Search Results

Roads 2nd Street & Chief Little Soldier Way Chief Little Soldier and the North Western band of the Shoshone were at home in Weber County long before the pioneers arrived. Adobe Mill Way & Brickyard Road Mill and brickyard where adobe bricks were made from sun-dried marsh mud. Bingham Way & Erastus Drive Named to honor Erastus Bingham and his family who were among the first settlers on 2nd Street in 1851. Century Drive In the Nineteenth Century, Century Drive at the intersection of West 2nd Street was the location of Sam Gates cabin and the lane that led into the Gates’ farm. Goodale Drive, Isaac Newton Court Isaac Newton Goodale, born in 1815, named after Sir Isaac Newton. Indian Camp Road Named in remembrance of the Indian camps that existed in the area in the 1800s. Leann Way - Herdboy Lane Herd boys were caretakers and guardians of cattle grazing outside Bingham Fort. Lynne School Lane & History Three historic schools have been located on the east corner of Lynne School Lane and West 2nd Street. Melling Way Mary Ellen Melling (1855-1940) was a baby pioneer born in Wyoming as her parents trekked from Preston England to Zion in 1855. Old Springs Way There was a large spring of water in this area where the public stopped to water their horses from the 1850s to the 1920s. Same Gates Road Sam Gates was an energetic person with many skills. Stone Pond Road, Stone Court Before the settlers came, the Native Americans fished and camped by a large pond that was located on the north side of today’s West 2nd Street. Load More

Sam Gates was an energetic person with many skills. < Back Return to Roads Same Gates Road Sam Gates was an energetic person with many skills. He was 48 years old when he arrived on 2nd St. in 1852, and claimed 40 acres across the road from the Bingham Farm. The location of the Gates’ cabin is today’s intersection of Century Dr and 2nd Street. Sam Gates, Erastus Bingham and Isaac Newton Goodale were previously acquainted in Nauvoo, Illinois, where Sam Gates had established an iron foundry. Now these three men gathered together with their families in this new territory to build another community. Sam was also a farmer and a stone cutter. At age 48 Sam was old to be starting a new farm and helping with a new community, but he was capable and willing. He and his wife Lydia Downer, had 11 children, 7 of them living. His first business in the 1850s was to establish a molasses mill located on today’s Wall Ave 150 feet north of the 2nd Street intersection. He and his neighbors were growing sugar cane in the 1850s and a mill was needed to grind the cane into molasses. [1] In 1854 Brigham young made Sam Gates a captain of a company sent back east to assist the oncoming pioneers and help them through the mountains. In 1857 Sam and Lydia consecrated all the temporal possessions to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. The church immediately gave him stewardship of his consecrated property. This consecration demonstrated faith in God and a willingness to share assets like the early Christians in the book of Mormon and the New Testament. In this consecration Sam’s 40-acre farm was valued at $300. 147 years later, these 40 acres would become the Fort Bingham subdivision. [2] In 1858 Sam was married in polygamy to Martha Waite, an 18-year-old lady who had been briefly married and divorced. She lived in another cabin on second Street, and over time they had six children. [3] In the 1860s Sam ran the toll gate at the mouth of Ogden Canyon; persons were expected to pay a toll for the use of the road to Huntsville. One day while working at the tollgate he hired a homeless Danish boy named Peter Sherner and eventually took Peter home and joined him to the large Gates family. Peter would grow up to be a permanent part of the community. [4] In the 1860s, the spirit of home builders in Weber County changed to a desire for adobe houses instead of log cabins and for plastered walls instead of log ones. In 1871 at age 67 Sam built an adobe mill next to his house and in a few years expanded the adobe mill into a brick yard located five blocks north of his house. He partnered in this business with his son George and his son-in-law James Gardner. The adobe mill and brick yard were connected by a lane that ran from Sam’s house on 2nd Street northward to the brick kiln on today’s North Street. Although he sold adobes and bricks and his son George constructed many adobe houses on 2nd Street, Sam chose to remain living in his log home until his death in 1877 at age 73. [5] A fingerprint of Sam Gates is still left on 2nd Street in six old structures that remain standing