Indescribable Pioneer Homestead

SOLD

A pioneer-era cabin, artistically restored Victorian home, and barn with new apartment above

A Victorian-Gothic Home

Located at 135 West 100 North; Ephraim, Utah

.45 acres
Main house is 2,250 sq ft*
Main level 900 sq ft*; a parlor, dining room, kitchen, 3/4 bath with claw foot tub (5') , 3/4 bath with shower, laundry room
Upstairs 450 sq ft*; two bedrooms and a half bath
Basement level; 900 sq ft*; family room with built in entertainment center, two bedrooms, and extra space for storage or bathroom addition
New gas furnace
Four wood/coal burning stoves

Architectural Styles

English style
Gothic Revival
Hall & Parlor
Central cross gable
Finials (no longer present) at apex of gables
Internal chimney (can presently be shared by two cylinder stoves--one included)
One historical researcher of older homes says that the adobe material combined with the Gothic Revival massing suggest the home was built in the 1870s, perhaps earlier, but not much later

Above photo taken in 1977 by the new owners,

McKay and Sherron Andreasen

Of significance are the finials that would have decorated the top of each gable
(Original photo at county assessor's office and taken sometime between 1950 and 1970)

A New Sundance-style Apartment in upper level of Barn

The barn with upstairs apartment was built by the current owners

Studio apartment is 15' x 30'*
Includes a bath with shower, a full kitchen, and a combination bedroom/living room
Lower level is 30' x 40'*
Side wings can be used for storage or other purposes
Center of barn can be used as a workshop or one-car garage
Gas furnace

1860s Pioneer Cabin

(click on photo for larger view)

One and a-half story
16' x 20' each level*
3/4 bath downstairs with claw foot (4') antique tub
Kitchen with cast iron wood/coal burning cooking stove
Fireplace in family room
Large bedroom upstairs with wood-burning stove
Gas furnace

Potential "Highest and Best" Uses for the Homestead

This property is zoned Residential-2 which means two residential dwellings are allowed on one parcel
Reside in one building, rent out the second, and use the third as a guest house
Restore as a Bed & Breakfast or vacation rental with approval of Ephraim City

Raymond Lewis was born in Wales, Utah on June 17, 1877 to Canaan and Sarah Rees Lewis, a Welsh couple. "He married Sarah Virginia Armstrong, Dec. 27, 1904, in the Manti LDS Temple and they made their home in Ephraim. She died May 9, 1952, and he moved to Salt Lake City in 1955. He was a retired sheepman and farmer." He died June 26, 1957 and is buried in Ephraim.

The Children of Raymond and "Jennie"

Anna Delora Lewis (1908-1978)

Alif Ray Lewis (1910-1980)

Sarah Ruby Lewis (1913-2006)

Reva Virginia Lewis (1918-1918)

Ruth Lewis (1920-1992)

The Lewis family lived here from 1905 to 1955. They lived only in the two front rooms for 15 years. The 2 upstairs rooms were finished in 1919 and a kitchen and bathroom were added in 1932. Between 1955 and 1970 the home had a succession of renters and began to deteriorate and was abandoned for several years which caused further deterioration and vandalism.

LeRoy and Ray Lewis, brothers

L to R: LeRoy and Ray

Ray Lewis with friends

Far right seated: Ray Lewis
Far right standing: LeRoy Lewis

Canaan Lewis and Sarah Rees

Parents of Ray Lewis

(1841-1909)

Canaan's mother, Elizabeth Jones Lewis, brought him and his five siblings to America in 1849 from the country of Wales. She became the second wife of Captain Dan Jones. After Canaan's first wife Sarah died, he married Mary Nelson twelve years later. She came into the marriage with a five year old daughter named Josephine. To this marriage four other children were born: Sarah, Thomas, Earl, and Mearl. Canaan was described as a typical Welshman, full of humor and a love of music. He also loved horses and was a sheepman, owned a small farm, and a forty-acre meadow in Wales. During the years 1864-1868 he served in the Black Hawk War; he spoke three different Indian dialects.

(1855-1880)

Sarah Rees was born in the small mining town of Wales, Utah. She and Canaan lived on "Brigham's Farm" in Sugar House in Salt Lake City as newlyweds, but when their first son was almost two years old they moved to Wales, Utah permanently.

Annie Mortensen Rasmussen

Deeded the property to Raymond Lewis in December of 1905

Niels Mortensen, Sr. (center)

Deeded the property (West half of Lot 6, Block 19) to his daughter,
Annie Mortensen Rasmussen (far right) in February of 1901

Niels Mortensen and his wife Petriane emigrated to the United States in 1864 from Denmark. They were blessed with ten children. Petriane died in 1883. Niels was a prominent farmer and stockraiser and once owned the land in Ephraim where the cemetery is now located on Main Street. He died 9 April 1915.

A Couple to the Rescue

In 1977 the home was purchased by McKay and Sherron Andreasen who began to restore it to its original beauty. In 1986 they began running a Bed & Breakfast, the Ephraim Homestead. An 1860s granary which originally stood behind a house on south Main Street was moved on a flat-bed truck to the Andreasen property in 1989. The Andreasens used 1870s windows, 1880s stairs, and fireplace bricks from the 1860s in the restoration process. The barn was built by McKay and his sons ages eight, ten, and fourteen at the time. The Ephraim Homestead closed in 2006, and the Andreasens moved across the street into another pioneer home built between 1884 and 1888. Once again they are using their creative skills in restoring their new home.

Fireplace in the cabin

The bricks from this fireplace came from a home believed to be one of the first built after people came out of the fort. (The second little house from the corner of 100 West and 200 North) This was fired brick so it is more durable; it is also larger than a standard modern brick. The home from where it came has since been torn down. The fireplace mantel is also unique. McKay built it from vintage boards that were 1" thick, thicker than boards used today.

Six Wood-burning Stoves

There are a total of four wood/coal burning stoves in the Victorian Home and two stoves in the cabin.

"The centerpiece in every Victorian home was the elegant wood and coal antique cook stove. Life at home centered around the kitchen stove and cooking was the activity joining the family together." http://www.goodtimestove.com/

It is possible to convert an antique cooking stove into a gas and/or electric stove.

1. The kitchen stove is made of both steel and cast iron

2. Cylinder stove in the parlor

3. Small potbelly stove in the upstairs bedroom

4. Potbelly stove in the basement

5. The kitchen stove in the cabin is made of cast iron and burns both wood and coal.

6. This cylinder stove in the cabin upstairs gets the room toasty warm within the hour!

Sources:
Utah's Historic Architecture, 1847-1940, Thomas Carter & Peter Goss, p.41

Sanpete County Assessor's Office, photo of home with decorative finials

Ephraim Enterprise on microfilm at Snow College Library, obituary of Raymond Lewis

Photos of Ray Lewis courtesy of Brent Lewis

Online sources:
http://sanpetecounty.org/businesses/show/2722-ephraim-homestead
www.new.familyresearch.org

http://genmayle.com/gen/familygroup.php?familyID=F97&tree=Test
Website on the Mortensen family and ancestors