Clark Lane National Historic District

Clark Lane National Historic District. Utah Historic Site. The first Historic District in Davis County to be listed on the National Register, the Clark Lane National Historic District encompasses the homes on State Street (formerly Clark Lane) between 200 West and 400 West. This neighborhood is significant for its concentration of intact homes, representing a wide variety of architectural influences from virtually every decade since the 1850s. The district is also historically important because it is a fine example of the unique family settlement pattern that occurred in Utah's pioneer era. Nearly all of the district's houses were built by members of the prodigious Ezra Thompson Clark family. Ezra, his first wife, Mary Stevenson Clark, and their two small sons journeyed to the Salt Lake valley in 1848, after stopping at Winter Quarters for a year at the request of Brigham Young. After two years in the North Canyon area of Bountiful, they moved to a small settlement further north where they lived the remainder of their lives. While in Farmington (first called North Cottonwood in reference to the tall cottonwood trees growing on the Clarks' property which could be seen for miles), the family grew successful and prosperous. Clark envisioned the neighborhood as a "gathering place" for his family, many of whom built their houses and raised their own children here. The Clark property was held in common until 1901, when Ezra called his children together and had them draw lots from his hat. On each paper was listed a piece of the family's sizable land holdings, and what each person drew became his or her inheritance. Some Clark family descendants still live within the district.