that are built with adobes or soft bricks from his mill and brickyard. The houses are 386 W. 2nd St , 150 W 2nd rear, 140 W. 2nd St , 122 2nd St , 156 2nd St , and the granary at 317 W. 2nd St . In 1892, Lydia Gates was still living on 2nd Street in the 1850s log cabin and was photographed in front of her home by photographer Jason Crockwell. The photo was displayed at the World’s Fair in Chicago in 1893 in the Utah Building as a fitting tribute to Utah Pioneers and an honor to Lydia Gates, age 83, who was still living on 2nd Street in her unique pioneer home. Lydia Downer Gates in 1892 in front of the Gates cabin on 2nd Street; photographed by Jason Crockwell. displayed in 1893 at the World’s Fair in Chicago in the Utah building as a tribute to Utah Pioneers. Sam Gates Jr. & Lydia Downer; photo courtesy Pam Olschewski. On April 6, 1840 in Nauvoo, Illinois, Sam Gates was given an Elder’s License signed by Joseph Smith. – As the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints expanded, some dishonest men began to take advantage of the situation by going into an area claiming to be “an Elder sent by the Prophet to collect tithes and temple donations”. Then the money would disappear. It became necessary to issue a license to elders in good standing to prevent this. [1] - Autobiography of Mary Elizabeth Hutchens Sherner, transcribed by Dorothy Sherner, Mary Elizabeth-Her Stories, manuscript, 1933, p. 53. [2] - Lisa J. South and Pam S. Olschewski, Samuel Gates, Jr. and Lydia Downe r, manuscript, 2001, p. 9-14 . [3] - Ibid, p. 14. [4] - Autobiography of Mary Elizabeth Hutchens Sherner, p. 79. [5] - Milton R. Hunter, Beneath Ben Lomond’s Peak, Quality Press, SLC Utah, copyright 1944, p. 362. Previous Return to Roads Next

Michael Bertinoti had resided in Ogden for about forty years and left many relatives behind. < Back 150 West 2nd Street - Bertinotti Return to Homes Michael Bertinotti (1835-1911), arrived in Utah on the railroad in the 1870s. He left behind a daughter born 1872 in Italy named Maria. Michael’s nephew came to Ogden after Michael in about 1878. The Italian population grew rapidly in Ogden after the coming of the railroad. In the 1890s Michael bought the Gillson house, granary and 5 acres of farmland on Old Pioneer Road from his nephew’s estate. In a few years Michael provided the Gillson farmhouse for the home of his widowed sister-in-law, Maria Peraca Bertinotti, and he built a simple board house for himself about 100 feet to the south. So there were now two houses on Old Pioneer Road at the mailing address of 150 W 2nd Street rear, the larger house (the Gillson farmhouse) for Maria and a simple board house for Michael. YESTERDAY: Michael Bertinotti’s board house built in the 1890s, 100 feet south of the old Gillson farmhouse; photo c.1998. YESTERDAY: Gillson farmhouse became home to Maria Peraca Bertinotti in the 1890s; granary in rear; her house and Michael’s house had the same address, 150 W 2nd Street rear; photo 2001. Michael was a farmer and used the granary for storage of farm products. He owned more farm land at the end of 7th Street where the Bertinotti Ditch was named after this Italian family. In 1896 his grown-up daughter, Maria Bertinoti, and her husband, Baptista Maero, arrived from Italy, to join her father in America. In time the Maeros lived at 142 W 2nd Street. In 1897 Maria Peraca Bertinotti’s daughter Anna and her husband Joseph Genta arrived. In addition to the Bertinottis, the Maeros and the Gentas, many other Italian families settled on 2nd Street named Sully, Ionne, Clapier, Notas, and Malin. 2nd Street west of Five Points was known as “Little Italy” by 1900. In addition, the Mastenardis and the Cardons lived at Five Points. Michael Bertinoti died in October 1911; he had resided in Ogden for about forty years and left many relatives behind. His niece, Anna Bertinoti Genta, purchased his two houses, granary and five acres at 150 W. 2nd Street rear in Jan. 1912 for $850. Many families lived in this house simple board house for more than on hundred years. In 2001 Brent Baldwin restored and enlarged Michael Bertinotti’s house, adding wings on each side. Michael Bertinotti’s frame house with two wings added in 2001. TODAY: Michael Bertinotti’s house remodeled by Brent Baldwin; photo 2007. Return to Homes Previous Next

