John, Harriet, and Eliza Jennett Duncan House facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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John Duncan Harriet
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 Location in Utah
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| Location | 445 North 400 East, Centerville, Utah |
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| Area | less than one acre |
| Built | c.1873 |
| Built by | Charles Duncan and John Duncan |
| MPS | Centerville MPS |
| NRHP reference No. | 97001312 |
| Added to NRHP | November 17, 1997 |
The John, Harriet, and Eliza Jennett Duncan House is a historic home located at 445 North 400 East in Centerville, Utah. It was built around 1873 and is an important part of the area's history. Because of its special history, the house was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1997.
Contents
Who Built This Historic House?
This stone house was likely built around 1873. The main builders were Charles Duncan (1823-1891) and his son, John Samuel Duncan. Charles was a skilled stonemason who came from Scotland. He was famous for his work on many buildings, including the Salt Lake Temple. He helped build parts of the temple between 1863 and 1867.
The Duncan Family's Journey
In 1852, the entire Duncan family traveled across the ocean on a ship called the Kennebec. They arrived in the Salt Lake Valley in September 1853. When they first got to Utah, they stayed with friends in Centerville for a short time.
Charles soon bought land in Kaysville and moved his family there in the spring of 1854. He built a log cabin where his twin sons, John Samuel and Charles Jr., were born. After their crops failed, the family moved back to Centerville in July.
Charles Duncan's Stonemasonry Work
Word of Charles's amazing skill as a stonemason spread quickly. He was hired to build homes all over the Centerville and Farmington areas. Charles worked as a mason from 1853 until 1891. He taught his three sons, John, Charles, and Archibald, how to work with stone.
Most of the early rock buildings and culverts (small tunnels for water) in South Davis County were built by the Duncans. Charles also spent many years cutting stone for the Salt Lake City L.D.S. Temple.
Duncan Family's Building Style
A special feature of the rock homes built by the Duncans is their use of "quoins." These are decorative corner stones made from granite or sandstone. Charles would bring back pieces of stone that were not used or were considered unsuitable for the L.D.S. Temple. He used these stones to add decoration and even religious symbols to the homes in Centerville.
Charles and his wife Margaret lived in a seven-room stone house with their son Archibald. Charles passed away in April 1891.
Life in the Duncan House
John Samuel Duncan worked with his father, Charles, to build this house around 1873. It was built in a Classical style. The house was originally one large room, and the inside walls were added later using adobe (a type of mud brick).
John bought the house from his father in 1888. Records from 1880 show that John, then 26, lived there with his wife Harriet (Hattie) M., 22, and their two young children, Hattie M. (2) and George W(alter) (4 months). Later, in 1900, John lived there with his second wife, Eliza Jennett (Jennie), and two children, Walter and Erma.
The house was sold to Harold Duncan, a son of John and Eliza Jennett, in 1926. Later, it was sold to John and Harriet's son, George Walter.
What Does the House Look Like?
The John, Harriet, and Eliza Jennett Duncan House is built from local stone that pioneers in Centerville called 'mountain rock'. A brick chimney sticks up from the roof at the east end. The roof has asphalt shingles, and there's a simple wooden soffit and fascia (parts of the roof's edge).
House Features
The front of the house, or south side, is balanced and even. It has a door in the center with two matching wooden windows on either side. These windows have two panes of glass in the top and two in the bottom. The door and windows have stone lintels (horizontal supports above them).
You can see sandstone and granite quoins on all four corners of the house. There are also quoins on the corners of the shed roof addition at the back. The front porch is not covered; it's just a concrete slab about eight inches high at the entrance.
The Shed Addition
A shed was added to the back of the house (the north side) very soon after the main part was built. The shed roof extends out from the main building's roof, making the house look like a "saltbox" style home. This addition includes a bathroom and a kitchen, and it has another brick chimney at its west end.
Other Buildings on the Property
Besides the main house, there are other structures on the property. One is a second historic building located directly north of the main house. This small, one-room rock building was reportedly the very first house on this land.
A carport or open garage was added in 1932. There's also a rock-built shed or storage addition to the west of the house. The stonework on this shed doesn't match the Duncans' style, suggesting it was built by a different mason.
