A.N. Tanner House (also known as the Tanner House)

11490 Grouse Creek Road, Grouse Creek, UT 84313 (unincorporated Box Elder County)

Still Endangered: Condition Deteriorating

2025

Photo Credit

Nathan Miller

County

Box Elder

Year Built

1899–1900

Architect

Unknown; Allen N. Tanner is the likely builder

National Register?

Yes, listed 1982

Status

Still Endangered: Condition Deteriorating

Status Explanation

The A.N. Tanner House is still deteriorating, and there is no known preservation plan or active involvement. The roof is gone, leaving the building exposed to the weather and accelerating its decline. As of May 2026, there are no records of demolition plans, development proposals, or preservation efforts. The main threat is not from people but from ongoing neglect. Without action to stabilize the building, it will eventually collapse.

About the Threat

The building is at risk of being lost due to neglect and natural wear, not because of planned demolition. Now that the roof is gone, weather exposure, such as snow, freeze-thaw cycles, and moisture, is speeding up the damage to the brick walls and any remaining interior features. Because the house is so remote in the Grouse Creek area of Box Elder County, it is hard and expensive to monitor, stabilize, or repair. There are no current preservation plans, no active involvement from the owner, and no public funding for the property. The main risk is that the building will collapse over time or be destroyed by a major weather event like strong winds or heavy snow.

Access

The building still stands but is abandoned. It sits on private land in a very remote part of northwestern Box Elder County, and you can only reach it by an unpaved road. Grouse Creek is sparsely populated and far from city services. The building is not open to visitors. The site is about 100 miles northwest of Brigham City.

History

Allen N. Tanner was born on March 27, 1862, in Tooele, Utah, and had a tough childhood. He later moved to Grouse Creek to work for his brother, who was herding horses and cutting posts in the remote basin. Tanner bought a small piece of land and built a three-room log cabin. In 1894, he married Mary Emily Barlow, and together they had nine children. Over time, Tanner grew his land holdings into a farm of more than 2,000 acres, which was impressive for the remote, dry Grouse Creek Basin.

In 1899, he started building a large two-story brick house, which was finished in 1900. The house was built in the Georgian Revival vernacular style using local red brick. Its size and ambition stand out for that time and place. Having a two-story brick home in such an isolated farming community shows both the Tanner family's success and the values of rural communities, where a big family home was both useful and meaningful.

After Tanner's death in 1935, the house passed to his descendants, who occupied it for several more decades before eventually vacating it due to its extreme remoteness. The family retained ownership into at least the 1980s.

The National Register nomination, written in 1980 and accepted in 1982, explains why the building is architecturally important, even because of its isolation: its "size and proportion demonstrate 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, the isolation and rural nature of the Grouse Creek area, the isolation of the Tanner family there, and the builders who participated in its 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."

What can be done? What was learned?

The most urgent need is to stabilize the building, especially by dealing with the missing roof before the walls start to fail. Even a temporary cover could slow down the damage. Any work on a National Register-listed property should follow the Secretary of the Interior's Standards, and buyers who do certified rehabilitation may qualify for federal and state historic tax credits.

In the long run, finding a new use for the building is the best way to preserve it. The same remoteness that led to its abandonment could actually be an advantage, as more people seek rural retreats, off-grid escapes, and agritourism experiences in places like Grouse Creek. Turning the house into a tech retreat, a bed-and-breakfast, or a guest ranch could generate income to help maintain the building and the land.

What is the timeline?

There are no permit applications, development plans, or regulatory actions for this building. How quickly it deteriorates depends only on natural forces. Losing the roof has accelerated the building's decline.

What has been the public discussion?

There has been no active public debate, city meetings, or regulatory action about the A.N. Tanner House. Its 2025 Most Endangered listing got a short mention in the Deseret News with other sites, and Preservation Utah's social media posts seem to have reached people in Grouse Creek and Tanner family descendants. The Grouse Creek Country Club website also has a page with historical photos of the house. Other than that, there is no ongoing public discussion about the building's future as of May 2026.