Homes 105 West 2nd Street Carl and Ettnie Stone built this home with the help of Joe Anderson. 115 West 2nd Street He started building the brick house at 115 W 2nd Street in the 1880s, but it was not completed until about 1895. 122 2nd Street Peter & Mary E. Hutchens Sherner Home 128 2nd Street Carl & Harriett Turnquist Home 134 West 2nd Street Thomas & Julia Sherner Irvine Home 136 West 2nd Street Italian immigrants that settled at Five Points 140 West 2nd Street George and Jane Romrell Pierce built this house starting about 1877. 141 2nd Street Porter & Grietje Pierce Home 142 West 2nd Street In 1868 George Pierce was almost 40 years old when he built this board house. 150 West 2nd Street - Bertinotti Michael Bertinoti had resided in Ogden for about forty years and left many relatives behind. 150 West 2nd Street - Gillson William was 48 years old and his son Edward was 18. All had to work together to create a house, a farm and lateral ditches and provide food and clothes 152 West 2nd Street William Hutchens and Eliza Stone Home Load More

< Back 142 West 2nd Street Return to Homes Jane Romrell (1838 - 1909) and George Pierce (1829-1898). George Pierce 1868 board house at 142 W 2nd Street; drawing Gordon Q. Jones. In 1868 George Pierce was almost 40 years old when he built this board house at 142 W 2nd Street for his family on the farm of his father-in-law, Francis Romrell. Francis Romrell took up this farm in 1858, and his wife Mary died in 1866. At this time Francis was 67 years old and needed assistance, so his daughter Jane and her husband George Pierce joined him on the farm in 1867. George bought more land to enlarge their farming production. They were all immigrants; George was from England and the Romrells from the Isle of Jersey. The Romrells spoke both French and English. [1] George's new board house was located close to the north branch of today's Lynne Ditch. The soil was excellent and water available. Both George and Jane had green thumbs- her flowers were beautiful and his apples, corn, pumpkins and sugar cane were outstanding. George converted the sugar cane into molasses. Their barn was huge and their home became a busy center for farming. George understood the value of herbs; he made and sold medicinal salves for bruises and sores. In fact he first met Jane Romrell in 1863 when he came to the Romrell home to doctor their horses who had cut their legs on barbwire. [2] By 1877 George and Jane had about 7 living children, and George built a new brick house with six rooms located 100 feet east of their board house. By the 1880s the family lived next door at 140 W 2nd St. After George died in 1898, two of his sons, Fred and Porter, continued to run the farm, and they built new houses for themselves on 2nd Street. In about 1900-1920 an unknown family member (probably Porter Pierce) enlarged the 1868 board house built by George Pierce by adding two wings on each side of the house. During 1900-1920 two wings were added to each side of the board house at 142 W 2nd ST; drawing by Gordon Q. Jones. The 1868 board house is center with two wings added about 1900; photo 2007. Battista & Mary Bertinotti Mearo Battista (1867-1938) & Mary Bertinotti Maero (1872-1933). In 1896 Battista and Mary Bertinotti Maero immigrated from Italy to Ogden, and Battista got work with the railroad. Mary was the daughter of Michael Bertinotti who lived at 150 W 2nd St. rear. By 1925 Battista and Mary Bertinotti Maero lived at 142 W 2nd Street in the enlarged house with two wings; at that time, they had nine living children. A grandson named Jack Card lived with Battista and Mary in the 1920s. In the 1930s, as a youth, Jack was recognized in Five Points as the star player on the Ogden 15th Ward basketball team. He made Five Points proud when he played as a pitcher in minor league professional teams from 1938-1940. [3] In the 1950s Chief Deputy Jack Card was part of a team that cleaned up Ogden’s notorious 25th Street. [4] Mary died in 1933 and Battista in 1938. Their daughter Lucy Maero Hawkins bought the property and continued to live there with her family. In 1943, Lucy’s daughter Bulah Hawkins and her husband Don Abercrombie, built the little house to the rear of 142 W 2nd Street. This house remained in the Maero family for about 70 years. Lucy Maero Hawkins Pledger lived here until 1991. [1] - Jane Romeril Hammond Pierce, Daughters of Utah Pioneers, Vol. 34, p. 56, Ogden DUP Museum, Ogden, Utah. [2] - A biographical sketch of George Pierce. [3] - Polk Ogden City Directory, 1925-26; interview Joan Maero Wright, 2006. [4] - Lyle J Barnes, Ogden’s Notorious “Two-Bit Street”, 1870-1954, Utah State University. Return to Homes Previous Next

