United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
Wrathall, James and Penninah, House
Grantsville, Utah 84029
Utah Division of State History, Office of Historic Preservation
Form Prepared By Korral Broschinsky / Preservation Documentation Resource
Grantsville CLG
December 1, 2005
Property Owner: Janice & Sigmund Sommerfeld
HISTORY OF THE JAMES & PENNINAH WRATHALL HOUSE
The community of Grantsville was settled on October 10, 1850, three years
after the first settlement of the Salt Lake Valley by members of the Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church or Mormon Church).
After several altercations with the nomadic Native Americans who camped in
the area, the Grantsville area was settled and known as Willow Creek. In
1852 a town site was surveyed and in 1853, the town was renamed Grantsville
in honor of George D. Grant, who led a company of the territorial militia
to protect the settlement. In April of 1890, James L. Wrathall bought
Lots 1 & 2 of the Grantsville survey's Block 3 from fellow Grantsville
pioneer John Eastham (1820 - 1893). At the time a small Victorian cottage
was located in the southeast corner of Lot 1. The Wrathall family lived
in the cottage while their substantial brick home was construction. The
local newspaper pinpointed the construction year in an article dated November
25, 1898, which read: "Bishop Wrathal's [sic] fine home is nearly completed,
all of the latest modern design, and shows the skill and fine machanical
[sic] labor of C. Z. Schaffer, the builder."1
James Leishman Wrathall was born in Grantsville on September 22, 1860.
He was the son of prominent Grantsville pioneers, James Wrathall (1828
- 1896) and Mary Leishman Marston (1822 - 1871), English immigrants who came
to Utah in 1850 [sic]. On February 2, 1882, James L. Wrathall married Penninah
Hunter.2 Penninah Susan Hunter was born in Grantsville
on January 14, 1862. She was the daughter of Edward Hunter (1821 -
1892) and Mary Ann Whitesides (1825 - 1914), who were also English immigrants.
James and Penninah had ten children, with the last two born after they
moved into their new house.3
James Wrathall's early life was spent herding his father's cattle and sheep
on the plains of Tooele County. He saved and invested, eventually becoming
the owner of several large herds of sheep and cattle. He also acquired
over 4,000 acres of farm and ranchland. He raised hay and sugar beets. He
had a large fruit orchard, which included apples and other small fruits.
As a prosperous rancher and farmer, he had numerous business interests: North
Willow Irrigation Company, president; Richville Milling Company (flour mill
in Tooele), president; Utah-Idaho Sugar Company, stockholder; Consolidated
Wagon & Machine Company, stockholder; etc. James Wrathall was a
member of the Grantsville City Council. He also served on the Grantsville
School Board for thirteen years and on the Tooele County Board of Education
for seventeen years. He held numerous leadership positions in the LDS Church,
including serving as Grantsville's bishop between 1890 and 1906. A
biographical sketch of James L. Wrathall written in 1919 began: "There is
no name perhaps that figures more conspicuously and honorably in connection
with the business development of Grantsville and Tooele County than does
the name of Wrathall. James L. Wrathall is now extensively engaged in
farming in this section of the state and he is also at the head of various
important business enterprises which constitute a dominant factor in the
general development and progress of the district in which he lives."4
An earlier biographic sketch, noted that "He makes his home in Grantsville,
where he erected, in 1898, a beautiful home of twelve rooms. The house
is a two-story brick, and modern in every respect."5
According to Lisa Miller, "The Wrathall house was known as one of the most
elegant residences in Grantsville. Local citizens still remember the rosettes
which adorned the ceilings in the original parlor and dining room and a grand
stairway which features a beautiful stained glass window. The house is also
believed to be the first residence in Grantsville to have acquired electricity."6
Hazel Johnson, the youngest daughter of James and Penninah, remembers the
silverware (which she had to polish every Sunday) and the napkins had the
family's initials on them.7
At the age of seventy-three, James L. Wrathall gathered his family around
him at home and predicted his death. He died the following day, November
29, 1932. In addition to raising ten children, Penninah Wrathall served
in the Relief Society and Primary organizations of the LDS Church.
She also served as the president of her local Daughters of Utah Pioneers organization.
Penninah Hunter Wrathall died on November 16, 1934. A portion of the
property (Lot 2) had been deeded to a son, Morris Y. Wrathall, in 1931. After
Penninah’s death, the remainder went to Irene Wrathall Page in 1936. Irene
Page was listed as living with her parents on the 1930 census enumeration.
Irene was born on February 13, 1890 in Grantsville. She married
George W. Page in 1918. He died in 1936. It is not known how
long Irene lived in the house, but she did rent it out for a few years. In
1944, she sold the property to her sister, Hazel Wrathall Johnson. Irene
Page died in Missouri on April 5, 1973. Hazel Wrathall was born on
July 18, 1905, the youngest child of James and Penninah. She married
Milan Johnson on November 17, 1921. Milan "Mike" C. Johnson was born
on October 5, 1903, in Grantsville. They had eight children. The
Johnsons remodeled the house and restored portions of the downstairs in the
1950s. They lived in the home until their deaths. He died on
September 22, 1978, and she died on August 24, 1993. In 1994, ownership
was transferred to their daughter, Janice Johnson Sommerfeld, and her husband
Sigmund Sommerfeld, who are the current owners.
(1) Tooele Transcript,
November 25, 1898.
(2) Her name also appears as Pennina or Peniah.
(3) In 1900 James L. Wrathall married a second woman, Charlotte Elizabeth
Rowberry (1873-1934) with whom he had four sons. Charlotte and her family
maintained a separate household. She lived in Centerville and Salt Lake City.
She moved frequently, living in her hometown of Grantsville for short period
of time probably because the LDS Church had officially discontinued the practice
of polygamy in 1890. She is not mentioned in biographical material of James
L. Wrathall's life published during his lifetime.
(4) Utah Since Statehood: Historical and Biographical, Volume
III, (Chicago-Salt Lake: S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, 1919), 274.
(5) Biographical Record of Salt Lake City and Vicinity: Containing
Biographies of Well Known Citizens of the Past and Present, (Chicago:
National Historical Record Co., 1902), 423.
(6) Lisa Thompson, Wrathall, James L., House, Historic Site
Form. Available at the Utah State Historic Preservation Office.
(7) Conversations - the Generation's Link by the Grantsville
High School English Department, Spring, 1989: 68.