Niels Ole Anderson Home

This home is significant due to its use of fired adobe brick, which was more common and accessible than commercially-made brick at the time.

The builder Niels Ole Anderson was born in Sweden in 1845. While he was still young, his family became converted and baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS). The family immigrated to the United States from 1854-55 and crossed the plains with Captain Noah T. Guyman’s company, which arrived in the Salt Lake Valley of Utah, which was still a territory at the time. They were sent to settle in Fort Ephraim, where Niels lived for the rest of his life. 

The house is roughly square-shaped with an original 1 ½ story two-room fired brick structure to the east and an adobe 1 ½ story two-room addition to the west. The original section has no basement, but contains an unfinished loft in the attic and a symmetrical facade with a central door flanked by identical windows on either side.

The adobe portion of the house has a simpler appearance, featuring two-over-two and six-over-six operable sash windows with wooden sills and lintels. This addition connects laterally to the original brick portion, with a porch filling in a gap between the two. The adobe portion also contains a basement, small attic and a crude staircase that must be used on one's hands and knees because of the low ceiling.

Structurally, the building is on a stone foundation which is sound despite the erosion of the mortar on the brick section of the house. The brick section features Greek Revival style windows, while the adobe section is much more plain.

The house has remained in the family since its construction. It is an example of pioneer innovation and craftsmanship, especially Niels Anderson. His adobe brick is special because it was made before the introduction of traditional kiln-fired bricks in Sanpete county, and yet, the bricks resemble the latter, as if they were baked in some sort of kiln.

Today, this house is on the national historical register.