Appendix 3: Examples of Lots Assigned in Fort Louisa/Fort Parowan
1851–1853
(based on Surveys by William H. Dame)
(see illus. 4-1, 5-1, and 5-4)
Part 1: House Lots
Records of these property transactions appear in Deed Book A, Iron County Recorder’s Office, Parowan. As discussed in chapter 5, Dame’s initial survey created city (i.e., house) lots that were two rods by four rods (33 by 66 feet). Although the first deed of this type does not appear in Deed Book A until p. 13, the entire group is among the earliest of the lot allocations, being created from Dame’s first general lot survey of 1851. The 10 lots given below comprise a distinct set of entries. The corresponding deeds have no range and block numbers, probably because the lots were all located in Range 1, making repetition unnecessary. Here, giving both ward and lot number sufficed to legally describe each lot. Also, since these lot dimensions were given as rods and/or feet, there was no need to include acreage, routinely noted in the deeds for small or large farm lots.
The entry numbers given for the first two lots on p. 13, (“1”) and (“2”), indicate nonsequential numbering. The deed just before these is no. 72; the deed immediately after them is no. 73. Why they were designated 1 and 2 is unclear. Throughout the appendix, original spelling, phrasing and punctuation have been retained, even where there are evident errors. The “fee date” appears to be the date on which Dame is paid for surveying the lot (in some cases it may prove to be the date on which he completed the survey of that lot). The “filing date” is the date on which the lot and its owner are officially registered with James Lewis, the first recorder of the county.
| Page (Entry) | Fee | Filing Date | Name of Owner | Ward | Lot No. | Survey Name |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13(“1”) | 02 Jun 51 | 03 Jun 51 | Daniel Hendricks | 1st | 11 | Parowan |
| Entry reads: [Lot 11] “. . . being 33 feet front by 66 feet deep. also Lot 11 in said Ward’s private Caral, being 29 feet front by 4 Rods deep.” | ||||||
| 13(“2”) | 02 Jun 51 | 03 Jun 51 | Leman Brunson | 1st | 13 | Parowan |
| Entry reads: [Lot 13] “. . . being 33 feet front by 66 feet deep.” Superimposed diagonally: “Transfered to Samuel Gould Decr. 2 1851. Recorder Page 19. No 104.” | ||||||
| 17(94) | 02 Dec 51 | 03 Dec 51 | Solomon Chamberlin | 4th | 10 | Parowan |
| Entry reads: [Lot 10] “. . . being 33 feet front by 66 feet deep. also Lot 10 in said Ward’s Private Caral, being 14 feet 8 inches front by 4 Rods deep.” | ||||||
| 17(95) | 02 Dec 51 | 03 Dec 51 | Solomon Chamberlin | 4th | 13 | Parowan |
| Entry reads: [Lot 13] “. . . being 33 feet. front by 66 deep, also Lot 11 [sic] in Said Ward’s Private Caral, being 14. feet 8 inches front by 4 Rods deep.” | ||||||
| 19(103) | “paid” | 08 Dec 51 | John L. Smith | 1st | 07 | Parowan |
| Entry reads: [Lot 7] “. . . being 33 feet by 66 feet.” | ||||||
| 19(104) | “paid” | 08 Dec 51 | Samuel Gould | 1st | 13 | Parowan |
| Entry reads: [Lot 13] “. . . being 33 feet by 66 feet. Said Lot Transfered from Leman Brunson” [see 13(2) above]. | ||||||
| 20(112) | 21 Jan 52 | 21 Jan 52 | Jacob Hofheins | 2nd | 21 | Parowan |
| Entry reads: [Lot 21] “. . . being 33 front by 66 deep. also Lot 21 in 2d Wards Private Caral, 29 ft front by 4 Rods deep—also South half, Lot 22, in Second Ward of Fort Parowan, also North half, Lot 21, in 2d Ward Private Coral. 11 feet front by 4 Rods deep.” | ||||||
| 25(138) | 15 Jan 52 | 29 Mar 52 | William A. Morse | 3rd | 02 | Parowan |
| Entry reads: “. . . Lot 2, private Caral. 29 feet front by 4 Rods.—Also Lot 2/ & 3 in fourth Ward. Parowan Fort. also Lots 2 & 3 in private Caral. 14 feet 8 inches front Each by 4 Rods deep.” | ||||||
| 25(140) | 03 Apr 52 | 06 Apr 52 | Benjamin Jones | 4th | 05, 06 | [--] |
| Entry reads: “. . . Lots 5 & 6, fourth Ward, also Lots 5 & 6 Private Caral 29 ft 4 inches by 4 Rods.” | ||||||
| 27(151) | 10 Apr 52 | 02 Jul 52 | Herman D. Baylis | 1st | 08 | Parowan |
| Entry reads: “. . . Lot 8 First Ward Parowan Fort also Lot 8 1st Wards Private Carall 20 feet front by 4 Rods deep.” | ||||||
Part 2: Small and Large Farm Lots
A detailed discussion of the farm lots occurs in chapter 4. The set given below is a sample and is listed chronologically, containing the first three pages of entries from Deed Book A. Note that five-acre or small farm lots fall in Ranges 1NW to 4NW, while 10-acre or large farm lots begin in Range 4NW and extend out as far as Range 11NW. “Block” numbers should not be confused with city blocks; here, they represent the horizontal coordinates which, with the vertical ranges, create the grid Dame used for his surveys. Since the filing dates all occur within 1851, each of these deeds represents a lot created by Dame’s initial survey. The fact that they occur in Deed Book A prior to the house lots may indicate that farm lots were surveyed and allocated even before individual city lots were assigned to the settlers.
