A.N. Tanner House

History

Allen N. Tanner was born March 27, 1862, in Tooele, Utah, where he lived a hard-scrabble adolescence. Eventually, Tanner moved to Grouse Creek to work for his brother, who was herding horses and cutting posts. He ultimately bought a small parcel of land, on which he built a three-room log cabin. In 1894, he married Mary Emily Barlow, with whom he eventually had nine children. Over time, Tanner consolidated his assets into a farm of over 2,000 acres. In 1899, he began the construction of this substantial brick house, which was completed in 1900. After his death in 1935, the home was passed on to his descendants, but was eventually vacated due to its extreme remoteness.

Despite its remote location, the building remains an important example of architectural significance and rural life in Utah. According to the home’s National Register of Historic Places form, “ [its] size and proportion… demonstrates a confidence in the vernacular building genre, and because of its late date documents the enduring strength of the folk vocabulary in rural locales. The home must be seen as a function of its remote location, of the isolation and rural nature of the Grouse Creek area, of the isolation of the Tanner family there, and of the builders who participated in the construction. A tradition, a continuum in the minds of builder and patron, is expressed in the home. When viewed this way, the Tanner house becomes a significant site in Utah's architectural history.”