Farmington in Davis County, Utah — The American Mountains (Southwest)

The Walter Grover Historic Rock Home

Photographed by Andrea Abbott, May 28, 2020

1. The Walter Grover Historic Rock Home Marker

Inscription. The original, small rock home at 630 North Main Street in Farmington, Utah, is one of many stone structures that helps set Farmington apart as a city with a distinguishing architectural heritage. The home was built in 1880 by Walter Grover as a gift for his mother, Elizabeth Walker Grover, a Mormon handcart pioneer who emigrated from England to Utah in 1856. Walter, Elizabeth's eldest child, was just 19 years old when he started and finished the construction of the small, two-room house. Building the home finally gave his mother - the sixth plural wife of Thomas Grover - a permanent residence for her and her four children. Walter received consent from his father, Thomas Grover, to build the home on the east end of the family farm.

The farm was located on a plot of ground, which based on the earliest 1875 Davis County records, was first surveyed by Daniel W. Miller, one of Farmington's early settlers. The title to the land appears to have been sold to Thomas Grover around 1876 by either Thomas White or Daniel Miller.

Walter began building the home by chopping logs in the Farmington canyons and hauling them to a Farmington

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sawmill. There, they were made into lumber for all the heavy beams and floors. Walter hauled rock from the foothills for the walls. To lay the stone for the walls, he made mortar by hauling very fine sand and clay from the shores of the Great Salt Lake, just west of Centerville.

A stonemason was hired, either by Walter or his father, to lay the rock walls, which were built two feet thick - a necessary insulating technique used at the time to shield against cold and heat. Walter did all the shingling himself and most of the carpentry. Elizabeth's remark when Walter presented her with a finished home was, "It seems like heaven!" Elizabeth Grover lived in the home until all of her children, except the youngest were married. After the death of her husband in 1886, she moved to Logan.

In 1938 a three-room rock addition was added to the house by Leo and Florence Manning. In the 1990s, Bob Sutton laid an additional foundation to further expand the footprint of the building to the north by several hundred square feet. In 2008, the home was preserved and restored by Bob Aamodt.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in this

Photographed by Andrea Abbott, May 28, 2020

2. The Walter Grover Historic Rock Home Marker

topic list: Notable Buildings. A significant historical year for this entry is 1880.

Location. 40° 59.455′ N, 111° 53.554′ W. Marker is in Farmington, Utah, in Davis County. It is on Compton Road north of Main Street, on the left when traveling north. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 630 Compton Road, Farmington UT 84025, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in the Wasatch Front

and in Greater Salt Lake.

It is also in the American Mountain West

and in Colorado Plateau.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Rocky Mountains,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain

and also Mexico’s Alta California.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Old Rock Mill (approx. 0.3 miles away); Primary Association Organized/Farmington Meeting House (approx. half a mile away); Pioneer Cabin (approx. half a mile away); LDS Davis Stake President's Office (approx. 0.7 miles away); Civil War Cannon (approx. 0.7 miles away); Leavitt/Clark House (approx. 0.7 miles

Photographed by Andrea Abbott, May 28, 2020

3. The Walter Grover Historic Rock Home Marker

away); Clark Lane National Historic District (approx. 0.7 miles away); Bamberger Railroad, Farmington Station (approx. 0.7 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Farmington.

More about this marker. This site is a private residence. Please respect their privacy.

Additional keywords. Thomas Grover

The Walter Grover Historic Rock Home image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Andrea Abbott, May 28, 2020

4. The Walter Grover Historic Rock Home

Credits. This page was last revised on June 2, 2020. It was originally submitted on March 20, 2020. This page has been viewed 956 times since then and 41 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on May 28, 2020, by Andrea Abbott of Farmington, Utah. • Syd Whittle was the editor who published this page.