31 East 8680 South
Sandy, UT, USA

National Register of Historic Places - Allsop-Jensen House

Statement of Significance:

The Peter and Ingrid Pierson house, built c. 1898 and enlarged c. 1910, is significant under Criterion A for its association with two important periods of development in Sandy's history, Mining, Smelting, and Small Farm period: 1871-c. 1910 and the Specialized Agriculture, Small Business, and Community Development Period (1906-1946) of the multiple property submission, Historic Resources of Sandy City. The house is also architecturally significant under Criterion C as an example of a common house type, the cross-wing, which was later altered to a less-common double cross wing. The house is a type commonly built by residents of Sandy during the first period and its expansion. Peter Pierson was a worker in the local smelter industries and owned a tin shop in Sandy. The house is in good condition and contributes to the historic resources of Sandy.

Historical Significance

Located 12 miles south of Salt Lake City, Sandy is at the crossroads of what was once a busy series of mining districts. Paralleling to a large extent the history of mining in Bingham Canyon to the west and Big and Little Cottonwood Canyons to the east, Sandy's history and development either boomed or declined based on these mining operations. Sandy's first major period of development is known as the Mining, Smelting, and Small Farm Era, 1871-c. 1910 During this period Sandy became a strategic shipping point and a number of sampling mills and smelters were built in the area. While the dominant force in the economy of Sandy during the 1870s through the 1890s was undoubtedly that of mining, the local agricultural community continued to develop. The majority of those involved in agriculture were members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS or Mormon Church) who were encouraged to pursue agriculture instead of mining.3 Though Peter Pierson worked at the Germania Smelter located in Murray after he first immigrated to Utah, he opened his own tin shop in Sandy as soon as he was able. The tin shop and a small subsistence-level farm economically sustained a large family for the Piersons.

The Specialized Agriculture, Small Business, and Community Development Period (1906-1946) is the second period of development in Sandy. It encompasses the first half of the twentieth century and was a period of transition for the city. The mining, smelting, and small farm era (1871-circa 1910) was being replaced by a more diversified economy. In some ways, the town still resembled the earlier predominantly agricultural community founded by Mormon settlers in the 1860s, especially as the "boom town" economy created around the mining industry waned. The population of Sandy remained around 1,500 for the four decades between 1900 and 1940.4 However, the city was defining itself as the political, economic, civic, and social center for a major portion of the southeast Salt Lake Valley.

This period of Sandy's history laid the groundwork for the city's eventual transformation from a small town to a suburb. One of the earliest signs of community development was the creation of subdivisions from large farming parcels. During the first half of the twentieth century, the majority of Sandy residents continued to live on their farms, however, most managed to survive economically by combining subsistence farming with other occupations, primarily cottage industries and mercantilism. Other farmers created large specialized agricultural enterprises such as sugar beets and poultry. Many Sandy residents continued to work in the mining and smelter industries in nearby communities after Sandy's smelters closed down.

The property at 31 East 8680 South was originally owned by LeGrand and Grace Young. The Youngs owned a vast portion of land in Sandy at the end of the nineteenth century. LeGrand Young sold the property to Peter Pierson on April 19, 1898. Pierson transferred the title to his wife the following year. The house was probably built between the two transactions. Peter Pierson was born in Malmo, Sweden on July 6, 1859. His parents were Per Persson and Bergta Svensson. Peter joined the LDS Church in Sweden on February 18, 1880. He met his future wife, Ingrid Cecilia Larson, on that day when she was also baptized. Ingrid Larson was born on November 23, 1860, to Lars Hansson and Sissela Nilsson. Peter and Ingrid were married in 1882 and their first child, Emma, was born in Sweden. The family immigrated to Utah in 1882. The Piersons lived in South Cottonwood (later known as Murray) while Peter worked at the Germania Smelter. Four children were born to the family in Murray.

