 |
||||
  
 
 |
Mendon woman envisions pioneer village, including transplanted cabin
By Kendal Bates
MENDON -- An old rock church, a historic jailhouse, and an old Presbyterian church have all been torn down and forgotten in Mendon, and a similar fate could face several other historic buildings unless Valerie Larsen can do something about it. Larsen's son-in-law has a pioneer cabin on his property that he would like to burn down or turn into a playhouse for his children, says Larsen, but she has something else in mind for the old building. Larsen says she would like to transplant the cabin and several other historic buildings to some property on 100 North and 100 West, to create a historic village leading up to the city's Pioneer Park. Besides her son-in-law's cabin there is the first post office in Mendon on Melinda Arice's property, and Richard Watkins' dismantled cabin that once stood in the old Mendon Fort, she said. Larsen said she would like to put these buildings across from the James G. Willie house, which belonged to the pioneer who came across the country with the Willie Handcart Company. Larsen is trying to organize a society that could procure grants to help pay for the project, and she said the Daughters of Utah Pioneers is also interested in helping with the project. A renewed interest among the public in historical buildings makes
the project a valuable endeavor for the community and the valley; it
would be a shame if these remaining old buildings met the same fate
as the jailhouse and churches, she said. |
Archived Months:
September
1998 |
||