The Peter Wentz House is a historic building located in northern downtown Provo,

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

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. It is listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

Description

Built sometime between 1866 and 1870, the Wentz home is reminiscent of the Federal row-house design predominantly found in the Eastern United States. The Peter Wentz House was designated to the Provo City Historic Landmarks Registry on April 26, 1996. Although located across the street (North University Avenue) from the historic Brigham Young Academy (now Provo City Library), it is immediately surrounded on all sides by modern

condominium A condominium (or condo for short) is an ownership structure whereby a building is divided into several units that are each separately owned, surrounded by common areas that are jointly owned. The term can be applied to the building or complex ...

Structure

The Peter Wentz House is a two-story salt-box residence built on a foundation of

cobblestone Cobblestone is a natural building material based on cobble-sized stones, and is used for pavement roads, streets, and buildings. Setts, also called Belgian blocks, are often casually referred to as "cobbles", although a sett is distinct fro ...

. The exterior cornice of the home boasts crown molding trim, however the rest of the outward appearance of the home is quite plain. Two fireplaces still exist in the home, and the home also contains a stone cellar. The Wentz home is one room wide and two stories tall. The front facade of the home is symmetrical. All bays have wooden sills and

lintel A lintel or lintol is a type of beam (a horizontal structural element) that spans openings such as portals, doors, windows and fireplaces. It can be a decorative architectural element, or a combined ornamented structural item. In the case of w ...

s. The house remains functional and structurally sound.

Peter Mastin Wentz

Born on July 3, of 1831 in Wayne County,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, Peter Wentz was born into

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...

lifestyle. He was one of eight children to his mother, Mercy Green. His father, also named Peter, was a Methodist minister. His family eventually encountered turmoil, due to the death of Peter's mother and the failure of finances within the family. Still in his youth, Peter had to leave home and education behind, apprenticing as a boot and shoemaker. In his twentieth year, Peter Wentz embraced the beliefs of

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...

(LDS Church), converting into the religion. Desiring to be a part of the main mass of members of the church at that time, Wentz travelled to Nauvoo,

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then to St. Louis,

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, and eventually walked the long trail to

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, Utah. Years later, in 1871, Peter served as a

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...

for the church in

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. In the year 1857, Peter Wentz settled down in the city of Provo, where he employed himself in the boot and shoe business. For the next several year, Wentz carried goods, traded goods, and prospected in the state of

Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbi ...

. Wentz married a woman by the name of Minerva Boren in 1864, and with her parented nine kids. Wentz continued on to be a great asset to the Provo community. Serving on the Provo

City Council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...

for ten years, serving as a

Justice of the Peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

, and serving as director and secretary of the Provo Bench Corral and Irrigation Company for sixteen years. He also continued to serve in the LDS Church, as the first

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

in the Timpanogas Ward, a position in which he served for eighteen years. The house was listed on the

in 1978. and

References

* 2002. "Historic Provo" Provo City Landmarks Commission. * Roberts, Allen D. National Park Service. "National Register of Historic Places Inventory -- Nomination Form." August 1977.

External links

NRHP Listings in Provo Utah
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wentz, Peter, House Houses in Provo, Utah Houses completed in the 19th century Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Utah National Register of Historic Places in Provo, Utah

Description

Structure

Peter Mastin Wentz

See also

References

External links