Larsen-Green Home 

On 185 South Main Street in Ephraim, Utah, there is an exquisite Victorian era home.  It was one of the finest here in its day, even though it’s most certainly not at the scale of a mansion. The original owner was a Boston dentist named H.P. Larsen, who built the house in 1887. He built it to the classic Victorian standards, complete with detailed woodwork, stained glass windows, and a butler pantry. If you wanted to access the attic, you would have to do so through the outdoor stairs on the back of the house. 

The dentist wouldn’t own the home for too long. In about 1894, Henry Green, a tall 6’3” man, who had been living in Ephraim since the 1850s. Would become financially able to buy a better home than the one they had been living in for the majority of their life in Ephraim. They had been living in a modest adobe pioneer home just a block north about where Jorgensen Chevrolet is now. Their first home was torn down a long time ago to make way for commercial structures. Luckily, their last home in Ephraim still survives. Henry Green lived in this new home with his wife, Betsy Mee Green, and six of their ten children. The ones that didn’t move in with them were either passed away or married. That being said, by 1898, most of the children had moved out of the home, leaving Mary Ann as the only daughter left living in the home with Henry and Betsy Green. Although Mary Ann was living there with at least one of her brothers at the time, who was a teenager, and was about four years younger than her. His name was James. 

Henry and Betsy lived the last of their days in the home. Henry died in 1908 and Betsy in 1916. After the death of Betsy, James and his wife ended up with the home, which was only natural as he and his wife had been taking care of Betsy for the remainder of her life. 

James Green and his wife, Mary Henrietta Christensen (a woman who was the oldest woman in Ephraim at the time of her death and once Miss Utah), lived a long life in this home where they raised several children, only one dying in infancy. In this situation, the home was loved and taken care of along with the family themselves. Thus, by the time the home’s ownership came to question when James and Mary were dead, the family wanted to keep the home. 

Unfortunately, the home eventually ended up in disrepair. Not because the family didn’t care, but because none of the family members could actually live in it, as they all lived elsewhere. Luckily, the family eventually ended up letting someone have the home that could actually live in it and repair it, and that person is who owns the home now. They may not be part of the original family, but with them, the home can survive. 

As of, at least 2020, the home still retained a ton of original features including woodwork, windows and doors. Very little was missing from its original state. Amongst more recent repairs, the biggest change we for sure know of was a staircase being built in the old butler pantry to the upstairs. The house is unfortunately missing its original stained glass window in its front room. All that being said, it’s definitely safe to say that the home likely still retains much of its character and originality even after all these years, which is something that is truly special.