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Show United States Department of the Interior National Park Service OMB No. 1024-0018, NPS Form National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Section No. 7 Page 6 Spring City Historic District (Addition Documentation), Spring City, Sanpete County, UT Fencing was also an important landscape feature in town, as “…it was not uncommon in the spring and fall to witness large flocks of sheep being driven” through the streets. 14 Though there are fewer historic wood picket fences than in 1980, many have been preserved. There are also a number of front yards fenced with historic wrought-iron or post & wire. Double loop sheep fencing is common as well in the field areas [Photograph 55]. The rear yards are fenced with more utilitarian materials, including historic posts, pipe, and chain link. There is very little vinyl fencing in the district. There are a few historic retaining walls built from the ubiquitous oolite limestone found in Sanpete County. One trend that is typical of the current community are the newer fencing walls built with stone salvaged from demolished buildings [Photograph 10]. The landscape of Spring City also includes the canals, ditches, and creeks that cut across the town through various properties. The waterways are only culverted under the streets so the riparian growth is visible throughout the district, mostly along the Big Ditch near 200 East. A few remnants of the old irrigation system, such as headgates, are extant. Footbridges have been replaced but are mostly in the same locations as they were historically [Photograph 4]. In most early Mormon settlements, formal landscaping was confined to public spaces. Within the town limits, Spring City has three large greenspaces. True to its original intent, the church block features a manicured lawn, mature trees, and flowerbeds facing Main Street between 100 and 200 South [Photograph 6]. Next to the north parking lot is a 1979 stone marker commemorating the permanent settlement of Spring Town in 1859. 15 The west (rear) half of the block is planted in lawn and has a non-historic picnic pavilion. The parking lot behind the meetinghouse is the only vehicular through-block access in the entire town. On the school block between Center Street and 100 South, and 100 East and 200 East, the 1899 Victorian school building and the 1916 junior high school are located in the north half of the block [Photograph 11]. The remaining portions are part of the Spring City Park, which has non-historic structures, including a playground and a baseball field. The school block is one of the few blocks with historic sidewalks on all four sides. Most sidewalks are only found on the frontage sides of the block, and later sidewalks have been left to individual property owners. The third large public greenspace is the Spring City Pioneer Cemetery at 250 N. 100 East (contributing site) [Photograph 12]. The location of the L-shaped cemetery is an indication of the limits of the early settlement at a time when cemeteries were rarely established in town. The Pioneer Cemetery has 81 documented deaths from 1857 to 1910. 16 The Pioneer Cemetery features a commemorative stone marker erected in 1988 and an unusual, notched plank fence. 17 The much larger Spring City Cemetery, half a mile west of the town limits and historic district, was established in 1869 and is still in use. Architectural Types and Styles by Period This amended nomination acknowledges that the ratio of contributing to non-contributing resources has decreased since 1980; however, the above description of the district is still apt with a few mitigating factors. Although 57 buildings were demolished between 1980 and 2021, all thirty-three significant buildings identified in the nomination are extant. Moreover, because of the highly motivated preservation efforts supported by the local government, an active preservation non-profit (Friends of Historic Spring City), and individual property owners, the historic resources of Spring City have never been in better condition. Most of the significant buildings have been restored and there are no longer clusters of vacant and dilapidated homes. While 93 new buildings have been added to the district since 1980, most have been constructed on previously undeveloped blocks, and contribute to the continuity of the development patterns. Among those that were built as infill, Spring City Historic District, NRHP Nomination (1980), sec. 7, p. 2. The marker was erected by the Daughters of Utah Pioneers in 1979 and is therefore, a non-contributing object. 16 A small child who died in Kaysville, Utah, 1857 is listed on a headstone with other family members. The marker was probably installed when the family moved to Spring City in 1860. 17 The marker is a non-contributing object. The fence is later replica of the original and compatible with the historic character of the site. 14 15 |