< Back Return to Roads Bingham Way & Erastus Drive Bingham Way Erastus Drive Bingham Way and Erastus Drive were named to honor Erastus Bingham and his family who were among the first settlers on 2nd Street in 1851. Erastus and Erastus Jr. established the farm on the south side of 2nd opposite today’s Fort Bingham subdivision. In 1853 Bishop Erastus Bingham supervised the construction of a fort that straddled West 2nd Street. A large community grew in the fort under the influence and early leadership of Erastus Bingham, his sons, Isaac Newton Goodale, and Sam Gates. Erastus and Lucinda Bingham One Bingham cabin remained at 317 W. 2nd Street for 100 years and was known as “the Old Bingham Home”. Bingham family members lived here for about fifty years and members of the Stone family for the next fifty years. In 1955, under the leadership of Ogden Mayor Raymond Wright, the historic cabin was moved for preservation to the Sons of Utah Pioneers museum in Sugar House and years later was moved again to Pioneer Village in Lagoon, Farmington, Utah. Chauncey & Edna Kent Stone with baby Harvey by the Old Bingham Home where they lived for 15 years; photo 1911. In 1929 the Old Bingham Home looked like this; a garage stands in front of the Bingham granary; the Thomas Mills barn is on the right; photo Edna Kent Stone. Brickyard Road named for Sam Gates’ brickyard. Mayor Raymond Wright in front of the Bingham cabin at 317 W 2nd Street. He desired to preserve the historic Bingham cabin where Clyde and Macel Stone Montgomery lived in 1950; photo Standard Examiner, c. 1950. Hayride and cabin; photo c. 1953. Courtesy Dave Montgomery. The old Bingham granary c. 1952. Bingham cabin on truck bed ready to move; photo c. 1955, courtesy David Montgomery. TODAY: The Old Bingham Cabin is now located in Pioneer Village, Lagoon, Farmington, Utah; photos courtesy Steve Johnson, 2005. TODAY: The historic Bingham granary remains at 317 W 2nd Street and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Erastus Bingham was born in Concord, Vermont in 1798. At age 34 he joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and followed the Prophet Joseph Smith to Missouri and Nauvoo. He and his family spent a winter in Council Bluffs, Iowa, helping to establish that location, and followed Brigham Young to Great Salt Lake City, arriving on September 19, 1847. ​ In the spring Erastus was allotted a farm in the Holliday district and a grazing permit in what is now known as Bingham Canyon where his sons, Sanford and Thomas, discovered copper ore while watching over the cattle. On discussing this find with President Brigham Young, they were advised: “not to attempt mining, as the lives of the people depended upon farming and livestock raising.” The Binghams followed counsel and did not mine; they were among those of this era who became great agriculture stewards of the land. This canyon has been known as Bingham Canyon since that time, now containing the largest open-pit copper mine in the world. [1] Copy of admittance into Deseret Agriculture and Manufacturing Society In April 1850 Brigham Young sent Erastus Bingham and his family to Ogden. Erastus was made branch president over the Farming Lands on the north side of the Ogden River in December 1850, and on January 26, 1851, President Brigham Young and party came to Ogden and held meetings to organize the Weber Stake of Zion, dividing it into two wards, the North and South Wards, the Ogden River being the dividing line. Erastus Bingham was changed from branch president to bishop of North Ward with Charles Hubbard and Stephen Perry as counselors. ​ The following month, February 1851, Ogden City was named and incorporated. In April 1851 Erastus took an oath of office as Associate Judge of the County Court of Weber County. [2] Lucinda and Erastus Bingham Bingham Farm In the spring of 1851 Erastus Bingham established his final farm on West 2nd Street in Ogden. Bishop Bingham and his son, Erastus Bingham Jr., staked some of the earliest claims on 2nd Street and began plans to extend the Barker Ditch to 2nd Street. This ditch was completed by the work of many people under the direction of Isaac Newton Goodale , Erastus Bingham’s son-in-law. Bishop Bingham’s son Sanford and family also claimed a farm on 2nd Street. His sons Willard, Edwin, and Brigham married while the family was living on 2nd Street, and they also became home builders and farmers in this area for a time. ​ The biography of Martha Lewis, wife of Sanford Bingham, gives a description of their farm on 2nd Street: ​ “ They had a farm part of which was tillable soil and part meadowland. Their farm implements were very crude, and they used the ox team, getting water from the Ogden River (via Mill Creek and irrigation ditches) to irrigate their land. The Indians often camped near them and one old Indian woman helped Mrs. Bingham with her work. Martha taught the Indian woman how to cut patterns