Brigham Young's Homes

Chapter 5. Settling in Salt Lake City

Chapter 5 Settling in Salt Lake City Judy Dykman and Colleen Whitley For Brigham Young, settlement in the Great Basin brought even more responsibilities than he had carried on the trail. He assumed the secular duties of territorial governor as well as the religious leadership of the church. His obligations now entailed supervising settlements and building structures such as the Salt Lake Temple. On a personal level, it also meant that he would actually provide homes for all of his wives, most of whom had simply stayed with their own families or traveled with others. His Salt Lake City properties are listed here in approximately chronological order of his family’s occupation, recognizing that several homes might be built in one year and precise dates for the building or occupation of others are not available. Some houses of close location are grouped despite differences in the times that they were occupied. Only a few of the homes occupied for a short time or rented from someone else for temporary housing are included. Brigham Young’s Salt Lake homes are keyed to map 1 and the text includes a brief history of each home and the current occupant(s) or uses of its site.1 For Brigham Young’s polygamous wives, life in Utah required that they learn to live together, often in very close proximity. Anyone who has spent time in a military barracks or a college dormitory appreciates how difficult it must have been to have several families share a single log cabin, and yet they did it, the wives often showing remarkable grace. Individual wives noted their own decisions not to quarrel , gossip, or backbite. Lucy Bigelow, for example, left some insights into the challenges and limitations polygamy put on marital relationships and privacy. Initially she rarely had her own room and often shared a bed with a sister wife or slept on the floor. Lucy’s daughter, Susa, observes that her mother resolved early in her marriage that for her own peace of mind she would not lower herself to backbite or criticize anyone, particularly her husband, if children were around. Susa remembers that her mother rarely said anything negative about anyone in the family.2 In addition to adapting to changes in living arrangements, each wife also assumed specific duties in the division of labor necessary to maintain the family in the new environment. Many of their homes were designed or designated for one of those specific tasks, but it took time to build those homes. In the meanwhile, On this street grid of Salt Lake City numbers indicate locations of Brigham Young’s homes; letters indicate current structures or parks. Map by Colleen Whitley. Salt Lake City (Current street designations used) Highlighted Area Key: 1 Old Adobe Fort 2 Brigham Young Estate 3 Chase Mill 4 Forest Farm 5 Clara Decker 6 Augusta Adams 7 20 to 50 South State 8 Emeline Free 9 Mary Van Cott 10 Harriet Barney 11 Emily Dow Partridge 12 Zina Huntington 13 Empey Cottage 14 Gardo House Currently A City Hall B Temple Square C Union Pacific Depot D Rio Grande Depot (USHS) E Trolley Square F Crossroads Mall G ZCMI Mall H First Encampment Park I Liberty Park 400 W est 300 W est 200 W est W est Tem ple M ain State 200 East 300 East 400 East 500 East 600 East 700 East 800 East 100 North North Temple South Temple 100 South 200 South 1000 South 1100 South 300 South 1200 South 1300 South 1400 South 1700 South 1500 South 400 South 500 South 1600 South 700 South 600 South 1800 South 1900 South 2000 South 2100 South I–80 900 South 800 South B 2 11 C D 1 12 A E 3 H 4 10 9 8 14 5 13 F G 7 6 I like all of the pioneers, they continued to live in their tents and wagons as they had on the trail. The first company to enter the valley arrived on 23 July 1847 and camped on present-day 1700 South and 500 East in what is now First Encampment Park. The park was created in 1997 as part of Utah’s sesquicentennial celebration by the Wells and Emigration Stakes of the LDS Church and turned over to Salt Lake City.3 The main camping area, however, developed between the two branches of City Creek, from Third...