Simon Bamberger House

The man who built this house became Utah's most improbable governor. Simon Bamberger, born to a Jewish family in Germany in 1845, came to America at fourteen and drifted west with the Union Pacific's construction crews, reaching Utah in 1869. He made a fortune in mining and railroads — his Bamberger line ran electric cars between Salt Lake and Ogden, and out to the Lagoon resort he built — and in 1917 the voters made him governor: the state's first non-Mormon and first Jewish chief executive, a Democrat in a Republican age. This was his home from about 1880.

What the plaque says

This house was constructed c. 1880 as the residence for the Simon Bamberger family. Born February 27, 1845 of Jewish parents in the German village of Eberstadt in Hesse-Darmstadt, Bamberger immigrated to the United States in 1859 at the age of fourteen. He worked in his brother's clothing store until coming west with the Union Pacific Railroad construction crews as a manager of a company store. Arriving in Utah in 1869, he was successful in several business ventures including the Bamberger Railroad which ran between Ogden and Salt Lake City. Simon Bamberger was elected governor from 1917 until 1921. In 1979 the house was renovated for offices by John B. Anderson.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Salt Lake City — 1.0 mi
  Utah's capital and largest city — where the Wasatch Range meets the Great Salt Lake.
• Temple Square — 1.0 mi
  The spiritual and architectural heart of Salt Lake City
• Liberty Park — 1.6 mi
  Salt Lake Citys beloved 80-acre urban park since 1882
• Ensign Peak — 1.7 mi
  A short hike to the spot where Brigham Young surveyed the valley

More markers nearby

• Gentsch-Thompson House — steps away
• Thomas Kearns Mansion and Carriage House — steps away
• David Keith Mansion — 0.2 mi
• Lewis S. & Theresa B. Hills House — 0.3 mi