| OCR Text |
Show United States Department of the Interior National Park Service I National Register of Historic Places Registration Form NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 Beck, Reid, House (Expires 513112012) Salt Lake County, Utah Name of Property County and State Statement of Significance Summary Paragraph (Provide a summary paragraph that includes level of significance and applicable criteria.) The Reid Beck House, constructed in 1899, is a two-story Victorian Eclectic brick residence. The building is locally significant under Criterion A for its association with the development of Draper in the first half of the twentieth century. The period of significance spans 1899 to 1943 during which time it was associated with three families that contributed to the transformation of Draper from an agricultural outpost to a prosperous community. Under Criterion A, the area of significance is Agriculture. The house is also eligible under Criterion B in the area of Education for its association with its most significant occupant, Reid Beck, the principal of the Draper Park School for twenty-six years. The property is eligible within the Multiple Property Submission: Historic and Architectural Resources of Draper, Utah, 1849-1954. The associated historic context for the first two owners is the "Railroads, Mercantilism, and the Farming and Ranching Period, 1877-1917." The home was built for Walter J. and Emily C. Green. Walter J. Green was a sheep rancher and his large home reflects the success of the sheep industry in Draper at the turn of the twentieth century. The second owners, Peter C. and Mette M. Rasmussen, were Danish immigrants who were involved in the cattle industry, as well as owning a meat market and grocery store. The house as built for the Green family and subsequently occupied by the Rasmussen family represents a pattern of development in Draper at the turn of the twentieth century. It is one of six large, prominent homes built for successful sheep and cattle ranchers in the community. Between 1917 and 1943, the house was occupied by Reid Beck during a later historic context, the "Twentieth-Century Community Development and the Poultry Industry Period, 1918-1954" from the Draper MPDF. Although many rural communities in Utah boasted long-term influential educators, Reid Beck's achievements in the Draper school system stand out among his peers. In an unprecedented gesture for the period, the Jordan School District purchased the former Green-Rasmussen home as an incentive for Reid Beck to relocate to Draper. The school district also allowed Reid Beck to recruit eight other teachers for a complete reorganization of the school. During Reid Beck's tenure as principal, the Draper community had one of the most respected public school systems in Utah. The Reid Beck House is a contributing historic resource in Draper, Utah. Narrative Statement of Significance (Provide at least one paragraph for each area of significance.) Early History of the Reid Beck House Elias A. Smith, a probate judge, held the first patent to the land on which the Reid Beck House was located beginning in 1873. In December 1888, the deed was transferred to James Jensen (1848-1915). James Jensen was a lumber and hardware merchant. He lived with his wife, Annie Sophia Christensen Jensen (1849-1939), and his family in Crescent (later part of Sandy), Utah-a community three miles north of Draper. 6 There is no indication that any structures were built on the property prior to the 1890s, although the current east-west road (12500 South) along the north property line was a well-used trail from the Draper town center to the Territorial Road (later State Street). On July 29, 1896, James and Annie S. Jensen sold their Draper property to Alfred Green for $2,000. Alfred James Green (1864-1905) was born in Draper, the second son of English immigrants, William Green (1840-1915) and Jane Jeffery Green (1836-1875). The Green family home was just to the north of the property at 12484 S. 900 East. Alfred married Minnie Christianson (1868-?) in 1893, but the couple did not stay in Draper for long. 7 On August 11, 1899, Alfred and Minnie Green, along with Alfred's brother and sister-in-law, Walter J. and Emily H. Green, granted a trust deed on the 8 property to James E. Paine and L. B. Mattison. The deed was for $7,000, a substantial amount for the time period and James Jensen also purchased adjacent property from John and Sarah Fitzgerald in 1891, but the deed was not recorded until June 1896. 7 No further information could be located on Alfred and Minnie Green after his death in 1905. 8 No information could be located on L. B. Mattison. James E. Paine lived in Salt Lake City until this death. 6 7 |