and to make clothing. ​ While on the farm they made cheese, and her husband kept sheep. He would clip the wool from the sheep, and she would wash and care for it. She did her own spinning, weaving and made all the clothes they wore. They also raised flax and made their own table cloths and towels.” ​ Indians camped on both sides of 2nd Street. [3] The Indians and settlers were on friendly terms, but the Indians often took what they needed or wanted from the white man without asking. Securing food was often a problem for the Indians, and since the white man had settled on the Indians’ land without asking permission, the natives felt they had a right to the settlers’ beef cows or other items without permission. The settlers’ farms upset the Indians’ food supply when grazing cows and sheep consumed the plants that the Indians gathered for food. ​ In 1852 elections were held and Erastus Bingham became a city councilman to Ogden City. In 1853 Brigham Young advised Erastus Bingham and other Weber County leaders to “fort up” because of the small but uneasy feeling between local Indians and settlers that still prevailed from the accidental shooting of Chief Terikee and because Indians in Utah County were on the war path. Bishop Bingham supervised the construction of a fort that straddled 2nd Street and soon housed 500 to 600 people, including Shoshone Indians during the winter of 1853-54. The Shoshone were in danger of starving because the settlers’ cattle and sheep had destroyed the plants that the Shoshone women gathered for food. ​ The fort became a little city and a place of peace for both settlers and Indians; in warm weather the Indians casually camped or rested in the open space in the center of the fort. It took the settlers two years to complete the walls of Bingham Fort. In 1854 Erastus Bingham served as a member of the first Utah Territorial Legislature. ​ By 1855 Brigham Young advised the Bingham Fort residents to break up the fort and move into Ogden City, as there were more people living on 2nd Street than in Ogden. Bishop Bingham did as counseled and took up a lot in Ogden City but still retained part ownership of the farm on 2nd Street. For almost 18 years he served continuously as bishop, first on 2nd Street and then in Ogden City. He had three wives, nine children with his first wife and one child with his third. [4] ​ By 1870 Erastus retired from public service due to his age and health concerns. He moved back to 2nd Street and had a large granary built near his cabin at today’s address of 317 W 2nd Street; 2nd Street was a dirt road called Bingham Fort Lane at this time. Erastus died at home in 1882, the same year that the Edmunds Act was passed in the US Congress declaring polygamy a felony. Bingham granary. Photo c. 1910. After the death of Erastus Bingham, Patrick Shea purchased the 60-acre Bingham farm as an investment, and the Shea family rented out the farm to others for about 25 years. In 1913 John and Chauncey Stone expanded Stone farm with the purchase of the 60-acre Bingham farm. Today the historic, forty-acre 1851 farm still remains between 2nd and 7th Streets, now called the Bingham/Stone Farm , the oldest farm in Weber County; it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2004. The Bingham/Stone farm is the oldest farm in Weber County. Bingham Way and Erastus Drive are located on the old Gates/Stone farm. Following are two photographs of the area of Bingham Way and Erastus Drive before the farm was subdivided in about 2002. 1997 alfalfa growing in the area of today’s Erastus Drive and Bingham Way. Photo courtesy of Bridget King. 1967 view in the area of 360 West. Pictured is Harvey Stone. The land of the Fort Bingham subdivision remained a farm for 157 years. Photo Anna Stone Keogh. [1] - The Descendents of Erastus Bingham and Lucinda Gates, published by The Erastus Bingham Family Corp., Ogden, Utah, 2nd edition 1977, p.4. [2] - Ibid, p. 4; Counselor Charles Hubbard and Stephen Perry also lived north of the river; the first lived near Farr’s Mill and the latter at 2nd Street and 1200 West . [3] - Iva May Bingham Costley, Sketch of the Life of Martha Ann Lewis Bingham, manuscript, p.2; Fred Pierce interview, Bingham’s Fort, Built to Guard Against Indians, Standard Examiner 1934. [4] - Bingham, Belnap and Scoville, Sketch of the Life of Erastus Bingham and Family, Utah Pioneers of 1847, p. 5-13; Editor Milton R. Hunter, Beneath Ben Lomon’s Peak, 1944, p. 85. Previous Return to Roads Next

