Home of Sven Nilsson Lindahl

The home of Sven (Swen) Nilsson Lindahl and his wife Christian Amalia (Amelia) Lindahl was an unusual home in Brigham City as it was made with a thatched roof. Sven was from Sweden and built the home after the pattern of thatched roofs in that region. Sven came to Brigham City in the early 1860s and married Amalia who had a daughter by a previous marriage (Josefina Beckman). He purchased 2 lots on Plat C Block 43 that is on the southeast corner of the intersection of 600 North (formerly known as “Vine”) and Main.

In the 8th Ward book “Through the Years,” (1953) the home was described as having four different levels with the floors being a “mud mixture that was pounded and flattened until the surface was dried hard and smooth.” Sven was noted to be a “nursery man,” a “gardener,” a “horticulturist,” and a “florist,” and the article went on to describe that he cultivated his property “into a lovely garden plot” with “yellow honey locust trees, and lilac, and rose bushes, were planted around the entire half of the block.” There was also “a raspberry patch and a vineyard and many beds of peonies.” Sven was credited “for bringing the first peonies to Brigham.” He would take his berries, fruit, and flowers to Corinne to sell. Sven was also noted as being a well-read man and kept many volumes of books on his wall shelves.

The photos included are from circa 1903, just a year before Sven died. A family history notes that the cottage burned to the ground in the early 1930s.

Amelia’s daughter married her neighbor from across the street, Rasmus Julius Smith. Julius and Josefina were the parents of a large family, the last child being William “Bill” Smith. Bill would later acquire the property of his grandmother, where the thatched house stood, and build the “Smith Motel.”

Bill Smith’s daughter was Donna Smith who, in 1945, received the “Outstanding Girl” award at Box Elder High School and later married Boyd K. Packer. Boyd K. Packer would go on to paint the thatched home and put the painting on the cover of his book, “Memorable Stories with a Message.”

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The two photos are circa 1903 and are from the Compton Collection of the USU Digital Library at the Merrill-Cazier Library. The photos are for nonprofit educational and noncommercial use only.

Compton photo of Sven and Amelia Lindahl's home on the north portion of the block of 500 North and Main

Compton photo

A more recent view of the spot where the thatched home stood and later became Smith Motel.

A painting of the thatched home on the cover of Boyd K. Packer's book.