s.

The basic element in the cross-wing form was the forward projecting wing which served to anchor the design. This basic form could then be added to, or modified to produce other similar, yet different, houses. There are three major variants of the basic cross-wing type: the basic cross-wing, consisting of the forward projecting wing flanked by a single side wing; the cruciform cross-wing, having wings to either side of the central projecting wing; and the double cross-wing, a house that has a second front-facing wing placed at the end of the side (or in this case, connecting) wing.

Because a comprehensive study of the double cross-wing in Utah has not been ' undertaken, the exact number of extant examples, their locations, condition, and variations are not precisely known. Judging from architectural surveys completed to date, and from general observations, i t is known that the double cross-wing was not a common house type in Utah although the basic cross-wing was very common.

Analysis of building type reveals a total of thirty-three extant cross-wing houses in Riverton, twelve of which are potentially eligible for the National Register. Within the total of thirty-three, there are three double cross-wing types, including the Draper/Steadman House. All three double cross-wing houses are located on a 1-1/2-mile segment of 1700 West Street. The double cross-wing house at 12981 South 1700 West is ineligible due to infill of its porch. The double crosswing at 12673 South 1700 West is potentially eligible although it is in poor condition and some elements of its original porch have been replaced. The two historic additions to the Draper/Steadman House have not impacted the significant architectural aspects of the original double cross-wing house and i t remains the best example of the double cross-wing house type in Riverton