Jacob Hamblin House facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Jacob Hamblin House
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 Location in Utah
Location in the United States
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| Location | 3400 Hamblin Drive Santa Clara, Utah United States |
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| Built | 1863 |
| NRHP reference No. | 71000860 |
| Added to NRHP | March 11, 1971 |
The Jacob Hamblin House is a special old home and museum in Santa Clara, Utah. It used to be the home of Jacob Hamblin, a famous Mormon pioneer and missionary. He was the person who started the town of Santa Clara in 1854.
After a big flood damaged the town, some missionaries helped build a new house for Jacob Hamblin on a hillside. Today, you can visit this house because it is now a museum.
Jacob Hamblin's Life Story
Jacob Hamblin was born in 1819 in Ashtabula, Ohio. In 1836, his family moved to Wisconsin. He got married three years later.
In 1842, Hamblin met some preachers from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He decided to join the Church just a few days later. Church leaders quickly saw that he was a good leader. They invited him to join them in Nauvoo, Illinois.
In 1844, there were disagreements in Nauvoo about the practice of having more than one wife. This led to the arrest of Joseph Smith, Jr., the Church leader. Hamblin's first wife left him when he wanted to move west with the Church members. He married Rachel Judd in 1848.
Joseph Smith was killed while he was in jail. This caused a big question about who would lead the Church next. Hamblin supported Brigham Young, who was a main leader in the Church. As feelings against the Church grew around Nauvoo, Hamblin moved west with Young. They traveled on the Mormon Trail.
Hamblin first settled in Tooele, which was then called Utah Territory. There, he became friends with several local Native Americans. Brigham Young noticed how well Hamblin got along with the native people. He asked Hamblin to become a missionary to the Paiute people.
Hamblin moved to the southern part of Utah Territory. He started the settlement of Santa Clara in 1854. He once took a group of Paiute people to Salt Lake City. On his way back, he met John D. Lee. Lee had just been involved in a terrible event called the Mountain Meadows massacre. Hamblin was very upset by what had happened. He bravely rescued all the children who had survived and brought them safely back to Santa Clara.
Building the Hamblin Home
A big flood covered the entire town of Santa Clara. This forced everyone to build new homes. A group of missionaries came to Santa Clara to help Jacob Hamblin and his family. They helped build a new house for them.
The Jacob Hamblin home was finished in 1863. The stone for the house came from nearby hills. Skilled stone workers from Cedar City built the walls. The house has two stories and was built on a hillside. This design allowed people to enter the second floor directly from the top of the hill.
There is a porch on the front of both the first and second floors. The house was designed with two identical rooms on opposite ends. These rooms were for Hamblin's two wives. Each room had its own fireplace and a staircase to the second floor.
Jacob Hamblin's wife Rachel died in 1865. He then married Louisa Bonelli. In 1871, Hamblin was asked to serve in the Kanab area. He then rented out his Santa Clara home to someone else.
The House as a Museum
The Utah State Parks and Recreation Division took over the house in 1959. They turned it into a museum. In 1975, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints obtained the home. They fully restored it to look like it did in the 1860s.
They even put in replica furniture that looks like furniture from that time. Santa Clara has many old Mormon houses. But the Jacob Hamblin House is the only one you can visit. Church missionaries give free tours of the property.
See also