< Back Return to Roads Stone Pond Road, Stone Court Stone Pond Rd and Stone Crt. in the Fort Bingham subdivision, Ogden Utah. Before the settlers came, the Native Americans fished, camped and wintered by a large pond that was located on the north side of today’s West 2nd Street. The pond had an unusual shape and did not freeze over in the winter, suggesting that it was part of an underground river. In 1853 Sam Gates claimed 40-acres of land on West 2nd Street that included the large, unusual shaped pond. In 1869 the railroad track was built through the Lynne community; the track bordered the west side of Sam Gates’ farm and had to bridge the large pond. In the early 1870s Sam Gates sold the west 20-acres of his farm to James Stone. Sam had little time to farm; he was in his late 60s and was busy running the Adobe Mill and Brickyard. James Stone was 19 and newly married to Mary Ellen Melling, and they needed a house and a farm. James built a log cabin beside the pond and his family lived here happily for many years. Two of their children were born in this log cabin. Their daughter later wrote: “Father built a log cabin of only one room, but it was a very large and comfortable room. He purchased a meadow which had on it a very large pond of water. It also had a spring of lovely drinking water on it. There were fish in the pond; we had a boat and use to ride out and fish. Many rushes and flag-cattails grew around its edge. Birds and ducks flocked here; cranes, shitepokes, and pelicans sometimes were there. Muskrats by the thousands. There was an abundance of perfectly grand watercress. All in all, it was a grand place to live. The Oregon Short Line railroad bounded it on the west. There were willows around the pond and it looked pretty in the winter and at Christmas time with the meadows covered with snow, and yet the pond would never freeze over and was a haven for ducks and fish the year round.” [1] 1919 map showing unusual shape of Stone’s Pond in upper left corner; the railroad bridged the pond in the 1860s. Birth of Baby Jimmy Stone in Cabin by the Pond On January 15, 1877, a new baby arrived in the Stone cabin. The neighborhood mid-wife, Mahitiable Bingham, or “Aunt Hitty”, assisted in the birth. Sarah Stone Crowther described the birth of her brother: “We lived in the cabin until my next brother was born. Dad had harvested his wheat and not having a granary [in which] to store it, he had to make a large bin in one corner of our room for storing this wheat. When the time came for Ma to meet this ordeal, there was no place to put me and my brother John. Poor women, no hospitals, and very crowded living quarters. I can remember mother was in pain, but I didn’t know what it was all about. Dad went for Aunt Hitty. She came and when things were near the climax, Dad told me and my brother we must stay in the wheat bin and keep real quiet, that Mama was very sick. We were afraid, it was dark in that wheat bin, but we had to mind Dad. I remember we kept sinking away down in the wheat. Pretty soon we heard a baby cry. Then in a few minutes Dad got us out of the wheat bin and we saw our dear little brother Jimmy. That is what he was named. We watched Aunt Hitty wash and dress the little dear and put pretty little clothes on him. Then Dad gave us some money to give to Aunt Hitty to pay for our baby brother.” [2] Eclipse of the Sun and Rafting on Stone's Pond Alton Richards (1904-1986) lived at 144 2nd Street and worked seasonally on Stone Farm as a teenaged boy. In 1945 he reminisced: “I shall never forget an experience I once had while thinning a patch of beets located just south of Stone’s Pond. I especially enjoyed working by this body of water because there were so many birds in this area. I liked the melodious songs of the blackbirds and meadowlarks, the whistle of the killdeers, the quacking of the wild ducks, and the screams of the curlew snipes. One morning as I was thinning beets in that area, I noticed that it seemed to be getting darker, and I wondered why, because there weren’t any clouds in the sky. I noticed that the birds had stopped their singing, and I was puzzled. Soon it became so dark that I couldn’t see the row of beets clear enough to thin them. Then I began to realize that an eclipse of the sun was in progress. I made a few quick looks up at the sun and noticed that it was all dark except a very narrow crescent on one side. It must have been about 98% covered by the moon. The temperature seemed to drop about 20 degrees, and the birds all went to sleep for the “night”. I sat down to wait for the light to return. Soon it started to get lighter, the birds started singing again, and I could again see well enough to continue my work. John Melling Stone (1874-1945, son of James Stone) was a good farmer and owned a lot of land. I used