| OCR Text |
Show OMB No. 1024-0018, NPS Form United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Section No. 8 Page H Ogden Central Bench Historic District, Ogden, Weber County, UT more lots in Maguire's addition for $150.00 per pair." People from other cities besides Ogden, in Utah invested in Ogden property as well. Reed Smoot, a one-time prominent banker, LDS Church leader, and United States Senator who lived in Salt Lake City and Provo, was a good example. Although Mr. Smoot never developed a subdivision in Ogden, his property holdings in the city were numerous, particularly in the Central Bench District.41 The largest of all the subdivisions developed in the district, and one of the largest in the entire city, was the Rushton Addition, which encompassed an area of four blocks in the northeast corner of the district. Though many subdivisions were platted, many were not developed for several decades. The subdivided land planned for use as Ogden's population grew, particularly on the eastern quarter of the district, never reached full capacity and thus did not require development at the time. Ogden had rapidly descended into an economic , depression. For as the boom was a reflection of a large increase in population, development, and building, and many profited from it, the growth was just that a boom. And as quickly as it came it disappeared even more quickly. Economic Depression By 1893 Ogden had sunken into a major economic depression. The Panic of 1893 that had hit the rest of the nation also took its toll on Utah, and especially Ogden. During the Cleveland Depression an unprecedented 15,200 American businesses went into receivership, 18 percent of the national work force did not have a job, and those who remained employed saw their wages cut on an average of 10 percent.42 Utah was facing a severe winter in January and February, which put a hold on the building in Ogden. Due to this and the economic and financial problems facing the nation, the city never quite regained its strength. Many people lost their homes, and those who moved to the city in hopes of building a home and starting their lives in the city put those plans on hold. A good indicator of the troubling times occurred with a newly built Ogden Hospital (demolished), located on 28th Street between Madison and Monroe Avenues. In 1892 the hospital was constructed at a cost of $25,000, and the following year the hospital had to shut its doors because of a lack of funds.43 The hospital eventually reopened in 1897, and was the primary Ogden hospital until 1910, when the Dee Memorial Hospital opened. By mid-1893, builders in Ogden became disillusioned with the city as no effort was being made to keep these industries in town. In frustration one Ogden man explained, "Ogden can't raise $50,000 to maker her own doors, but she can raise $150,000 every year to buy the doors and sashes made elsewhere; Ogden ought to adopt her motto, 'Millions for foreign industries, but not a cent for home manufacturers'."44 The Ballantyne family recalls the turbulent years of the early-1890s, "It was truly an era of booms and bust, bread lines and soup 40 Oqden Standard, 22 June 1889. 41 "Lands Possessed to Reed Smoot," Reed Smoot Ogden Real Estate File, Archives, Stewart Library, Weber State University. 42 Ronald W. Walker, "The Panic of 1893," Utah History Encyclopedia. Internet site: http:// www.media.utah.edu/ UHE/p/PANIC1893.html 43 Roberts and Sadler, Weber County. 44 Oqden Standard. "Home Manufactures," 6 June 1893. |
