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I. DESCRIBE HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE OF THE SITE. INCLUDE A DISCUSSION OF THE ORIGINAL AND SUBSEQUENT OWNERS AND DATES AND EVENTS ASSOCIATED WITH THE BUILDING AND THE OWNERS. Although Bloomington had been in existance for 25 years and fami lies had built homes and farms on her ground, it was not unti 1 1905 that a record of the piece of property under discussion was fi led. The St. George Recorders Office shows that on November 3, 1905, the United States of America granted this land to Will iam S. Carpenter. He actually had been farming the land since 1879 and was one of the Mormon Battal ion brethren who, along with his sons, carried on a broom making industry for some years in Bloomington. The next person to own this piece of property was D.H. Morris, who bought the land from William Carpenter and his wife in 1906 for one dollar. Again, this piece of land was a small portion of the Morrises holding and it was But it was to change hands again in June 1908 when used as farm land. David H. Morris and his wife sold the property to Wallace Blake for $200. Wal lace Blake was married to Isadora Larson. daughter of Lars James Larson, the first home builder in Bloomington (1879). She had grown up in the Larson house which was located to the east of this land. Wallace and Isadora Blake built the rock home on this property in 1908. Price City, which was loc~ted Southeast of Bloomington and on the East bank of the Virgin river, had been abandoned as a settlement and the rocks from the beautiful Price City school and meeting house were used to construct this rock house. Dode Worthen, one of the Worthen brothers, who had bui It many of the stone homes in the St. George area, did the stone work on this house, while Brigham Carpenter did the carpentry work. The lumber came from Mt. Trumball, Arizona, where the Utahns got much of their lumber for construction. (The house was a four room farmhouse with a grainary.) Wallace Blake and his wife I ived in this house and farmed the land and He also raised cattle and used to have lambs out at Grey had six sons. Hill. They were hard working people depending on their own initiative for their existance. The Virgin river suppl ied them with water for their crops and household chores, but drinking water had to be gathered in barrels from St. George. Of course, there was no electricity and kerosene lamps were used for 1 ight. But it was a happy home, Mrs Blake being a wonderful homemaker and mother. She loved pretty china and always had some of her best pieces displayed over the mantle in the 1 iving room. The hardwood floors were covered with rag rugs of the "hit and miss" pattern that were stretched each year over fresh straw, and nailed to the floor. Wallace Blake's father was a furniture maker and they had several of his rocking chairs in the house. The windows had lace curtains and fresh pots of geraniums growing on the si lIs. The garden around the house was full of fruits and vegetables and Isadora Blake had beautiful I ilac bushes that grew in front of the house. Cottonwood trees lined the street and it must have indeed been a beautiful sight to see the blossoms of peaches, pears, 1 ilacs, roses, and many other fruits and flowers in spring. This is how several friends and relatives of the Blakes remember the house.