Historic markings on Ogden houses in the Bingham Fort area | News, sports, jobs

Katie Nelson, director of the Weber County Heritage Foundation, holds some of the signs that should be placed outside some of the historic homes along West Second Street in the Bingham Fort area. The photo was taken on Thursday, August 26th, 2021. (Tim Vandenack, standard examiner)

Katie Nelson, director of the Weber County Heritage Foundation, holds some of the signs that should be placed outside some of the historic homes along West Second Street in the Bingham Fort area. The photo was taken on Thursday, August 26th, 2021. (Tim Vandenack, standard examiner)

One of 17 historic signs posted in front of some of the older, historic homes along West Second Street in the Bingham Fort neighborhood of Ogden on Thursday 26 August 2021. This was in front of Anna Keogh’s house. (Tim Vandenack, standard examiner)


One of the new street signs displaying the honorary name of part of West Second Street, Chief Little Soldier Way. The photo was taken on Thursday, August 26th, 2021. (Tim Vandenack, standard examiner)

Katie Nelson, director of the Weber County Heritage Foundation, holds some of the signs that should be placed outside some of the historic homes along West Second Street in the Bingham Fort area. The photo was taken on Thursday, August 26th, 2021. (Tim Vandenack, standard examiner)

OGDEN – Efforts to commemorate the history of the Bingham Fort area along Second Street in north Ogden did not end with the honorary naming of part of the street, a controversial, drawn-out process that sparked some sparks.

Neighborhood boosters, supported by representatives from the Weber County Heritage Foundation and a contingent of volunteers from the Ogden company MarketStar, fanned out Thursday and installed 17 signs marking some of the older, historic homes in the area.

The aim is to make motorists and pedestrians who travel the zone aware that “this is the oldest neighborhood in Weber County,” said Katie Nelson, executive director of the Heritage Foundation. Without such markings, “you have no idea this place is so important”.

The markings were placed on houses scattered on the 300 block of Second Street east of Harrison Boulevard. This is the heart of the old Bingham Fort area, originally settled in the mid-19th century by pioneers of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The 17 houses were built between 1863 and the 1920s. Some may not seem historic due to changes made over the years, she said, but they are reminiscent of the region’s roots.

Katie Nelson, director of the Weber County Heritage Foundation, holds some of the signs that should be placed outside some of the historic homes along West Second Street in the Bingham Fort area. The photo was taken on Thursday, August 26th, 2021. (Tim Vandenack, standard examiner)

“Together they tell the story of the place and they tell the story of Weber County,” said Nelson.

Neighborhood boosters campaigned for a name of honor for part of West Second Street, initially Bingham Fort Lane. This name drew some fire for ignoring the Native American history of the area. Instead, officers settled down on Chief Little Soldier Way, a name taken from a well-known northwestern Shoshone chief, last month. New street signs with the honorary name have already been placed above the signs on Second Street.

Now come the 17 other signs that are attached to posts in the front gardens of the houses. They are brown and show the year of construction of the houses and contain historical information about each building.

The sign in front of Anna Keogh’s house says that the building was built in 1925. The original owners supplied milk for the neighbors during the Great Depression and WWII prisoners of war worked the fields behind the house.

“I’m grateful. I’m excited. It’s like a dream come true,” said Keogh, who helped with the volunteer naming and was an important engine in efforts to remember the region’s history.

One of 17 historic signs posted in front of some of the older, historic homes along West Second Street in the Bingham Fort neighborhood of Ogden on Thursday 26 August 2021. This was in front of Anna Keogh’s house. (Tim Vandenack, standard examiner)

She said there were three waves of newcomers to the area between the mid-19th century and the Great Depression. The first was the arrival of LDS pioneers from the mid-19th century, followed by the influx of Italian immigrants following the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad. The third phase occurred around the 1920s, during what she calls the “golden age of family farming,” when agriculture was perhaps most intense in the area, once rural but now residential.

The 17 houses do not all meet the requirements to be officially designated as “historic,” said Nelson. Formal naming is sometimes out of reach for more humble homeowners as they lack the income necessary to make the changes necessary to obtain a historical naming.

Even so, those who live in the neighborhood say that it has a special energy.

“I love the story. I grew up with history. I’m part of the story, ”said Dave Montgomery. He lives in the area and is helping renovate one of the 17 houses that have been given a sign for his daughter.

Neighborhood boosters successfully campaigned against a perimeter zone of part of the area last week to allow townhouses to be built, fearing the change would change the character of the zone. The issue came before Ogden City Council on August 17, when the panel rejected the new zone application.

One of the new street signs displaying the honorary name of part of West Second Street, Chief Little Soldier Way. The photo was taken on Thursday, August 26th, 2021. (Tim Vandenack, standard examiner)

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