James Bean Decker House
It is a large, two-story brick house whose exterior was originally brick, but was stuccoed in the 1950s.
It was built in 1895 for James Bean Decker (1853-1900) and his wife Anna Marie Mickelson Decker (b.1855). Both born in Utah, the Mormon couple was married in 1874. Decker was "called to settle the San Juan Region" and was part of the exploring expedition which came to the San Juan River in the summer of 1879, via northern Arizona. He was one of the original settlers who came across the Hole-in-the-Rock Trail from Escalante to Bluff in 1879–1880. He operated large cattle and sheep ranches, and became the county's first sheriff. He was also the first superintendent of the Bluff Sunday School. He died in the 1900 diphtheria epidemic in Bluff.
Decker appears in the historical novel The Undaunted, by Gerald Lund, which is based on history, including diaries, of the Hole-in-the-Rock expedition.
References
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. November 2, 2013.
- ^ Roger Roper; Deborah Hestfall (May 1995). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Bluff Historic District". National Park Service. Retrieved January 31, 2019. With accompanying 12 photos from 1994-95
- ^ Kent Powell; Tom Carter (Summer 1980). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: James Bean Decker House". National Park Service. Retrieved January 31, 2019. With accompanying two photos from 1980
External links
- Media related to James Bean Decker House at Wikimedia Commons