Remembering the Kendrick–Johnson Residence, 2587 W 3100 South

2587 W 3100 South – 2 Lost Homes

This single address tells the story of three very different eras in West Valley’s growth. The first home on the acreage was the original Kendrick house, built in 1874, a modest 706-square-foot pioneer dwelling that reflected the agricultural beginnings of the area. Around 1930, Caroline Elizabeth Kendrick and her husband Newell K. Johnson married in 1930 and moved into this new brick bungalow on the Kendrick property. A transitional design that blended early bungalow massing with Period Cottage details, illustrating the community’s shift from rural homesteads to suburban neighborhoods. Decades later, the home gave way to modern infrastructure as the property was cleared for the UTA TRAX West Valley light rail line, symbolizing the city’s transformation from farm fields to a transportation hub. Today, three images—pioneer home, bungalow, and rail line—capture this remarkable journey through time at one address

Built in 1874, the home was 706 sq ft. The Kendrick home

2587 W 3100 South – The 2nd lost home

The bungalow-style home once located at 2587 W 3100 South stood for more than seventy years before it was cleared to make way for UTA’s West Valley TRAX light rail line. Built in 1930, the house represented a transitional form of bungalow architecture with subtle influences from the Period Cottage style. Its arched entryway, decorative brick banding, and gabled porch reflected the growing influence of European design elements that became popular in Utah homes between 1925 and 1940.

The one-story brick home rested on a solid concrete foundation and displayed craftsmanship typical of the era. Visitors approached the north-facing porch by way of side stairs, entering through an arched opening set above a pebbled concrete sill. Large nine-light wood sash windows framed the front of the home, providing both charm and natural light. A brick chimney anchored the west side, while the rear “L” shape of the floor plan revealed later additions and updates, including aluminum sash windows that replaced some of the original wood frames.

Inside, the home underwent substantial changes over the years. The living room fireplace was partially absorbed into a reconfigured master bedroom. The kitchen, remodeled over time, had lost much of its original layout but still carried hints of its early 20th-century design. Owners Caroline Elizabeth Kendrick and Newell K. Johnson were among those who once called this bungalow home, their names preserved on assessor records even as the neighborhood around them shifted from farmland to suburb.

For decades, the house stood as part of a patchwork community where agriculture slowly gave way to subdivision growth. By the late 20th century, the once-rural setting had been absorbed into West Valley City, incorporated in 1980. The home at 2587 W 3100 South thus told the story of this transformation—from orchards and fields to a fast-growing suburban city.

Ultimately, the march of progress caught up with the property. As UTA expanded its TRAX system westward, the bungalow was slated for demolition to accommodate the West Valley light rail line. What was once a private family home became part of the public infrastructure of a modern city.

Though gone, the house at 2587 W 3100 South remains significant as a symbol of transition: from Bungalow to Period Cottage, from farm to suburb, and finally from a neighborhood residence to a light rail stop serving thousands of daily commuters. Its absence reminds us that even modest homes can carry within them the layered history of a community in motion.

2587 W 3100 South – Trax line

Circ 2025