By BOBBIE GREEN
The Progress
Two of Mesquite’s oldest buildings got a clean-up last week by local volunteers. It was done just in time for a historical tour which is being hosted next month by the Mesquite Senior Games (MSG) organization.
MSG Director Amy Bradshaw and a group of volunteers teamed up with Susan Wolfe and the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) Club members on Tuesday, Mar. 23 with tools and cleaning supplies in hand.
The group spent the entire day cleaning out the old Rock House and the Old Relief Society House. Both buildings are part of the Mesquite Historical Walking Tour which includes a number of sites.
Society President Geraldine Zarate said that the two historic houses are on “arrested development” status. That means that they must be maintained by the City who owns them, while awaiting grant funding to do restoration work on them.
“We are grateful to the city for purchasing the houses to be preserved,” said Zarate.
The houses are in dire need of repair and restoration. That work must be done soon or they will no longer be able to be restored, Zarate said.
Volunteer worker John Rosen, who is an MSG board member said, “We are happy to be part of any effort to preserve and protect the legacy of Mesquite.”
The clean-up crew consisted of DAR Ladies, Senior Games board and participants along with Vets from the Mesquite Veterans Center and interested citizens.
Neither building has water or electricity connected to it. Nic Montoya, director of Athletics and Leisure Service for the City saved the day by bringing generators and a shop vac so that the volunteers had the use of vacuums to clean up the interior of the buildings.
“I am grateful for all the people who came to help clean up the properties,” Bradshaw said. “They look a lot better now. But they still need a lot of work.”
The Rock house at 110 East First North Street is one of the first dwellings built in the original settlement of Mesquite Flats, as it was called then. The house was built circa 1880. It was continuously used as a home from 1894 to 2003.
No wood was available in Mesquite Flats at the time, so the home was built of rocks with clay & sand mortar in between. The thick walls helped keep the inside cool in the extreme summer heat.
Mary Leavitt was one of the first to live in the Rock House.
The old Relief Society House at 21 North Willow Street is in the better shape of the two. In the early 20th century, the local “Relief Society” women of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints decided to establish a gathering place, welfare center and quilting house. They pledged personal money for a time to pay for the construction.
The small one-room facility was dedicated on February 23, 1929 on a lot donated by James E. Hughes.
The building was soon outgrown by the expanding Relief Society membership. So the Relief Society women raised funds through bake sales, dances, selling quilts and putting on plays. Their perseverance and ingenuity inspired donation of all sorts from residence of both Moapa and Virgin Valleys.
In 1943 a baptismal font was installed. On the tour you can see where the wooden floor in one of the rooms could be raised to uncover the cement font. The font was filled with water from an irrigation ditch.
Eventually the facility was sold when the new church building was built with a Relief Society Room in it. It was finally converted into a residence for the Wesley Hughes family.
A guided historical tour is being offered by the Mesquite Senior Games organization on April 14-17. Spots are still open for tours on April 16-17. Those wishing to sign up for one of these hour-long historical walking tours can go to www.mesquiteseniorgames.org or call 503-318-6523.