| Page (Entry) | Fee | Filing Date | Name of Owner | Range No. | Block No. | Lot No. | Survey Name (and acres) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1(1) | “paid” | 07 Feb 51 | Francis T. Whitney | 01 | 01 | 16 | Centre Creek (5) |
| 1(2) | “paid” | 07 Feb 51 | George A. Smith | 01 | 01 | 01 | Centre Creek (5) |
| 1(3) | “paid” | 07 Feb 51 | James Lewis | 05 | 01 | 08 | Centre Creek (10) |
| 1(4) | “paid” | 24 Feb 51 | Zedick Judd | 04 | 01 | 11 | Centre Creek (5) |
| 1(5) | “paid” | 24 Feb 51 | Zedick Judd | 08 | 06 | 01 | Centre Creek (10) |
| 2(6) | “paid” | 24 Feb 51 | Zedick Judd | 08 | 06 | 08 | Centre Crick (10) |
| 2(7) | “paid” | 24 Feb 51 | George Brimhall | 01 | 01 | 09 | Centre Crick (05) |
| 2(8) | “paid” | 24 Feb 51 | George Brimhall | 10 | 07 | 02 | Centre Creek (10) |
| 2(9) | “paid” | 27 Feb 51 | Philip B. Lewis | 03 | 01 | 10 | Centre Creek (05) |
| 2(10) | “paid” | 27 Feb 51 | Peter Shirts | 11 | 06 | 01 | Centre Creek (10) |
| 2(11) | “paid” | 27 Feb 51 | Peter Shirts | 11 | 06 | 07 | Centre Crick (10) |
| 3(12) | “paid” | 16 Mar 51 | Jefferson Wright | 10 | 06 | 01 | Centre Creek (10) |
| 3(13) | 16 Mar 51 | Elisha H. Groves | 02 | 01 | 04 | Centre Creek (5) | |
| 3(14) | 16 Mar 51 | Elisha H. Groves | 04 | 01 | 13 | Centre Creek (10) | |
| 3(15) | “paid” | 11 Apr 51 | Wm. C. Mitchell | 05 | 01 | 04 | Centre Creek (10) |
| 3(16) | “paid” | 11 Apr 51 | Wm. C. Mitchell | 02 | 01 | 06 | Centre Crick (5) |
| 3(17) | Thomas Corbitt | 01 | 01 | 04 | Centre Crick (5) |
Part 3: “Special” Lots
A number of unique lots appear in Deed Book A. Some of these are unusual because of size or location; some are interesting because of the assigned lot owner. Together, they provide an example of the variety of land transactions occurring in outlying settlements of the pioneer era.
| Page (Entry) | Fee | Filing Date | Name of Owner | Range No. | Block No. | Lot No. | Survey Name (and acres) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4(18) | “paid” | 12 Apr 51 | Parley P. Pratt | - - | - - | - - | Centre Crick (132) |
| This unusually large “lot” begins at NE corner, Block 1, Range 3SW; the acreage falls more across foothills than it does across farm land. Dame surveyed the lot at Pratt’s request on Pratt’s birthday, during a stopover in Fort Parowan on his way to California to take ship for an overseas mission. | |||||||
| 14(77) | 19 Aug 51 | 19 Aug 51 | Wm H Dame | 06 | 06 | 01 | Centre Crick (80) |
| This sizable farm lot appears to be the “payment-in-kind” which Dame received in lieu of a salary for his professional surveys of the settlement. | |||||||
| 15(81) | - - - - - - - - | Elijah Elmer | - - | - - | - - | Centre Creek | |
| This entry is a Quit Claim Deed dated 8 Nov 51, in which Elijah Elmer vacates his undivided Third of a Grist Mill Situated on Centre Creek to George A. Smith. It contains one of the few direct references to the gristmill known to be operating in Parowan because of many journal references to flour-grinding there. | |||||||
| 19(106) | 23 Dec 51 | 26 Dec 51 | William C. Mitchell | 02 | 01 | 04 | Coal Creek (20) |
| This is the first deed recording a property transaction at Coal Creek, modern Cedar City. | |||||||
| 19(107) | 08 Jan 52 | 08 Jan 52 | James A. Little | 14NE | 06, 07 | 03 | Red Crick (324) |
| This is the first deed recording a property transaction at Red Creek, modern Paragonah. | |||||||
| 25(141) | “paid” | - - - - | Brigham Young | [As described] | - - - - - - | ||
| Entry reads: “. . . the property (To Wit) one log House one adobie House and fort Lot and two five acre Lots, Viz. Lots 14. &. 15. Block one, range Three Once owned by me [Isaac B. Kirby], the same is hereby assigned to Gov. Brigham Young.” | |||||||
