Hyrum Stevens Homestead

The old homestead built by my Grandfather Hyrum Wallace Stevens in Mount Carmel, Utah is mostly gone now.    Not much left anymore but the old milk house/ grain storage building is still there and very solid, along with many terraced rock walls.  The foundation of the Milk house was a very thick stone wall, built to keep the milk cool in those hot summers of southern Utah.  Later, when I get the photos of the house taken back in the 1930’s from my brother, I will share that as well.   We stopped here briefly on our way to my cousin’s funeral, and got to meet the new owners who have the home to the right now.  Grandpa’s home was on the hill to the left, above  rock walls just out of the first photo.  There are photos below of the homesite as well.

I was so filled with emotion walking around on this land.. thinking of our Mom, Nina Stevens, and how she was raised here as the middle of 11 children.  Her first school bus was a horse drawn sleigh in winter, and wagon in summer.  When the family made a trip to Kanab it took half a day to get there, traveling down the river valley in a buggy or wagon pulled by horses.  They had to watch for some nasty patches of quicksand that could swallow horses and wagons!  Electricity was unheard of and lanterns provided light at night.  Mom took her turn milking cows before school, especially when Grandpa was gone for two years on a mission for the LDS church and Grandma was alone with the kids.  The older boys and girls helped run the farm, milk the cows and take care of the younger children.

So many stories Mom told us or wrote down, I cannot begin to mention them all here, but will try to share some from time to time.

From this angle, the old home would have been behind the old milk house. Grandpa Stevens built this very solid, with a thick stone bottom half to this 2 story structure. The top half was accessed from the hill on the back side.

Donetta and the old Milk house

the top half of the Milk house might have been used for grain storage if I remember correctly.

brother Dennis and the old Milk House

my brother Dennis Black and wife Donetta in front of the old Milk house built by Grandpa Stevens

my brother Dennis Black and wife Donetta in front of the old Milk house built by Grandpa Stevens

my brother Dennis Black and wife Donetta in front of the old Milk house built by Grandpa Stevens

I think the old home was just above this area

The fall weather was glorious in Mount Carmel, Utah on October 18, 2014

This might have been the porch of Grandpa’s old home

In the distance Sugar Knoll was something Mom saw every day in her Mount Carmel home.

part of the old walls

It was a gorgeous Fall day in Mount Carmel, Utah

I imagine these boards were part of the porch or home built by Grandpa Hyrum Stevens

Old Home site where Nina Stevens grew up