In 1891, Peter and Ingrid, along with their three living children, Carl, Edith, and Selma, moved to Sandy to a small three-room house owned by Ingrid's father. The house was located between the railroad near the center of town. Five more children were born there. Six years after the move to Sandy, Peter Pierson started his own tin shop. It was the first tin shop in Sandy and was located near his home between the tracks. About a year later, the family moved to the home at 31 East 8680 South where their last two children were born. Peter Pierson also moved his tin shop to the corner of State Street and 8680 South (now demolished).

According to his granddaughter, Pierson was the only tinsmith between Murray and Lehi.5 Many churches, schools, and homes in Salt Lake Valley have products from his hands. He did all the tin work at the Bingham schools. The prosperity of the tin shop probably allowed the family to expand the family home to a double cross wing, c. 1910. Ingrid was considered a brave woman and carried a gun to protect herself and her children when Peter was working out of town. They had nine children who lived to maturity: Carl, Edith, Selma, Clara, Esther, Fannie, Wilford, Joseph, and Florence. Many remained in the Sandy area and the entire family was well respected. Peter continued working at his tin shop until his seventies. Ingrid Pierson died on May 24, 1934, in Sandy. Peter died the following year on January 11, 1935.

The home remained in the family until 1994. Ingrid Cecilia Pierson had deeded the property to her children in 1925. Fannie Octavia Pierson (born October 20, 1896), the Pierson's fifth surviving daughter, lived in the home until her death in April of 1989. The property was then used as a rental by Robert M. Cundick, son of Florence Pierson Cundick, the last child of Peter and Ingrid. Florence and her husband Milton lived just a few doors down the street from her former family home. In 1994, Robert Cundick sold the property to James R. Witherspoon. The house is currently being managed as a rental property.

Architectural Significance

The center of Sandy's initial settlement possesses a unique character due to several components. First, the width of the residential streets remains consistently smaller than many towns in Utah that were laid out with wide streets and ten-acre blocks. Although Sandy employed the grid pattern of development, the streets, other than the major thoroughfares such as Main Street, are relatively narrow. Secondly, the scale of the residences is consistent, mostly one or one-and-a-half-story homes with a modest footprint. Third, the earliest buildings are sporadically placed within the city's core. The buildings built prior to 1910 provide the streetscape with a strong sense of historic association as they are located among homes that date from the 1920s through the 1940s. The blending of pre-1910 buildings within the narrow streets of smaller-scale residential structures provides a distinctive quality to Sandy's historic core.

This house is representative of a major shift in Sandy community architecture. When the Sandy mining boon ended in 1893 and local commerce turned to agricultural business, construction slowed and the quality of houses improved. The homes built at the turn of the century in Sandy were permanent, substantial structures made of brick, stone, adobe, or frame with shiplap or drop siding, and adorned with decorative woodwork of trained craftsmen. This house is expressive of the level of craftsmanship attained locally during this turn-of-the-century shift to more substantial and elaborate homes.

The cross-wing house type with Victorian eclectic styling is important in describing the end of isolation of Utah in the late nineteenth century. Rural areas were less isolated from stylistic developments occurring on both the national and local levels. The pattern book styles and standardized building components were available and easily adapted for use with local materials. The former isolation of rural areas was no longer an obstacle to building well and the quality of design and workmanship were also affected during the Victorian era.

The cross-wing house was a Medieval English form resurrected by the authors of nineteenth-century American architectural style books. It was initially developed in association with the Gothic Revival and Italianate styles, but during the late nineteenth century in Utah, the Victorian version replaced the hall parlor as the most common Utah house type. The popularity of the cross wing was probably tied to the balanced irregularity of the two wings, which represented a departure, but not a radical departure, from the Classical tradition. Perhaps the most impressive aspect of the Pierson house was the addition of a second cross wing, c. 1910. The double cross wing is somewhat of a rare house type in Utah, and this house is the only example in Sandy. The Pierson home is a particularly well-executed example of the type, not originally built as a double cross wing, but later expanded. The addition matches the original wing in scale and many of its Victorian details.