This Old House Was Built in 1889, Not 1849

The house at 863 E 600 S SLC as it appears today. 

The oldest house listed on the map from my last post was supposedly built in 1849 but my research shows it was actually built in 1889. This house is east of Trolley Square at 863 E 600 South SLC. Not surprisingly, the County Assessor’s data was incorrect and the house was actually built in 1889. However, the county data does tell part of the story of that property…

The house at 863 E 600 S SLC as it appears today.  Several modifications have been made and a large addition on the back.

A photo detail of the house at 863 E 600 S SLC showing where the original brick joins with the new stucco addition. Where the new and old join together.

The house at 863 E 600 S SLC, ca 1930s (?), from SL County Tax Assessor records. Note the upper window.

This house was built by Hyrum S. Laney in 1889; the 1849 date likely comes from when the Laney family originally inhabited this plot of land. It was Hyrum’s parents Isaac and Sarah Laney who arrived in the Salt Lake Valley in Sept 1847.

The Laneys first lived in a small house in the old fort at what is now Pioneer Park. According to Laney family history, they moved from the fort about 1850 (1849?) to the northwest corner of 600 S and 900 E, where they built a log cabin, a grain silo, and some infrastructure for their farm animals. This was the southeasternmost house on the original SLC grid for several years.

Of note, according to family history, Sarah Laney was the first non-indigenous person in the Salt Lake Valley to spin, dye, and weave a piece of cloth on a loom.

Detail of a tablecloth made by Sarah Laney, likely at their property on the corner of 900 S and 600 E. From FamilySearch.

Hyrum, the youngest Laney child, returned to SLC from law school in 1885 and immediately became a prominent lawyer. He built the 1.5-story brick house on the family property for him and his widowed mother to live in. His mother died in 1902 and Hyrum moved out of the house in 1905.

At some point before 1933, the house was turned into a duplex. I’m not sure when the rest of the apartments were added but the house serves as a converted apartment building now. As you can see in the photos a large addition on the back has also been added.

There are several unfortunate events and deaths in, and around, this house but they are too long to detail in this post. They will need to be their own posts…. Coming soon!   (posted here)