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Show Nomination Thomas Whitaker Museum Thomas William Whitaker was born in 1816 in Rotherhithe, Surrey, England, and settled in Centerville, Utah, in 1856, having lived in Tahiti, New Zealand, and California before coming to Utah. The rock home that is currently owned by Centerville City and home to the Thomas Whitaker Museum was built in approximately 1878 for Thomas Whitaker and his wife Elizabeth Mills Oakden, by stonemasons Archibald Duncan and his sons, Charles, John, and Archie and James Kippen . In the 1920s the front parlor was reconfigured with the removal of a wall running east and west, installation of a plumbed bathroom, and a brick addition on the northwest side; the lower portion was used as a garage with a bedroom above it. The home remained in the Whitaker family until the 1930s. In 1953 interiors walls were removed in the southeastern portion of the rock home and a shed was built on the northeast side of the brick structure. In approximately 1960 an addition was added to the south side along with a concrete block garage. In 1994 the home was purchased by Centerville City, under the direction of then Mayor Priscilla Todd, including 1.3 acres of land for $230,000, with the intended use of the building to be a community meeting place and historical museum. In 1996 the home was nominated under the name the Thomas and Elizabeth Mills Whitaker home for the National Register of Historic Places. The home received the designation from the National Parks Service in March of that year. In 2005 Melissa Hogan became the director of the Thomas Whitaker Museum, as it was now called, and moved her focus in a different direction from prior directors, who to that pOint had been more focused on collecting the histories of the Centerville residents and their artifacts. Melissa saw the need for restoration of the building and, with Certified Local Government (CLG) grants administered by the State Historic Preservation Office, Melissa and the museum board at the time reroofed the home with cedar shakes and in 2009, the Museum Board received permission from Centerville City to remove the northeast shed, concrete garage, and south addition ( see attached photos). From 2009 until March 2013 and with donations of labor, materials, and CLG grants, a replica bay window of brick and rock was added to the south side of the building, which according to family histories had previously been in that location. Six over six wood windows were installed, as was oak flooring where carpet had previously been, and the interior was plastered and repainted using historical colors. The exterior walkway was re-bricked and new landscaping has begun with plans to restore heritage plantings including mulberry trees that played a historic part in sericulture which Thomas and Elizabeth practiced . (see attached photos) On March 8, 2013, after nearly 20 years since the purchase by Centerville City, the Thomas Whitaker Museum was reopened in a dedication ceremony with a commitment to serve the citizens of Centerville and future generations. The intent with the restoration of the building is to reflect the time period the Whitaker family lived in the home, from 1878 to the 19305. The museum is open weekly for tours, special events, and a monthly oral history "storytelling night," where the natives of Centerville have been able to tell their stories and memories of Centerville along with memories of the many changes they have seen in the Thomas and Elizabeth Mills Whitaker home and the City of Centerville. The Thomas Whitaker Museum is a great resource and the voice of pioneer heritage in Centerville. |
