Historic Homes in Brigham City "Mansard Roof"

Ken Bott
Jul 22
3 min read

"Mansard Roof"

Many residents in Brigham City have noticed the affinity that some early residents had for Mansard roof homes. On January 14, 1981, an article appeared in the Box Elder Journal that was written by Cindy Yurth to answer this question. The article was entitled, “Mansard roofs posed mystery: why were there so many here?”

Quoting a Brigham City history website:

“Builders often traded their services, especially relatives, and almost all of these homes were built for (or by) families related to the Forsgren family by blood or marriage. Probably built first and most faithful to the original plan is the August Valentine home, 494 South 300 West, in 1888. Other examples are the homes of John Christensen, 361 South 300 East, 1888; George Craghead, 92 South 100 West, 1890; Charles Higley (built by Jim Romer), 177 North 100 East, 1893; George Reeder, 135 North 100 West, circa 1894; Lars Nelson, 477 North 300 West; circa 1894; John Wesley Horsley, 48 South 300 West; Oleen Stohl, 155 North Main, 1895: Columbus Valentine, 37 West 600 South, circa 1896; Oscar Forsgren, 124 South 500 West, 1903, which has intriguing details like a curved roof and porch and spiral staircase”. Taken from: https://brighamcityhistory.org/.../home-building-1850-1900/

It has been speculated that the use of this type of roof helped avoid zoning restrictions and/or taxes by making the attic of a home a livable space without adding another “floor” to the home. Home size was sometimes measured from the ground to the bottom of the “cornice” or ledge of the roof.

One very interesting example is found in the home of Lars and Eliza Nelson at 477 North 300 West. A Compton photograph captured the home as it was originally constructed as a Mansard roof. Cindy Yurth recorded that the original portion was “probably built 1894. Lars Nelson died in 1908, and Eliza Reeder Nelson had to build the rest of the house herself, with the help of neighbors.” The new addition was done in a simpler peaked-roof style. (See pics)

Please scroll through the photos to see information about the homes around town, some of which still stand. We are also hoping to collect any information that you may have about these homes and home owners. We are happy to correct any mistakes that we may have made and apologize for any inaccurate information.

All photos are for nonprofit, educational and noncommercial use only. Many of the photos are from the Compton Collection from the Merrill-Cazier Digital Library Collection.

We also thank Scott Jensen for his work in collecting and restoring some of the old photographs.