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Interesting Facts About the Home
The home served as the Fairbanks family residence as well as a hospitable center for friends and Church members. Brigham Young and other Church leaders, such as Elder George A. Smith of the Quorum of the Twelve, made it their headquarters when they would visit Payson during the time John Boylston Fairbanks was bishop (1862-69). The south upstairs bedroom became known as "Brigham Young's Room."
- The home was where Brigham Young received the telegram in which Martin Harris requested readmission into the Church.
- The home was where Brigham Young tarried on a return trip from St. George, Utah, and deliberately missed the Golden Spike ceremony at Promontory, Utah in 1869 as a protest against the railroads. (Click here to read a lengthy history of the building of the railroad and the injustices done to the Mormon men who worked on the railroad, most likely why Brigham Young was in quiet protest)
- The home was where a "School of the Prophets" was organized in the upstairs rooms in September of 1868.
- The home became a trading post where meetings were held to negotiate peaceful relations with Indians. Friendly Indians were welcome to camp on the property.
- The home served as a relay station for Pony Express riders.
- The home was the birthplace of pioneer artist, John B Fairbanks.
- Nine of the 13 children of John Boylston and Sarah Van Wagoner Fairbanks lived in the home.
Following are memories by Alicia F. Simmons about the home:
- There was a store in the front room run by J. B. Fairbanks.
- The north upstairs room was dedicated as the School of the Prophets.
- It was insulated with straw between the floor of the upstairs room and the ceiling of the lower room.
- The four front rooms were the original home built in 1853. There was an old kitchen on the back for a while. After that kitchen was torn down, the big kitchen was built, and an office, and a porch on the back and later torn down.
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