to ride on a raft he had on Stone’s Pond. I enjoyed fishing for carp as I sailed around on the raft. One day I found a wild duck’s nest on a little island in the middle of the pond. The baby ducks had just hatched out an hour or two before. When they heard me approaching, they all left their nest and swam away, even though they were only about half as large as baby chickens. One cold winter day when a group of us boys were sailing around on the raft, Orville Nordquist fell off into the icy water. He swam to the shore and ran all the way home up to 5-Points to keep from freezing to death." [3] Today Stone’s Pond was drained when the Ogden Defense Depot was built in the 1940s leaving a slough on the east side of the railroad tracks. In 2004 the slough was designed into two holding ponds for the Fort Bingham subdivision. West holding pond in 2005 before the houses were built. East holding pond, 2014. [1] - Sarah Stone Crowther, Biography of Mary Ellen Melling Stone, hand written manuscript, c. 1930, p. 80. [2] - Ibid, p. 92, 93. [3] - Memory written on the death of John Stone, 1945, by Alton Richards. Previous Return to Roads Next

< Back 233 West 2nd Street Return to Homes Randolph & Elsie Gaisford Brown Home Randolph was a native pioneer born in 1864 in Ogden to Jesse S. and Caroline Stewart Brown. His father and uncle, Alex Brown, were the first white Mormon settlers to come to Weber River Valley in January 1848. His father’s farm is now the Downs Subdivision. The Jesse Brown Farm is now the Downs subdivision. Randolph became deaf by the measles when he was a child. Unable to speak or hear, he communicated in his own type of sign language and gestures. When he was 36 years old, he married Elsie Gaisford, age 16, almost 17, and built this house between his father’s cabin to the east and Lewis Taft’s cabin to the west. His new board, hall-parlor house must have looked quite modern in 1900 in contrast to these old cabins on either side of his house. Elsie Gaisford was a distant cousin to Randolph. Orphaned in 1889 at age six, Elsie was raised by her aunt, Lois Brown Hutchens, and uncle, John Allen Hutchens, on West 2nd Street near the Jesse Brown family. The house Randolph built for Elsie was only a half block away from her aunt and uncle’s house. Randolph and Elsie had five children. In addition to farming on 2nd Street, Randolph and worked for twenty years for Ogden Pressed Brick and Tile Company. Randolph was an avid fisherman. At age 78 Randolph went fishing one spring day and became the victim of foul play. He was found in the Weber River near the West 33rd Street bridge suffering from effects of exposure, near drowning and trauma to the head. It appeared that he was robbed and pushed off the bridge. His family and friends rushed to the hospital to support him, but he died in the hospital on May 13, 1942, one week before his 79th birthday. Elsie died at age 70 in April 1954. The house at 233 W 2nd Street remained in the Brown family until the 1970s. Return to Homes Previous Next

< Back Cooking and Gathering Return to Native Americans Egg Lady, painting by Farrell R. Collett Indian Women Cooking Mary likes to see the Indian women cooking their breakfast mornings. As it became light and before the sun was up, one would see the squaws busily engaged cooking over the campfires they had previously made, chatting to each other. She said it was a very pleasant sight to see them at their different tasks, as all seems so pleasant and busy. They camped on both sides of 2nd Street. [1] Gathering The Northwestern Shoshone were hunters and gatherers; the women did the gathering. The Indian women would socialize as they went in groups to gather seeds. Little girls accompanied their mothers at a very young age and learned this important skill. Cradle boards would come in handy when a child was too young to participate, but would still go along- the board would be hung up in a nearby tree. The women took with them the tools of their trade: willow baskets, winnowing pans, and hitting sticks. As they gathered sunflowers, wild rice, and mustard, they told each other of the latest happenings in the camp. Sometimes they traded recipes and sang songs as they labored. The gathering was a hard task. When seeds were scarce, a mother might spend an entire day gathering enough for only one family meal. Digging sticks were used for digging roots and bulbs. Wild vegetables were normally plentiful, with a harvest of ground potatoes, camas, sego lily, cactus, wild garlic, and other bulbs. Berries of all kinds were found in the mountains and fields, along with wild honey. Eggs had also gathered a delicacy because they were so hard to find. [2] [1] - Autobiography of Mary Elizabeth Hutchens Sherner, Mary Elizabeth – Her Stories, dictated to her daughter Dorothy A. Sherner, manuscript, 1933, p. 86. [2] - Darren Parry, The Bear River Massacre, Common Consent Press, 2019, p. 17, 18. Return to Native Americans Previous [object Object] Next

