West of St. George, in the beautiful little city of Santa Clara, stands a home built in 1862 by Mormon craftsmen for Jacob Hamblin. The home is constructed of Ponderosa timbers from Pine Valley and local red sandstone. The building was home for Jacob Hamblin and his family and was also headquarters for his missionary work.
was sent by Brigham Young as a missionary to southern Utah and became a noted Indian agent, colonizer and peacemaker. He worked out treaties with the sometimes hositle Indians and was called to mediate whenever trouble arose.
This room was the family dining room. Notice
that the table is set in pioneer style. It has the plates upside down and the chairs turned with their backs to the table. All is in readiness for family prayer, which preceded the evening meal. After Jacob had led the family in prayer, they would sit up to the table and then one of the children would ask a blessing on the food.
The storage chamber
on the back of the house was
built into the hillside to assure cool temperature to store the homegrown grains and vegetables raised by the women and younger children. The older boys, including an adopted Indian son, helped manage the herds of fine cattle and sheep. Jacob was known for his York peaches and sweet-pit apricots. Displayed in this room today are various tools from the period.
Jacob Hamblins saddle is displayed in the
storage chamber.
The bedrooms
of the two wives have matching fireplaces
which not only kept them warm during the mild winters but also served as kitchen stoves for cooking.
The bedrooms are also similar in that each
one has a stairway leading up to the weaving room and the children's bedroom.
The baby cradle
was an original in the home and was donated by descendents of Jacob Hamblin.
The no spring bed is a point of interest that represents the period.
The childrens dormitory
was a lean-to added when the size of the family increased. During his lifetime, Jacob Hamblin had 24 children, but with the spread in their ages only about half of them lived here at any one time.
The large room upstairs was a wonderful gathering place for family and a useful place for production and learning. The family called it the loom room but it doubled as a social hall, a conference room and a school house for the towns children.
