8840 South 90 East
Sandy, UT, USA

National Register of Historic Places - Nels A. Nelson House

Statement of Significance:

Built-in 1895, the Nels A. Nelson house is significant under Criterion C as a distinct and important example of the hall-parlor house type which was common in Sandy, the surrounding area, and throughout Utah during the latter half of the nineteenth century. This structure is unique in that it is a classically influenced design that was built during the Victorian era. The dwelling is also the finest example of the hall-parlor type house built with brick in the Sandy area. Under Criterion A, this house type is significant for its association with an important period of development in Sandy's history. The house provides an example of one type of dwelling which was commonly employed by area residents during the Mining, Smelting, and Small Farm Era, 1871-c.1910. Other examples of this same house type within the historic Sandy City limits include frame and adobe structures, most of which have been altered to a degree that renders them ineligible for National Register recognition.

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 surrounding canyons, Sandy's early history and development either boomed or declined based on these mining operations.
Sandy's first major period of development, known as the "Mining, Smelting, and Small Farm Era, 1871-c.1910", closely coincided with the discovery and mining of precious metals in nearby canyons beginning in 1863, and with the arrival of the transcontinental railroad to Utah in 1869. Extending south from Salt Lake City, the Utah Southern Railroad reached the Sandy area in 1871,2 placing Sandy at a crossroads between Salt Lake City, Bingham Canyon, and Big and Little Cottonwood Canyons., Railroad spurs were subsequently extended to the mouths of these canyons, allowing materials to be shipped to and from the mining operations.

Since Sandy was a strategic shipping point, it is only logical that needed sampling mills and smelters were built in the area. Also in 1871, a 160-acre townsite was platted, and the construction of a "boom town" shortly followed. The boom period of the 1870s was short-lived with the failure of several mining concerns which fed Sandy's economy, leading to the closure of several smelting and sampling concerns beginning in 1876. Mining, however, continued to have a large impact on the town in the years following this initial slowdown.
While the dominant force in the economy of Sandy during the 1870s, '80s, and '90s was undoubtedly that of mining, the local agricultural community continued to develop. A series of wells and ditches were dug beginning as early as 1869 to supply the city, smelters, and farms with water. Early agricultural pioneers, who generally established small, family-type farms, were but forerunners of a later agriculturally oriented lifestyle that was to dominate Sandy's economy. During the 1890s, despite a downturn in the mining industry, Sandy continued to establish itself as a permanent community in the Salt Lake Valley. New business enterprises came into being to support the local agricultural economy, new schools were built, and the city was incorporated in 1893. With the relocation of sampling and smelting concerns to other locations, Sandy's impact as a mining town diminished Many of the mines that once supported Sandy's mining industry either played out, or their refining operations were relocated." By soon after the turn of the century, Sandy had lost much of the mining component of its economy, marking an end to its initial phase of development. The agricultural component also shifted at this time away from small family farms toward larger, more specialized farming operations, inaugurating a new phase of development in the city.

Purchased by Nels A. & Marianne Nelson in 1891, one year after the family had immigrated to the United States from Denmark, the property appears to have remained vacant until 1894-5 when mortgages were obtained, likely marking construction of the house. Nels Nelson, occupation unknown, lived for only a short time in the home until his death in 1901, leaving a widow and seven children. According to the 1910 census, his wife and four children remained at home, the eldest son working in a local smelter. Land records indicate that the Nelson family owned the site until January 1924 when Marianne sold the property to her daughter, Julianne Nelson Tolboe, only five months prior to the death of Marianne. The Tolboe family subsequently occupied the house until 1930 when it was purchased by Mildred Holm. Evelyn J. Holm, daughter of Mildred, acquired the property in 1964 and currently resides in an out-of-period wood frame structure adjacent to the Nels A. Nelson House.