Steele, John, House
About this property
The John Steele House is the historic home of a prominent early resident of Toquerville, Utah. One of the Mormon pioneers, John Steele built the house in 1862 and lived there until his death in 1903, working as an herbal physician and serving in a number of town and county offices. Its floor plan is a rare double-parlor style. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988 for its architectural and historical significance. The one-story house stands on a foundation of stone, with red adobe walls and a wooden gable roof. Most Toquerville homes from this period were built of log rather than adobe. It is one of only three well-documented examples of a double-parlor house in Utah: it is divided into two parlors and a narrower hall on the northern end. The Steele house has an extra door compared to most double-parlor houses (with one door and three windows), producing a symmetrical facade that gives the misleading appearance of a double-cell house (with two rooms of equal size). The center room, with a large fireplace, served as the kitchen. An adobe lean-to was added in the 1860s–1870s on the left third of the rear, and further expanded with a frame lean-to on the right two-thirds in the 1930s. A full-width porch pictured in 1900 is now removed; it is unknown whether it was original. The exterior walls were probably stuccoed white in the early 20th century. With a "virtually unaltered" interior and the original doors and windows, however, the house "maintains a high degree of its original integrity." Toquerville had only been founded three years ago when John Steele moved there from nearby Parowan in 1861, as part of southern Utah's settlement by the Mormons. His family came in 1862. Experienced with making and laying adobe brick, which he had done in Salt Lake City, Steele probably built the house himself that year. He served as postmaster (1865), justice of the peace (1868–1869), and as surveyor (1873) and assessor (1874–1875) of Kane County. He also had a nearby boot and shoe shop, and went on several LDS Church missions. But "Doc" Steele derived much of his reputation from setting bones, administering herbal medicines and making horoscopes. Despite Utah introducing medical licensing, he continued to practice until his death in 1903. The privately owned house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on April 7, 1988. The nomination cites its locally significant architecture and history: "There are approximately a dozen houses in the community that date from the first decade or two of settlement, but few of them are as old and as well preserved as the Steele House."
Location
Categories
Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).
Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Everything a full report reveals about Steele, John, House
This page lists Steele, John, House. A full Aubrey report for an address near it pulls together this listing alongside battlefield records, land patents, and every other historical record within a chosen radius:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Questions about this property
When was Steele, John, House listed on the National Register?
Steele, John, House was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on April 6, 1988.
What type of historic resource is Steele, John, House?
Steele, John, House is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.
What is the period of significance for Steele, John, House?
The period of significance for Steele, John, House is recorded as the industrial era.
Can I research the history near Steele, John, House?
Yes. Aubrey Research reports search National Register listings, battlefield records, land patents, and other primary historical sources within any radius of a US address. A report for an address near Steele, John, House will include this listing and all other historical records in the area.
More in Washington County
Historic places, battles, and census history across Washington County.
Explore WashingtonCounty ›Research the history near this site
An Aubrey US report for an address near Steele, John, House will include this listing alongside battlefield records and other historical sources within your chosen radius.