The George M. Brown House is a historic residence in 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 ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, that 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 ...

. It was built as a home for a "polygamous wife" of lawyer George M. Brown. and It is listed on the

Description

The house is located at 284 East 100 North, within the Provo East Central Historic District, it was built in the 1880s, on property obtained from Abraham O. Smoot. This is a two-story, central-hall, vernacular type house. “The Brown House exhibits the verticality and decorative jigsaw work usually found in the Gothic Revival, but displays the horizontal siding, simulated quoins, and symmetry of the local building tradition."2002. "Historic Provo" Provo City Landmarks Commission.(p. 15). The house was designated to the Provo Historic Landmarks Registry on March 21, 1996. Though built during the

Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwardia ...

, the George M. Brown House is a distinguished example of carpenter

Gothic architecture Gothic architecture (or pointed architecture) is an architectural style that was prevalent in Europe from the late 12th to the 16th century, during the High and Late Middle Ages, surviving into the 17th and 18th centuries in some areas. It ...

. Containing thin wooden tracery, a monochromatic color scheme, and steep gables as well as other features, the Gothic style is very evident in this home. Builders' increased focus on expenses, particularly the price of stone, led to the emergence of the Carpenter Gothic style. “The Brown home attempts to combine the best of two generations with its asymmetrical Victorian east elevation and its symmetrical, dormered north elevation which contains nearly all the elements of typical pioneer homes of the mid-1870s (Roberts p. 2).” Decorative elements on the home include bargeboards, Quoins, a bay window, chimneys, window trim, door trim, dormers, a cornice, siding, and windows.

George M. Brown

Born on April 5, 1842, in Macedonia,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

, George Mortimer Brown settled in Utah with his family in 1842. A member 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 nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The ch ...

, George served a mission to

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...

in 1866, the same year he began his marriage to Elizabeth Olsen. After his mission, George became an attorney. In addition to Elizabeth, George married two more women - Amelia West and Pearl Wilson. Shortly after the initial construction of the home, Brown's first wife attained the title to it, and Brown and his two other wives and children left and settled in Colonia Díaz, a Mormon settlement in

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. He ran a store there until he died on July 6, 1894.

Present

The home Brown left for his first wife remained in the family until 1958, when G. Rulon Morgan obtained the property. Don R. Milner became the owner in 1971, and now the home is in the possession of Arnel Milner. The home has now been converted into apartment space.

References

* National Park Service. "National Register of Historic Places Inventory -- Nomination Form." April 1995. * Roberts, Allen D. Utah Historical Society. “Utah Historic Sites Inventory.”

External links

NRHP Listings in Provo Utah
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, George M., House Houses in Provo, Utah Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Utah National Register of Historic Places in Provo, Utah Individually listed contributing properties to historic districts on the National Register in Utah

Description

George M. Brown

Present

See also

References

External links