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Built
in the early 1890s
by Willard (Dick) Butt. Born at Parowan, Utah, Butt was one
of the original Bluff settlers. He opened a sawpit near Verdure
in 1881, and the first steampowered sawmill in the county
in 1891. It is likely for this reason that his house is of
lumber rather stone. Butt served as the first sheriff of San
Juan County.
It is
a two story Victorian eclectic central block house with a
projecting three-sided bay. The main roof is a mansard style.
Two red brick chimneys project through the roof and both are
located on the eastern side of the house. The original exterior
walls are finished with horizontal bevel wood siding, and
the gables with a fish scale design. The lower story windows
are uniformly placed around the walls, and are basic rectanglar
double-hung windows. The upper story has projecting shed dormers,
spaced at varying intervals across the walls.
A major
addition to the house was the restoration of the exterior
porch. The porch was a later addition to the home, but the
date it was originally built is unknown. The porch was taken
down and rebuilt in 1990, in a Victorian style that is consistent
with the original architecture of the house. The porch consists
of sawn wood elements in a scrolled pattern comprising the
verticals of the rails, and turned spindles along the eaves,
supported by S-shaped consoles. The most recent owner purchased
the house in 1999. The extensive, ongoing Victorian style
interior renovation includes maple tongue and grove flooring
from a turn-of-the-century school.
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