498 E Locust St
Sandy, UT, USA

National Register of Historic Places - Charles and Fannie Anderson House

Statement of Significant:

The Charles and Fannie Anderson house, built c. 1914, is significant under Criterion A for its association with an important period of development in Sandy's history. The home is an example of the more substantial brick homes built by second generation residents of Sandy during the Specialized Agriculture, Small Business, and Community Development Period (1906-1946). The house may also be considered significant under Criterion C as a bungalow-type house with a blend of Prairie School and Craftsman influence. The house is being nominated as part of the multiple property submission, Historic Resources of Sandy City. The house is in good condition 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 city's eventual transformation from small town to 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 Charles and Fannie Anderson house is located on property which was first patented in February 1874 to Fannie's father Thomas Allsop. Thomas Allsop was an early settler who homesteaded the eastern half of Sandy. A portion of the property was deeded to Charles Anderson through the Allsop estate on September 21, 1909. According to tax records, the house was constructed on the property c. 1914.

Unfortunately, except for a short obituary, little information is available on Charles M. Anderson. He was born in Sweden in 1867. He immigrated to the United States between 1882 and 1883, and settled in Sandy around 1888. He was employed by the Fisher Brewing Company and was a member of the Knights of Pythias. Charles Anderson married Fannie Maria Allsop on May 15, 1888, in Sandy where they resided the rest of their lives.

Fannie Maria Allsop was born on October 28, 1869, in a tent on the bank of the Jordan River in West Jordan, Utah, thereby acquiring the nickname "Tent." It appears she went by her middle name, Maria, in her younger years, and by Fannie as she grew older. Her parents were English immigrants who arrived in Utah in 1854 to settle with other members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS or Mormon Church). After moving from West Jordan to Sandy, her father planted a large group of trees, known as "Allsop's Grove," which was Sandy's first recreation area. Allsop also surveyed the area, and dug the first irrigation ditch and a large reservoir of the Mingo smelter.

Charles and Fannie Anderson do not appear on the 1900 census of Sandy, but they do appear on the 1910 census renting a home at an unspecified address. They are listed with their four children ages ; nineteen through thirteen: Wallace C, Laura M., Hazel L., and Ross R. Anderson. Charles Anderson's occupation was listed as freight teamster, the same as his son Wallace. By the 1920 census, the couple was living on Allsop Lane (Locust Street) and Charles' occupation was listed as farmer on an "irrigated farm" presumably around their home. In the 1922-1923 Utah State Gazetteer, Charles M. Anderson is listed as a marshal. The house and property were deeded to Wallace Anderson just prior to Charles' death on December 29, 1934. Fannie Anderson moved out of the house sometime after Charles' death. She spent the remainder of her life living just a couple of blocks away on Locust Street. She died on April 13, 1958. She was well-respected in the LDS Church and was a member of the Pythias Sisters.

Wallace Charles Anderson was born on August 18, 1891 in Sandy. He married Clara Venus Streadbeck on September 17, 1913 in Sandy. Clara was born on December 26, 1891 in Salt Lake City to Peter Abraham and Kersti P. Olsson Streadbeck. Wallace and Clara had four children. Wallace preceded his wife and mother in death on November 7, 1944. His obituary states he was a farmer in Sandy all of his life. Clara was the Sandy City Recorder from 1948-1950. In 1945 the property was distributed to Wallace's wife and children, but when the area was made into the Mingo Park subdivision on December 22, 1950, the title chain becomes unclear, so it is uncertain when the family moved out. Clara Anderson moved to Los Angeles and passed away there on May 20, 1973.

Between 1950 and 1987, the house was owned by at least three different families after the Andersons left. The current owners are Tommy and Carrie Booms who purchased the house on December 31, 1987.

Architectural Significance

This house is representative of a major shift in Sandy community architecture. When the Sandy mining boom 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 structure made of brick, stone, or adobe brick with shiplap siding, and adorned with decorative woodwork of trained craftsmen. This house is expressive of the level of craftsmanship attained locally during this shift to more substantial and elaborate homes.

The Charles and Annie Anderson house, built c. 1914, is an excellent example of the bungalow style as constructed in Sandy by a local builder. The full-width porch and hipped roof on simple brick bungalows were constructed throughout Salt Lake City and surrounding communities between 1905 and the start of World War I. The bungalow was popularized by pattern books and home-improvement magazines of the era. These pattern-book styles, together with standardized building components, made the bungalow style available to local builders, who could easily adapt the plans for use with local materials.

The Anderson house appears to be a hybrid of the two popular styles used by bungalow builders: the Prairie School and the Arts and Crafts movement. The leaded-glass transoms, leaf-patterned sidelights, and arched drain holes at the base of the porch are indicative of an Arts-and-Crafts influence, however the low-pitched, hipped roof with broad, overhanging eaves, and the square brick piers with the horizontal brick half-wall on the porch suggests the builder was more influenced by the brick Prairie bungalows ubiquitous in Salt Lake City at the time.

The builder of the Anderson home was August Matts Nelson, a native of Sandy. Nelson was born in Sandy on December 12, 1876. He is credited with building at least forty homes in the area and the Sandy Recreation Hall in the 1930s.® As a young man, he moved several times trying different occupations, but soon acquired a reputation as a carpenter and contractor. He is listed as a contractor in the 1927-1928 Utah State Gazetteer. He also served on the Sandy City Council, and as Vice President of the Sandy City Bank. He retired in 1936, but continued to work for the Jensen & Kuhre Company. August Nelson died in November of 1944.

August Nelson favored brick, often yellow, as a material, although he also built frame houses. His homes are all one and one-and-one-half residences. As a group they represent a local builder's transition from Victorian house types to the twentieth century. He built several homes using traditional Victorian house types, such as the cross wing and central block with projecting bays, with a modest amount of Victorian ornamentation. However, at the same time he built homes which resemble the much simpler (and relative modern) twentieth-century bungalows popular in Salt Lake City. The floor plans of these homes exhibit characteristics of both styles, sometimes as a hybrid. For example, the exterior of Charles and Fannie Anderson home is undoubtedly a bungalow; however, in plan the front door leads to a foyer, a rare occurrence in the less formal bungalow. The hip knobs on the Anderson house were one of Nelson's trademarks. Though there was a certain amount of experimentation in Nelson's career as a local builder, according to his daughter, he also had a reputation for methodical. quality work.