My last post was about finding out that the Thomas & Christiana Watkins home still exists in Mount Pleasant. Yesterday, I learned a few things about the former home of Thomas James Dunn in North Ogden, Utah. Sadly, the home is no longer standing. However, there is a historic marker at the spot where it used to be. If you're into using Google Maps or Google Earth, you can input the following address (650 E 2600 N, North Ogden, UT) and check out the current street view. This link will take you to some photos of the site as it currently looks and a close-up of the monument. The land is currently the site of the North Ogden LDS Stake Center.
When Thomas and his family settled in North Ogden about 1851, he was about 29 years old. He and his wife Harriet had 3 children then - Thomas Jr. (age 5), and twins Harvey Alvaro & Harriet Alvaretta (age 2). They may have lived in a dugout or a log cabin while they constructed a more permanent residence - a six-room adobe home, completed sometime during 1851. In 1852, they had a son named John S. who was either stillborn or died shortly after birth. Then in 1853, Samuel Crandell was born, probably right in this very house. It was apparently a rather tumultuous time, as we learn from the inscription on the monument:
"During the Indian uprisings in 1853, Brigham Young instructed the settlers to build a fort wall around ten blocks including this block upon which Thomas Dunn, the first Presiding Elder, had erected a six room adobe home in 1851. In 1854 a band of Indians staged a war dance around the house. They were finally pacified and peace restored. The fort wall was never completed as work was abandoned when Indian trouble subsided. After 1952 the city used the home for offices and council meetings."
The monument was placed on the site by the Daughters of the Utah Pioneers in 1956, at which point the city stopped using it as an office building. Although the home lasted for over a century, it seems it was no longer standing by 1956. The North Ogden Historical Museum has published a book entitled "Images of America: North Ogden." There is an electronic version here that shows Thomas' home (bottom half of page 23). Kind of makes me wonder what other information they may have about him.
I don't know how long Thomas and his family lived in the adobe home, but he may have sold it to a Benjamin Gardner in the fall of 1857. Benjamin's biography states that he purchased a home and two lots in North Ogden from Thomas Dunn and then moved into the fort at North Ogden. Since the adobe home lay within the original fort's walls, it would make sense. It would also make sense that Thomas and his family may have needed a larger home, as he married Charlotte Campbell and then Lucinda Rose that same year.
At any rate, he lived a very industrious life in North Ogden, serving as the first Presiding Elder (Branch President) and as a bishop for a total of about 12 years. He was commissioned as 1st Lieutenant in the Nauvoo Legion in the Ogden City Cavalry Corps in 1853. In 1856 he was elected as a justice of the peace, and in 1859 was elected as a city councilman. It seemed he also was responsible for the post office until the family moved to Bear Lake area about 1866. Certainly, he was no slouch.
Well, I hope you've enjoyed a little bit of history surrounding Thomas' home. I love to find the old photos, as it helps you envision it better.
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