< Back Return to Roads Adobe Mill Way & Brickyard Road Adobe Mill Ct. and Adobe Mill Ln named after Sam Gates’ adobe mill. With the arrival of the railroad in 1869, Ogden became the greatest railroad center of the Rocky Mountain region. With an eye on the expanding economy, Sam Gates established an Adobe Mill in 1870 on the north side of 2nd Street about three-fourths of a mile from Five Points [1] . Excellent clay for adobes was available in the sloughs by Stone’s Pond. [2] His son, George Gates, and his son-in-law, James Gardner , assisted him. The adobe mixer or mill was located by Sam’s cabin at today’s intersection of 2nd Street and Century Drive. Site of Sam Gates 1870 Adobe Mill is the intersection of 2nd Street and Century Drive; photo 2009. The adobe bricks (“dobies”) were made from marsh mud and were sun-dried. Usually, the mud and water were mixed by feet, hoe or shovel. Feet were ideal as one could sense when the mud was properly mixed with as little water as possible. After mixing the mud was placed into molds and sundried until firm enough to be stacked. ​ Joseph Romrell, son of George and Patience Romrell , was born in 1870. His first job as a young boy was at the Gates adobe brickyard where he carried the bricks from the molds to the drying yard. The next day they were topped and turned over to dry on the other side. [3] There are two houses on 2nd Street built with adobe bricks from the Gates Mill that are still standing in 2022. Today’s walls of the James Stone house at 386 West 2nd Street are thirty inches thick, built with adobes from the Gates Mill but now covered with siding. The Peter Sherner house at 122 2nd Street is adobe, now covered with cement. The Moroni Stone house at 226 2nd Street was built with adobe brick in 1880, and Moroni made the bricks himself. This the only house on 2nd Street with visible exterior adobe bricks, now sealed with a protective sealant and painted. The Moroni Stone house provides a rare view of well-preserved adobe walls under the porch that spans two sides of the house. People who live in adobe houses with thick walls find that these walls form some of the best insulation available. [4] James Stone house, 386 W 2nd St, log cabin portion 1866, adobe portion circa 1875.. Moroni Stone house, 226 2nd St, adobe, built 1880. Peter Sherner house, rear view, 122 2nd St, adobe, built 1870s. Brickyard Road named for Sam Gates’ brickyard. Some people wanted a more durable brick, so James Gardner built a kiln in the 1870s to fire the sun dried adobe bricks into a burnt brick. A brunt brick was harder than an adobe but soft compared the bricks that would be made after the turn of the century. ​ Sand and gravel were not suitable for bricks that would be fired in the kiln; small particles of limestone even smaller than a pea could cause the brick to explode when it was fired. The marsh mud around Stone’s Pond was pure mud and was ideal for making burnt bricks. The burning in the kiln usually took from three to four weeks. The bricks nearest the fire and farthest into the stack became the hardest and were used on the outside walls as they were more weather resistant. Softer bricks were better for insulation and were used on the inside walls. [5] ​ Gardner located the kiln and brickyard about three blocks north of Sam’s cabin and the adobe mixer. The site of the kiln is on the south side of North Street across from the house located at 371 W. North Street. This site was close to the marsh and to Stone’s Pond. The adobe mill and the brickyard were connected by a lane, the old Sam Gates Lane. Site of kiln at approximately 370 W North Street. Today, there remain three houses and two granaries that were constructed over 100 years ago with burnt bricks. James Gardner house, 156 2nd Street. Mary Maxham house at 214 W 2nd Street. Gillson granary at 150 W 2nd Street. George Pierce house at 140 W 2nd Street. Detail of burnt bricks on the Bingham granary. at 317 W 2nd St. [1] - Editor Milton R. Hunter, Beneath Ben Lomond’s Peak, 1944, Quality Press Salt Lake City, Utah, p. 362, 425. [2] - William W. Terry, Weber County History Is Worth Knowing, p. 120. [3] - Ibid, p. 120, 122; Nina Bowman, Joseph Romrell, p. 274. [4] - William W. Terry, Weber County History Is Worth Knowing, p. 122 . [5] - Ibid. Previous Return to Roads Next