Camp W.G. Williams Hostess House – Riverton UT

Description

The WPA and FERA built the “Hostess House” at the recently opened Camp Williams National Guard training site in 1935. From the National Register of Historic Places:

“This public works-sponsored building is an example of the Period Revival/ English Tudor style. It is a 1-story building with a broad steeply pitched gable roof. The plan is basically rectangular and there are two projecting gables placed off-center on the principal elevation. Marking the location of the main entrance, these gables are slightly off-set and serve to emphasize the asymmetry of the English Tudor design. Half-timbering, another trademark of the English Tudor style, is found in the gable end of the rear (east) cross gable. The frame walls are faced with stone in a random, rustic fashion and there are several large stone chimneys placed internally on the ridge. The windows are small and of the casement type. The building remains in good original condition and the red asphalt roof is the only major alteration.

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Built in 1935-38, the Camp Williams’ Hostess House (Officers 1 Club) is part of the Public Works Buildings Thematic Resources nomination and is significant because it helps document the impact of New Deal programs in Utah, which was one of the states that the Great Depression of the 1930s most severely affected.

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“The Utah National Guard Camp Williams’ Hostess House is one of 233 public works buildings identified in Utah that were built during the 1930s and early 1940s. Only 130 of those 233 buildings are known to remain today and retain their historic integrity. In addition to this building, 11 National Guard armories were built in Utah under federal programs; 5 of them are left. In Salt Lake County 20 buildings were constructed, of which 10 are left. The Hostess House at Camp W. G. Williams was built between 1935 and 1938 as a Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA) and WPA project at a cost of $32,735.54. It was intended as a place where the wives and families of officers and men at the camp might call to see them and where socials might be held.”

From the Deseret News, “The building was constructed of split-stone rubble, faced both inside and outside, and presents a moderately true surface. The rock is a quartzite with a pleasing yellowish brown color, and makes an attractive interior finish without plaster or paint. The fireplace in the main visiting room was constructed of split stone rubble with opposite halves of stone placed symmetrically about the centerline. The chandeliers were constructed of sabres and bayonets captured during the World War.”