407 East 8800 South
Sandy, UT, USA

National Register of Historic Places - Louis E. and Florence Jensen Van Dam House

Statement of Significance:

The Louis E. and Florence Jensen Van Dam house, built c. 1908, is significant under Criteria A and C. Under Criterion A it is significant for its association with two periods of development in Sandy's history: the Mining, Smelting, and Small Farm period of 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. Long-time citizens of Sandy, the Van Dam family served in a number of civic capacities. The house is also architecturally significant under Criterion C as an example of a common house type, the central block with projecting bays, built by residents of Sandy during the mining boom period. Though it has been altered slightly, the Van Dam house retains much of its historic integrity and contributes to the historic resources of Sandy.

Historical Significance

Located 12 miles south of Salt Lake City, historic 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.

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. 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 original section of land from which this lot was derived was patented to Joseph Barker in January 1877. The Last Chance Silver Mining Company of Utah then owned the property for a short time, until Liberty E. Holden purchased it in 1881. Holden retained ownership until after the turn of the century when two local businessmen and developers James Jensen and William Kuhre purchased the north half of the northeast quarter of section 6 in January 1904, for $3,500. In August 1905, this parcel was dedicated as a subdivision known as the Flagstaff Addition to Sandy. This particular lot was deeded to Florence Jensen Van Dam, daughter of James Jensen, on February 20, 1908, which is probably when she and Louis Van Dam had the house constructed where they spent the rest of their lives. The house is listed on the 1910 census of Sandy.
Louis Evans Van Dam was born on March 5, 1885, to Herbert and Mary Elizabeth Evans Van Dam in Salt Lake City. While still quite young he moved with his family to Canada where they homesteaded for several years before returning to settle in Sandy, Utah. Louis helped his father in raising cattle and herding them to the White City area for grazing.5 He attended schools in Salt Lake City and Sandy and attended the University of Utah. He then became an employee working for the Jensen and Kuhre Hardware Company in Sandy, a position he would hold for more than forty years. Louis Van Dam was Sandy City Recorder from 1922-1948 and was also the secretary of the Sandy Canal Company and Sandy Irrigation Company.

Louis married Sarah Florence Jensen on April 20, 1905, in the Salt Lake City LDS Temple. Florence was the daughter of James and Anna Sophia Christensen Jensen. She was born on August 16, 1884, in Draper, Utah. She attended school in Draper and in Sandy after the family moved there in 1892, where her father became involved in various business activities. Florence was actively involved in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS or Mormon church), serving in various positions, including the Primary President, President of the Y.W.M.I.A., Sunday School, Director on the East Jordan Stake Relief Society Board, and ward (parish) organist for thirty years. Florence was also a member of the Sandburr Camp of the Daughters of the Utah Pioneers.

Louis Van Dam was probably most remembered in the community for his singing and acting. Louis took part in many community plays and accompanied by either his wife or daughter, sang at approximately 1,300 funerals. Mr. Van Dam was invited to sing with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir on their 1911 New York tour which included fifty concerts and a performance at the White House before President Howard Taft. Florence Van Dam was as involved with music as her husband. She played piano and organ, performed at various community events, and taught piano lessons. The Van Dams had six children. Florence died June 17, 1932, in Sandy. Louis died on March 1, 1960. The house still remains in the family.

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 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.

Victorian forms were popular in Utah from 1885-1915. The central-block-with-projecting-bays house type was an important basic form of the Victorian house. Projecting bays were added to the principal rooms to achieve the desired external irregularity of design and make the rooms larger and brighter. This house form is characterized by a roughly square central section punctuated by bays to one or several sides. The main roof is hipped or pyramidal, while the bays are usually gabled. The smaller, less expensive houses usually had an entrance leading directly to the living room or parlor. The Van Dam house with, its cruciform plan, is one one the more elaborate examples in Sandy.
The style of the house also illustrates the early twentieth-century changes that were occurring in Utah. Victorian Eclectic details, such as the lathe-turned columns originally on the Van Dam house, were

important in describing the end of the 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. The stuccoed walls and new front porch were an attempt in the 1920s or 1930s to update the look of the house, making the Van Dam a link between the Victorian era and early twentieth-century styles such as the bungalow or period cottage.