THE HODSON HOME By Johnnie S. Peters 19 May 1978 One of the historical landmarks in Ogden, Utah is the Hodson home. It represents the heritage of the Hodson family and all the other pioneer families who brought civilization to the frontiers of Utah, when the state was first settled and given a civilized government. The Hodson home sits on land that was owned by a man named Miles M. Goodyear. He gained ownership of the land by virtue of a Spanish land grant made to him in 1841 by the government of Mexico. Mr. Goodyear built a picket fort and a few log houses near the Weber River, about 80 rods from the large sand mound. Mr. Goodyear lived at the fort with a few mountaineers and halfbreed Indians. His land started at the mouth of Weber Canyon and ran north for sixteen miles along the base of the Wasatch Mountains, then west to the Great Salt Lake, south along the lake shore to a point opposite the mouth of Weber Canyon and east to the mouth of Weber Canyon. On 6 June l848, Captain James Brown, a Mormon pioneer, arrived at the Goodyear fort and entered into negotations with Mr, Goodyear for the purchase of his land claims and all improvements, granted to him by the Spanish land grant. The purchase was finally made for the sum of three thousand dollars. The first settlement in the area was in l849, two miles north of present day Ogden. It was called Lynn. In 1850 President Brigham Young and others laid out the present city of Ogden. The reason for selecting this site was the rich and fertile lands laying along the Weber and Ogden Rivers. Also, the rivers provided good water power and facilities for irrigation, William Hodson emigrated from Penwortham, Lancashire, England to Nauvoo, Illinois in about l840 and to Utah in September, 1853. He met Ruth Ware, who had emigrated from Penwortham, Lancashire, England in 1855. They were married 9 February 1859 at Kaysville, Utah, William Hodson's sister, Elizabeth Hodson, married Joseph Allen. By 1863 both families had moved to Marriott, Weber County, Utah, They homesteaded on a tract of land in Weber County that consisted of 159.76 acres. In l864 a log cabin was built by William Hodson on a two acre piece of land that is located on West 12th Street, Ogden, Utah. The present location of Building 1309 which has served as the home for the Deputy Commander of Defense Depot Ogden until recently. In 1871 Joseph Allen obtained a deed to the 159.76 acre homestead, which was issued by the United States of America. This deed included the two acre plot of land on which William Hodson had built his cabin. William and Ruth Hodson lived in the log cabin until about 1872. In 1872 a new house was constructed on the two acre plot. The William Hodsons gave birth to a total of eleven children. Five of their children, two girls and three boys, died very young and did not live in the house which still stands today. The Hodsons moved into their new home with their three living children, William John, George Alma and a daughter, Mary Ann. Three of their children were born in their new home, Leonard Benjamin, Druscilla Rebecca and Delbert Franklin. In 1889 President Benjamin Harrison issued a presidential order that gave clear title to all owners of record in Weber County, Utah. Presumably in preparation for statehood. On 9 January 1892, Joseph Allen gave title to the two acre plot of ground and to the house that William Hodson had built upon that plot, to his brother-in-law, William Hodson and his wife Ruth. On 12 September 1904 William Hodson and his wife Ruth, deeded the Hodson home to their youngest son, Delbert Franklin Hodson. Delbert Franklin Hodson married Elizabeth Butler on 1 March 1911 Approximately one year after their marriage and after their first child, Mildred Ruth was born they took up residence in the family home with the elder Hodsons. Six more children, Frank LeRoy, Phyllis Agnes, Grant Ware, Carl William, Dorothy Elizabeth and Fae Jean were born and raised while they lived there, making a total of seven children, four girls and three boys. In 1912 Delbert Franklin had the Hodson home remodeled and it assumed its present appearance. The walls were made from adobe bricks which were molded by William Hodson himself. The walls are about 20 inches thick. When the house was remodeled, the front was constructed of brick, three bricks thick. The whole house was then stuccoed. The house would have been passed on to the youngest son, Carl William Hodson, but that was not to be. 406