Draper preservation commission votes to film the Nielsen House and weighs a last $1,800

Draper's Historic Preservation Commission voted at its Oct. 21 meeting to proceed with a walkthrough video of the Nielsen House on Fort Street, with the Nielsen family willing to narrate, according to a summary of the meeting published by OpenPublica 1. Funds were allocated and the motion carried unanimously 1. The posted agenda listed the item as the commission's "Walk-through Video Tour of Historic Homes" 2.

The house is currently vacant, the summary states 1.

The city's Historic Sites and Tours page lists five completed home tours, each recorded by a homeowner 3. The earliest is at 12464 South 700 East, built between 1853 and 1863 for Isaac M. Stewart and narrated by current owner Caralyn Buehner 3. Two Fort Street houses follow: the 1898 Benjamin and Olivia Meek house at 12782 Fort Street, and the 1898 Antone James and Ester Elizabeth Nielson house at 12758 Fort Street, both narrated by Carl Clark 3. A third Fort Street house, built between 1861 and 1867 for Andrew Burnham and Harriet Kimball Burnham, was narrated by Kent Ware 3. The newest entry, on 13200 South, dates to 1899 and 1900 3. It was the home of J.R. Allen and his wife, Matilda Caroline Allen, and the tour was narrated by former owner Doug Carlson and by Paul Smith, a grandson of J.R. Allen 3.

The city's page spells the 1898 Fort Street family's name "Nielson," while the meeting summary and the Draper Herald use "Nielsen" 14. Neither states the address of the house the commission voted to film 14.

Jennifer Jastremsky, the city's community development director and the commission's staff liaison, told the Draper Journal that the commission's walking and driving tours cover only exterior architecture while the video program captures what is inside; the Draper Herald reported her remarks 4. The commission's own page lists the community development director as staff liaison 5.

Staff reported about $1,800 unallocated and available for intensive level surveys or National Register nominations, and commissioners named the Henry Day House and Pirate O's as possible candidates, subject to the owners' interest 1.

The commission approved the minutes of Sept. 16 and Sept. 30 and adopted a 2027 schedule that takes July and December off, both by unanimous vote, according to the summary 1. The commission meets on the third Wednesday of each month at 6 p.m. 5. A commissioner reported that walking tour brochures had been distributed to libraries, senior centers and a charter school, and that new businesses and hotels were suggested as future distribution points 1. The Draper Bank sign project is waiting on legal paperwork from the city attorney, with a sign and a framed history display planned 1. Commissioner Nancy Nichols was appointed liaison to the Draper Historical Society 1. An article on the Dominguez-Escalante Expedition is scheduled for the next issue of Draper 40 1.

One commissioner reported that a family the commission has approached is reluctant to take part in further public history events because of privacy concerns, and members discussed how to respond 1. The Draper Herald reported separately that David Hales updated the commission on collecting records related to the Akagi family farm 4.

That farm is documented in a university archive. Nelson Takeo Akagi was born in Lindsay, California, in 1923, and after the federal government targeted his family in 1942 they sold the California farm and worked a sugar beet farm in Parker, Idaho rather than face imprisonment, later moving to a farm in Draper, according to the biographical note accompanying his photograph collection at the University of Utah 6. Akagi enlisted in 1943, served as a machine gunner and forward observer in the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, was honorably discharged in 1946, and worked the family fruit farm in Draper until 1995, when the family decided to develop the land 6. He received the Congressional Gold Medal in 2011 and the French Legion of Honor in 2020, and died on Sept. 19, 2020; the collection holds 372 items spanning 1943 to 2007 6.

The commission also reviewed the Widowmaker plaque ceremony and counted it a success, with attendance estimates ranging from at least 50 to upwards of 100 1. The plaque at Widowmaker Flight Park honors the motorcycle hill climb on Steep Mountain and the Bee's Motorcycle Club, which drew riders and spectators from 1965 to 1988, the Draper Herald reported 4.

The agenda gives the meeting date as Oct. 21 2; the OpenPublica summary is dated Oct. 22 1. An acting chair presided because the regular chair and staff were absent 1.