Historic Ziemer Home Broom's Bench was first settled in the early 1850's. By 1854, Charles Zeimer and John Broom dug a canal known as the Zeimer-Broom Canal which went from Mill Creek to this area on the north side of lower 12th Street. Much of this area is now within the Defense Depot Ogden boundaries.1 By the late 1860's Brown's Bench housed many homes and farms and also continued to provide encampment sites for Indians, including Shoshoni Chief Little Soldier.2 Between 1884 and 1886 the Ziemer home was built on Broom's Bench by Charles A. Ziemer and his wife, Mary Eliza Price. Mary, a daughter of pioneers, requested that the builder make "a well built home that was mouse proof."3 The finished home was remarkable and uncommon in the 1880's era. It had inside plumbing with hot and cold water. The well and pump were powered by a windmill that forced the water to a second story storage tank with gravity flow to the first floor. The hot water tank was connected to the kitchen stove. The bathroom had a large enamel coated tub that stood on legs 3 inches above the floor, probably the first one of its kind in this part of the county. The interior of the house had several natural pine columns that were 9 inches in diameter. Varnished pine board covered supportive beams between the dining and living rooms and in the parlor. The sides of the curved staircase to the second floor were covered with a natural pine paneling allowing a storage closet under the stairs. The house was later enlarged and the interior heating was accomplished with a wood and coal burning furnace in the center of the basement. The heat escaped through a large central register with cool air ducts back to the furnace from various points of the house. The house had 2 first floor bedrooms and five other rooms. Four bedrooms were upstairs. Broom's Bench was well known for the Ziemer orchard and vegetable farm. In 1909 Charles' son, Walter, took over the farm. At this time, and up until the 1950's, agriculture played a major role in Weber County economics, and the Ziemer farm contributed large crops of fruit and vegetables which were shipped to market in refrigerated box cars on a nearby railroad spur. One year as many as 25 box cars were filled from the rich and productive farm. In addition to farming, Charles A. Ziemer was one of Ogden's prominent sheepmen in the 1920's who helped organized the Lindsay Land and Livestock Co.4 He also served in the Utah State Legislature. In 1935 the U.S. Army selected Ogden, more specifically Marriott, as the site for a general warehousing depot.5 The Ziemer house and farm were included in the l,100 acres purchased, and all of the old pioneer homes on these acres were destroyed except for one. Because of its unique structure and location, the Ziemer home remained intact and was used for the commander's quarters, a purpose it served until 1997. This house should be preserved as a museum to its varied past. It represents the last quarter of the 19th century, the end of the pioneer era, the first half of the 20th century, the rise of the agricultural era, and the second half of the 20th century in national service as commander's quarters. 1. Richard C. Roberts and Richard W. Sadler, A History of Weber County, 1997, Utah State Historical Society, Weber County Commission, p.65 note: The name Ziemer is spelled two ways depending on the reference used. 2. Nancy Moyes, History of Nancy Marinda Tracy Moyes, 1972, DUP, Bountiful Camp, p.8 3. Charles W. Ziemer and Walter A. Ziemer, Recollections of Ziemer Home, 1999, in possession of Derry Cartwright 4. Roberts and Sadler, A History of Weber County, p. 265 5. Ibid, p.289 compiled by Michael and Anna Keogh, 1999 28