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Show NPS Form 10-900-a Utah WordPerfect 5.1 Format (Revised Feb. 1993) 0MB No. 10024-0018 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Section No. _8. Page _Z______________________Jefferson Avenue Historic District, Ogden, Weber County, UT Ogden grew and prospered so quickly in the late nineteenth century that it attracted real estate promoters and boosters from all over the country. William Hope "Coin" Harvey, perhaps the most famous of these, lived in the Jefferson District. Harvey (2671 Jefferson), who along with his group of boosters known as the Order of Monte Cristo, advertised Ogden as a railroad, mining, and livestock center. As a ploy to endorse Ogden's real estate, Harvey promoted Ogden's Carnival, a grand event planned to coincide with New Orleans' Mardi Gras. Although the carnival only lasted for a few days in 1890, Ogden gained national exposure and a boost in business and real estate. Newspapers outside Utah proclaimed Ogden as the "Boom City of West." Although Ogden probably felt a slowing of business and growth in the mid 1890s with the "Cleveland Depression," it was booming again by the turn of the century. The townspeople built impressive brick buildings and invested in a host of new export industries which were serviced by the railroad: canning, flour mills, sugar beet production. One example of this is David Eccles (2580 Jefferson) who was the president of the Amalgamated Sugar Company and was instrumental in the development of other Ogden industries as mentioned previously. After his death, his son David C. Eccles (607 25th Street) took over as vice-president and general manager. Of course, the railroad lay behind most of this prosperity. Railroad business fostered the growth of industry and banking, providing revenue for the construction of beautiful buildings and parks. Many of Ogden's leading financiers lived in the Jefferson District. David C. Eccles (607 25th Street) was the president of Utah National Bank of Ogden. Patrick Healy (2529 Jefferson) was a vice-president of Commercial National Bank. Abbott R. Heywood (2540 Jefferson) was a vice-president of Commercial National Bank. Isadore Marks (2547 Jefferson) was an important member of the Ogden community and was representative of the non-Latter Day Saint Utahns who had moved to the intermountain west after the establishment of the railroad.9 He was also a vice-president of Commercial National Bank. Some of Ogden's leading entrepreneurs who became wealthy by participating in railroad-related businesses also lived in the Jefferson District. Thomas H. Carr (2520 Jefferson) was one of the founders of Rexall Drug Stores, and owned and operated a prosperous drug store on 25th Street. Patrick Healy (2529 Jefferson) built the Healy Hotel located on the corner of Wall Avenue and Ogden's popular 25th Street, which was directly across from the Union Station, the hub of railroad activity in Ogden. Hiram H. Spencer (2555 Jefferson) was the mayor of Ogden and also the manager of the Eccles Lumber Company. He was the president of the Ogden Rapid Transit, and a vice-president of Amalgamated Sugar. 9Adapted from research materials included in the Structure/Site Information Form, prepared by David Haws, 1989. X See continuation sheet |
