Standard Operating Procedures

Utah State Historic Preservation Office

(Revised 6/93)

Intensive level surveys involve three separate tasks: (A) research on the property and its owners, (B) documentation of the property's physical appearance, and (C) completion of the Historic Site Form. Instructions for each of those tasks are given below.

A. RESEARCHING THE PROPERTY

First, check to see whether the building has already been documented. The Office of Preservation at the Utah State Historical Society has files on thousands of buildings throughout the state. If there is no information on the building in the file, or if it is incomplete, you should check the following sources to complete the documentation:

1. Tax file (County Assessor's Office) -- Obtain the tax serial number from the ownership plat maps and have the clerk pull the file for that property. The most important item in the file is the legal description of the property, though there also may be an estimated date of construction (don't trust it completely), an old photograph of the building, and perhaps other structural information.* You may wish to photocopy the tax file in order to have a copy of all that information for future reference. At a minimum, you should copy down the name and address of the current owner and the legal description of the property, preferably on the Title Search Form. You will use the legal description to research the ownership of the property, as explained in #2. (*Salt Lake County has moved many of its old tax files to its Records Management and Archives department, so check there if you can't find anything in the regular tax file.)

2. Title abstracts (County Recorder's Office) -- The title abstract records are organized by plat, block, and lot numbers for properties in incorporated areas; township, range, and section designations are used for unincorporated areas. Research all the transactions involving the property specified in the legal description, noting the dates, names of buyers and sellers, dollar amounts, and types of transactions (warranty deed, quit claim deed, mortgage, etc.). Copy the information on the important transactions onto the Title Search Form. Important transactions are those that involve the actual change of ownership or that might indicate when the building was constructed or altered. Indications of a construction date are the first relatively large mortgage or the dramatic increase in the selling price of the property. It is not necessary to copy down all of the later mortgages, tax sales, releases, etc. You may begin your search with the current owner and work your way back to the beginning, or vice versa. Some properties are easier to research from past to present, and others from present to past.

3. Sanborn Maps -- (The Historical Society has a list of which maps are available and where they are located.) These fire insurance maps were drawn for over 75 communities in Utah, many as early as the 1880s, and were updated approximately every decade through the 1920s with some updates into the 1940s and later. The maps show each building on the principal residential and commercial blocks, and they are color coded to indicate the various construction materials. By comparing the maps from different years, you can establish an approximate date of construction and can determine approximately when and what types of changes have been made to the building and surrounding property.

4. Building permits (Salt Lake City only) 1890-1927, USHS Library; after 1927+, State Archives -- These give the date the permit was issued, the address of the property, the estimated cost of construction, a brief description of the building, the name of the owner, and sometimes the names of the architect and builder. They are arranged in chronological order; some, however, have recently been organized by address as well.

5. Newspapers (USHS and university libraries) -- Newspapers for many Utah communities are on microfilm:

a. Small town newspapers -- These are generally weekly newspapers. Information about the construction of major buildings in the community--schools, churches, public buildings, commercial buildings--usually appears on the front page. References to the construction of houses are often found in the "local" column.

b. Deseret Weekly News -- The construction of buildings and other happenings in many small towns were reported in this newspaper during the 1850s-1900. An index available at the USHS Library makes it easy to locate relevant articles.

c. Large city newspapers -- Daily newspapers, such as the Deseret News and the Salt Lake Tribune, usually have a real estate section in which most of the important construction news appears. Information about the construction of individual houses is also given, though not on a consistent or complete basis. Advertisements in this section by builders and real estate firms are also useful sources of information, often highlighting recently completed buildings.

d. Annual "List of Buildings" for Salt Lake City -- These appear in the January 1st issue of the Salt Lake Tribune from 1889 until 1899. The lists give the location, cost, brief description, and name of the owner of each building constructed during the previous year.

e. "List of Buildings" for Ogden -- This list is the same as that described above for Salt Lake City. However, it appears only one time--Salt Lake Tribune, January 1, 1892, p. 39 (for buildings constructed in 1891).

