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Kumen
Jones House
Built
by Kumen Jones
in the late 1880's. Kumen was born in Ceder City, Utah, on
May 5, 1856, and married Mary Nielson in 1878.
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He
took a second wife in 1882, Lydia May Lyman. In 1878, Kumen
was called by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
to join an exploring party into southeastern Utah's San Juan
River Country. This expedition brought him to Bluff, Utah.
Jones was one of the first settlers in Bluff, and made his
living as a cattle rancher.
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With
the help of local master stone masons and carpenters Nicholas
Lovis, Ed Thompson, and H.T. Hibbs, the Kumen Jones house was
built along with other large houses in the historic Bluff townsite.
The house became a Victorian eclectic cross-wing home with two
stories. The foundation was stone with quarried Bluff sandstone
walls. |
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Around
1975, a fire burned the house, and the entire interior and
roof were gutted. The fire caused several large sections of
the stone walls to collapse. All that is left of the house
now is a ruin.
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Over time, numerous
stone blocks have been carried away from the ruin. Sections
which are still standing are the north and east walls, parts
of the west and south walls of the main (north) wing, and
the southeast corner walls of the south wing. Some window
openings are arched with stones cut in a quoin pattern on
the sides.
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The
house has some of the most elegant stone work in Bluff despite
its ruinous state. The Kumen Jones house is now owned by local
Blanding residents and is an historical monument in Bluff.
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To take a virtual
tour of Bluff's Historic District, click on any of the houses in
the map below, or their corresponding names under the map.
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