Devereaux House/ Wm Stains & Wm Jennings (2)

The Devereaux was Salt Lake City's first mansion, and for a long time its most elegant. Parts of it date to 1855, only eight years into the settlement, when a grand house on the frontier was a genuine novelty; the 1870s enlarged it into an estate of ornamental gardens, hothouses, vineyards, orchards, and stables. Its owner, William Jennings — a butcher who became Utah's first millionaire and a mayor of the city — filled the rooms with art gathered on his travels, and hosted the powerful and the visiting. It still stands near the old rail depot.

What the plaque says

Devereaux House was Salt Lake City's earliest mansion and, in its day, the most elegant. As a unique mansion in an isolated frontier city, the Devereaux was the setting of many social gatherings that included prominent local citizens and important national and international visitors. Portions of the house date from 1855, only eight years after the first arrival of the Mormon pioneers in Salt Lake Valley. Extensively added to and remodeled in the 1870's, the Devereaux House estate featured the mansion, extensive ornamental gardens, a kitchen garden, hothouses, vineyards, orchards, stables, and a carriage house. Owner William Jennings was a patron of the arts and furnished the interior with items collected during trips throughout the United States and abroad. The coming of the railroad later turned this part of Salt Lake City into a commercial and industrial area, and for many years the mansion stood as a forlorn shell of its former glory. On March 1, 1971 the Devereaux House was listed on the National Register of Historic Places and, in 1978, the Utah State Legislature purchased the property for future renovation. Three years later, the State and Triad Center entered into an agreement whereby Triad would maintain and manage the area once the buildings and grounds were restored. With federal, state, Salt Lake City Redevelopment Agency, and private funds, the Devereaux House, Carriage House, and gardens have been reconstructed for the benefit of present and future Utahns.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Temple Square — 0.5 mi
  The spiritual and architectural heart of Salt Lake City
• Salt Lake City — 0.5 mi
  Utah's capital and largest city — where the Wasatch Range meets the Great Salt Lake.
• Ensign Peak — 1.6 mi
  A short hike to the spot where Brigham Young surveyed the valley
• Liberty Park — 2.2 mi
  Salt Lake Citys beloved 80-acre urban park since 1882

More markers nearby

• Transcontinental Railroad — steps away
• Martha Hughes Cannon — 0.2 mi
• Henderson Block — 0.3 mi
• Nauvoo Bell Tower & Relief Society Memorial — 0.4 mi