6. Architects File (Historic Preservation Office) -- Information about many of the architects and builders in Utah are included in this file, along with lists of some of the buildings they designed or constructed. Actual drawings of historic buildings are extremely rare since most houses were not individually designed by formally schooled architects. Even the drawings of many of Utah's prominent architects are unavailable. The best collection of historic architectural drawings is in Special Collections at the U of U Library. They are organized under each architect's name, so you must determine who the architect of the building is before you begin searching for specific drawings. The Utah State Historical Society Library also has a few architectural drawings (check with librarian).

7. Biographical information on owners can be found in the following sources:

a. City directories (larger cities only) -- These annual listings provide the names, addresses and occupations of almost everyone in the city. They are arranged alphabetically by name in the early years, but from 1924 on they are organized by both name and address. Directories are useful in verifying when a house was built and whether the owner lived in it himself or rented it out (USHS and other libraries).

b. State gazetteers -- These annual volumes include virtually every community in the state, but unlike city directories, they do not give home addresses and usually list only businessmen (USHS and other libraries).

c. Biographical index -- Arranged alphabetically by name, this card catalog references names found in publications at the USHS library.

d. Biographical encyclopedias such as Pioneers and Prominent Men, Utah's Distinguished Personalities, etc. (USHS and other libraries) contain information about many of the prominent individuals in Utah.

e. Genealogical records (LDS Church Family History Library or family records)

f. Census schedules (available on microfilm at USHS and university libraries) -- These list each member of the household, dates of birth and marriage, occupations, etc. In the 1900 and 1910 census schedules the address of each household is also sometimes given. Census schedules are arranged by county and city and are available for each decade from 1850 to 1910 (1890 excluded).

g. Family histories -- Written histories, journals, letters, etc. are sometimes available from family members. Verbal accounts from the family and others associated with the property are also often useful.

h. Obituary Index (available on microfilm at USHS, university and genealogical libraries) -- Indexes obituaries in the Salt Lake Tribune and the Deseret News from 1850 to 1970. The Salt Lake Tribune is also indexed separately from 1940 to the present. If the person you are researching is from a small town, you may wish to see if the obituary in the local newspaper is more detailed.

1. Photographs -- The minimum requirement is two photographs of the building, one from a front corner (showing primarily the main facade) and one from the opposite rear corner. Photographs from these angles should give fairly complete coverage of the building's exterior. If there are outbuildings on the property you should photograph them as well. Photographs may be either color slides or black-and-white or color prints (3-1/2" x 5" or larger prints are preferred, but contact prints are acceptable for the black-and-white). Polaroids are not acceptable. You may wish to take both color slides and black-and-white prints as slides can be used for presentations, and prints for publications and future National Register nominations. Though not required, it is strongly recommended that you obtain duplicates of old photographs of the building if they are available. The best sources for old photographs are family photograph collections and the tax files at the County Assessor's Office. If possible, please submit all slides, prints, and negatives in archivally stable protective storage pages.

2. U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Map -- Indicate the location of the building on a photocopy of the map and label it with the name or address of the property. Full-size USGS maps for each building are not required.

3. Measured Drawings -- These are not required at this time, though they are recommended as an important means of understanding buildings. The interior and exterior of the building should be measured so that a floor plan drawing can be made that will show the room arrangement, locations of windows and doors, and wall thicknesses. Elevation drawings are not necessary.

4. Sketch Map of Site -- This is recommended for sites with outbuildings or other associated structures. The purpose of the sketch map is to show the layout of the entire property. This is especially important in rural areas where there are a number of outbuildings, corrals, fences, ditches, and so forth associated with the house. It is not necessary to actually measure the entire property, though the map should be generally accurate to scale. Sketch maps should have a north arrow, a scale, and a legend on the map. Using graph paper can make mapping easier and more accurate.

In order to complete the form properly, please follow the instructions below and refer to the completed example.

1. Identification

Name of Property -- For houses, use the name of the original owner (e.g., Smith, John, House). In cases where the original owner was not the principal, long-term occupant, combine the last names of the original owner and the principal owner with a hyphen (e.g., Smith-Johnson House). For non-residential buildings, use the historic name of the building, which was usually the name of the business or institution that first occupied the building (e.g., Commercial Bank Building, Thurber School, Salt Lake City Tenth Ward Chapel).

Address -- Provide the address, city, and county.

Current Ownership -- Give the name and address of the owner.

