| OCR Text |
Show 5 HISTORY 980 Zion Park Boulevard, Springdale, Washington County, Utah Architect/Builder: _-,-H~e<.!.r~be~rt~C~h!!.r,-",is",te~n-,-"s,-,=e,-,-,n,,-,-",b~u~ild~e~r_ _ _ __ Date of Construction: page 4 circa 1936 Historic Them es: Mark themes related to this property with "S" or "C" (S = significant, C = contributing). (see instructions for details) Politics/ _Industry _Agriculture Economics Government _Invention §..Architecture _Education _Religion _Landscape _Archeology _Engineering _Science Architecture _Art _Entertainment/ _Social History Law Recreation _Commerce _Transportation _Literature _Ethnic Heritage _Communications Other _Maritime History _Exploration/ _Community Planning _Military Settlement & Development _ Performing Arts _Health/Medicine _Conservation Write a chronological history of the property, focusing primarily on the original or principal owners & significant events. Explain andjustifY any significant themes marked above, Use continuation sheets as necessary. The Herbert and Lillian Christensen House, built in 1936, is locally architectural significant as the most unique example of a period revival cottage in Springdale. The cottage built of stone and stucco is a highly individualized design using a mix of English Tudor and Craftsman inspired details. The house is a landmark in Springdale where the north-south highway takes a sharp turn to the east toward Zion National Park. It is recognized locally as the "storybook" or "fa iry tale" cottage. It is currently a bed & breakfast, known as the Under the Eaves Inn . The Christensen House property was originally part of homestead patent obtained by Samuel K. Gifford in 1882. The patent was within the SE% of Section 29, Township 41 S, Range 10 W . This area was part of the original Springdale Townsite, which was plated in 1863 (later officially surveyed in 1904). The original settlers came in 1862 and Springdale was essentially a line village with homesteads on either side of the winding road into the canyon , unlike the typical early Utah grid-like townsites. By the early 1900s, Lot 20 within the townsite was owned by Samuel K. Gifford's son, Oliver D. Gifford. Oliver, in turn, deeded a portion of Lot 20 to his son, Samuel Kendall Gifford, soon after Kendall's marriage to Althera Gifford in 1916. The Giffords built a home at 998 Zion Park Boulevard that is still standing (altered). In November 1928, Oliver Gifford deeded a second parcel within Lot 20 to Kendall and Althera . In August 1931, Samuel K. and Althera Gifford sold the 1.62-parcel to Lillian A. Christensen 2 Lillian Anderson Christensen was born on September 24, 1912, in Parowan, Utah. She was the daughter of Albert and Deslie Anderson . Lillian was educated in Washington County schools and graduated from the Brigham Young Academy in Cedar City. On December 12, 1931, Lillian married Herbert K. Christensen . Herbert Knight Christensen was born in Springdale on August 25, 1906, the son of Samuel K. and Lora Ann Gifford Christensen. Family tradition states the couple moved to Springdale after their marriage; however, their first son, Albert Leon Christensen was born in 1933 in Orderville, Utah . A second son, Eldon Herbert Christensen, was born in St. George, Utah, in 1939 while the family was living in Springdale. The family was living in Springdale by 1935 where Lillian A. Christensen was serving as postmaster, taking over from Esther Gifford . The post office was in a small building that was located where the parking lot of the bed & breakfast is located today. Some sources suggest Herbert K. Christensen began working on the house in the early 1930s, but the property was not deeded to Lillian until 1936. The house was substantially completed in 1936. Joe Pitti provided this description of Herbert's work on the house based on interviews he conducted: Herbert constructed the house with some help on the more technical aspects, but mostly it was built pretty much on his own with one horse that he used to get sandstone blocks cut from the walls of the canyon mountainside. He would drag them back one by one, dressing the stone with a spelling hammer as needed and then dragging them into their final place. 3 Lillian received her teaching credentials and taught elementary school in Hurricane, Utah . In 1944, the family moved to Provo, where she also taught school. She taught at Brigham Young University in Provo where she obtained her master's degree. Lillian also received a doctorate in psychology at the Western Reserve. Herbert K. Christensen also received teaching credentials. He was an assistant professor of secondary education at Brigham Young University when he died at the age of 43, on January 21, 1950. Herbert is buried in the Springdale Cemetery. 2 The current legal descriptions use metes and bounds and only the earliest deeds refer to the townsite lot numbers. 3 Joe Pitti , "A Brief History of Under the Eaves Inn." Unpublished TMs, [2011]. |
