Benjamin and Harriet Blake Home

After living in a dugout for years, this home at 141 South 100 East of master furniture maker Benjamin Frederick Black and his wife Harriet Hollis was built in the 1870s after the England-born couple arrived with the 1861 pioneers. In addition to the high sidewalls composed of two-thick adobe bricks, decorative trim around the gables and eaves, mitered fascia, and Dixie dormers, the home featured a large gathering room in the front of the house. Their five daughters, Caroline, Elizabeth, Emma, Jane, and Harriet hosted numerous youthful parties here including dramatics and spelling matches. At their dances, their father played his violin and their mother entertained with her clever stories. Benjamin was also known for building the outstanding twin floating staircases in the St. George Tabernacle. After Benjamin's death in 1881, their son Benjamin and his wife Elizabeth Ellicock Blake resided here with their eleven children.