425 East 100 South
Salt Lake City, UT, USA

National Register of Historic Places - Lewis S. Hills House

Statement of Significant:

Constructed c. 1905, the Lewis S. Hills House is both historically and architecturally significant. I t is historically significant for its association with Lewis S. Hills, one of the leading financiers and businessmen in Utah during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Hills was a partner in the first financial institution established in the territory in 1868 and served as cashier and later president of Deseret National Bank, one of the principal banks of the period. He also served on the board of directors of numerous smaller banks throughout the state and several major commercial enterprises. Hills was also active in political and civic affairs, serving as first treasurer of the University of Utah and as a Salt Lake City councilman for two terms. There are two other houses closely associated with Hills: a c.1877 house at 126 S. 200 West in Salt Lake City (National Register 1977) and a 1903 summer home located several miles southeast of the city (altered, possibly ineligible). The 1905 house represents the zenith of Hills' career, having been constructed while he was bank president. I t remained his principal residence until his death in 1915. The house is architecturally significant as an excellent local example of the Victorian Eclectic style and as one of the few remaining houses in this East First South neighborhood, which was a fashionable residential area during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Many of the houses along this street, though less opulent than the mansions on South Temple one block to the north, were good examples of upper-middle class residential architecture. Styles represented here include Italianate, Queen Anne, Victorian Eclectic, Arts and Crafts, and Colonial Revival. Within this local context, the Hills house is architecturally significant.

Lewis S. Hills played a vital role in Utah business and financial affairs from the 1860s until his death in 1915. He was born March 8, 1836, at South Amherst, Massachusetts, then as a young man moved west to Council Bluffs, Iowa, where he worked for a time in a land office. After converting to Mormonism there, he and a brother decided to join the main body of the church in Utah. They arrived in Salt Lake City in 1862. His brother continued on to California, but Lewis remained in the city and soon became involved in a successful mercantile business. That success led to the formation in 1868 of the Utah Territory's first financial institution, a private banking firm established in partnership with William H. Hooper and Horace S. Eldredge. The firm Hooper, Eldredge and Company was incorporated in 1871 as the Bank of Deseret, with Mormon church president Brigham Young as president. I t was re-incorporated under the National Bank Act of 1872 as the Deseret National Bank, with Lewis S. Hills serving as cashier. He held that position until being appointed president of the bank in 1892. Hills served as president of the Deseret National Bank until resigning in 1911, at which time he was made chairman of the board of directors.

In addition to his career with the Deseret National Bank, Hills was involved in numerous other business and banking ventures throughout the state. He served as a director of Zions Cooperative Mercantile Institution, Consolidated Wagon and Machine Company, Beneficial Life Insurance Company, Home Fire Insurance Company, Utah Fire Clay Company, A.J. Pattison and Company which became the Utah Telephone Company, Nephi Plaster Company, First National Bank of Ogden, First National Bank of Murray, Nephi National Bank, Thatcher Brothers Bank of Logan, Davis County Bank of Farmington and Barnes Banking Company of Kaysville. Mr. Hills was a shareholder in the Oregon Lumber Company, Amalgamated Sugar Company, Utah-Idaho Sugar Company and numerous other large corporations. He was also the first receiver of the U.S. Land Office at Salt Lake, and the first Treasurer of the University of Utah. He was also active in local politics as a member of the People's Party and served as a Salt Lake City councilman for two terms. In 1866, Lewis married Theresa Burton, and together they raised six children.

Lewis Hills was one of a handful of important pioneer financiers in Utah. His early involvement and long and distinguished career in the banking industry are evidence of his significant contribution. The Deseret National Bank, which he helped establish and with which he was most closely associated, was one of three principal banks in Salt Lake City during the early territorial period. The others are Walker Brothers Bank and Zion's Savings Bank and Trust Company. A number of other banks and trust companies were established later in the 1880s and 1890s.

Around 1905, while serving as president of the Deseret National Bank, Lewis Hills had a large new house constructed at 425 E. 100 South. His former residence, built c.1877, was a two-story Italianate style house located at 126 S. 200 West (still standing; National Register 1977). That house, typical of many of the finer early homes (1860s-70s) in Salt Lake City, was located near the central business district. By the turn of the century, that area was being encroached on by the expanding central business district to the east and railroad and warehouse districts to the west and was no longer a desirable residential neighborhood.

The East First South neighborhood, where Hills' new house was constructed, was a fashionable residential area in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. In addition to Hills' house, other fine, large homes along First South Street between 400 and 700 East included, among others, the homes of Governor Simon Bamberger, Salt Lake City Mayor William Armstrong, attorney Jonathan Royle, businessmen Henry Dinwoodey, James Langton (all National Register), P.W. Madsen (demolished), Thomas Weir and Orange Salisbury (both National Register eligible). Part of the attraction of this neighborhood was undoubtedly its proximity to the most fashionable and elite residential area in the city, South Temple Street, one block north. The mansions along South Temple (National Register historic district) were clearly the finest in the city. They include the Kearns, Keith-Brown, Wall, and Walker mansions, to name just a few. Hills' move to this part of the city was consistent with his own social standing and with the general shift of upper- and middle-class residents toward the east side of the city.

In 1903, just prior to constructing the house on First South, Lewis Hills had a summer home, "Hillsden," built in the Holladay area, several miles southeast of Salt Lake City. That home was located on extensive acreage near the mouth of Big Cottonwood Canyon. I t functioned as a summer home and retreat for the family and their guests. That house was remodeled in 1927 by a daughter, Maria, who inherited the property. Most of the surrounding estate was subdivided in subsequent years. The current address of that house is 2690 E. Hillsden Drive.

The house at 425 E. 100 South was Lewis Hills' principal residence from its completion until his death. He died July 21, 1915, at his summer home. His wife, Theresa, and daughter, Maria, continued to live in the home until Theresa's death in 1925. At that time ownership of the house passed to the Hills Corporation. A son, Lewis B., lived there for a time, then the house was rented out. Some remodeling of the house may have taken place at that time.

In 1937, the house was sold to Jack T. and Ethel A. Birkinshaw and remodeled into apartments. Gladys C. Flynn purchased the house in 1956, then, in 1972, the Utah Bar Association bought the home and converted it from residential to office use.

In 1988 the house was purchased by the law firm of Spafford and Spafford. At this time the home was redecorated and necessary work was undertaken to restore the home to its original state. The home has since been used as headquarters and offices of Spafford and Spafford.