Township, Range, Section -- Fill these in only for properties that are located outside of a town and do not have an address. These designations can be found at the County Recorder's office or on the USGS map for the area.

UTM (Universal Transverse Mercator) grid reference -- Optional. Usually used only for very remote sites.

USGS Map Name & Date -- Give the name and date of the USGS map on which the property appears (e.g., Heber City Quad/1975).

Tax Number -- Give the official tax number assigned to the property by the County Assessor.

Legal Description -- This should be copied verbatim from the tax file for the property. Give the acreage of the property as well.

2. Status/Use

Property Category -- Check the appropriate box for the principal resource on the property.

Evaluation -- Check the appropriate box based on the property's potential eligibility for listing in the National Register. This should be based on age (50 years or older), architectural integrity and the potential to meet one of the four National Register criteria: (a) associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of our history; or (b) associated with the lives of persons significant in our past; or (c) embody distinctive characteristics of a type, period or method of construction, or that represent the work of a master, or that possess high artistic values, or that represent a significant and distinguishable entity whose components may lack individual distinction; or (d) have yielded, or may likely yield, information important in prehistory or history [this usually applies only to archaeological sites].

Use -- Residential, commercial, religious, educational, etc.

3. Documentation

Photos/Dates -- Check the appropriate boxes and provide the dates of the photographs that accompany this form.

Drawings and Plans -- Check the appropriate box for any plans or drawings that accompany this form or that are known to be available.

Research Sources -- Check the boxes of all the sources that were consulted, whether they yielded any information or not.

Bibliographical References -- Use standard bibliographical citation format for all sources that were used. For unpublished materials, please give the location where they can be found. For interviews, give the names of the narrator and interviewer, date of the interview and location of transcription.

Researcher/Organization -- Provide the name of the researcher and the organization that sponsored the intensive survey.

Date -- Give the month and year the form was completed.

Building Style/Type -- This information can be obtained from the data provided by the Reconnaissance Survey, if it has been completed. If a reconnaissance survey has not yet been done, use the type and style designations outlined in Utah's Historic Architecture, 1847 - 1940 by Thomas Carter and Peter Goss (University of Utah Graduate School of Architecture and the Utah State Historical Society, 1988).

No. Stories -- Wall dormers or gable end windows into occupiable space typically constitutes a half (1/2 or .5) story.

Foundation Material: Typically stone, brick or concrete. Please note if original material has been plastered.

Wall Material(s) -- Give only the principal materials used on the walls (e.g., brick, stone, adobe, drop siding, shingle).

Additions -- Mark the appropriate category (none, minor, major) and describe below any minor or major additions, including dates.

Alterations -- Mark the appropriate category (none, minor, major) and describe below any minor or major alterations, including dates.

Number of associated outbuildings and/or structures -- Self-explanatory

Description -- It is not usually necessary to give a detailed description of the physical appearance of the building and its significant architectural features, since the photographs should show virtually all of the exterior features. However, this information is required: (1) a brief description of any additions or alterations that have been made to the building; (2) a list and brief description (materials, estimated dates, condition, contributory/non-contributory status, etc.) of any outbuildings on the property; and (3) description of any features not adequately shown in the photos. Use a continuation sheet if there is not enough space on the form.

Architect/Builder -- Fill in with either the names of the architect and builder or "unknown."

Date of Construction -- Give the year the building was constructed. If the date is uncertain, use "probably" or circa (c.) for the most likely date.

Historic Themes -- Indicate which of these themes this property represents. Use "S" for significant associations and "C" for contributing associations, those that contribute to a better understanding of a theme but are not significant. Examples: "S" for Art for the home of a significant artist; "S" for Architecture for a significant example of an architectural style or type; "C" for Agriculture for a "typical" farmstead; "C" for Architecture for a well-preserved but unexceptional example of a particular style or type. Be inclusive rather than overly selective.

History -- This should be a chronological history of the building that provides the names of the owners, the dates of their ownership or occupation, biographical information, and other historical information pertaining to the construction and use of the building. Though the focus of this history should be the original owner and the principal early occupants, brief mention should also be made of the building's more recent history (see the example). Use a continuation sheet if there is not enough space on the form. Use footnotes to reference the sources of key points of the building's history.

Intensive Level Survey Checklist

Sample Historic Site Form