The Little House on 5600 West: 90 Years of West Valley History

Gone but Not Forgotten: The 1930 Crosswing Home of 3567 South 5600 West

Once standing along the west side of 5600 West, the home at 3567 South told a quiet story of nearly a century of West Valley history. Built around 1930, this small vernacular crosswing house was a simple, sturdy residence—only about 20 feet by 20 feet—yet it carried with it the character of the early 20th century. Resting on a poured concrete foundation and clad in clapboard siding, its clipped-gable roof and central brick chimney gave it a familiar, welcoming silhouette.

Generations passed through its wooden front door, which featured three vertical glass panes that once let light into the small living space. The front stoop was modest, just a single concrete step up from the yard. In later years, the home sat abandoned, with shrubs and weeds taking root along its southern wall, a quiet reminder of how time changes all things.

Behind the home stood a small one-car garage, also built in the 1930s. With its drop siding, exposed rafter tails, and old double swing-out doors, the garage once sheltered the vehicles of earlier residents—perhaps even the first family’s Model A Ford. A concrete-lined irrigation ditch ran across the front of the property, still carrying water long after the home’s doors and windows were boarded shut.

Property History

The house at 3567 South 5600 West was built in 1930 for Mary Moesser, who had inherited the land from her parents in 1926 following the distribution of her father’s estate. Born September 30, 1908, in Hunter, Mary was the eighth child of Joseph Henry and Martha Maria Evans Moesser. She married Frank Van Onnan Clark on September 15, 1927, and together they had three children. The home was constructed just three years after their wedding, likely marking the beginning of their married life on this quiet stretch of 5600 West.

The Clarks owned the property for a decade before Mary deeded it to Della Bolton in April 1940. Shortly after, the Clarks moved out of the area. Frank Clark passed away in 1976, and Mary—later known as Mary Keller after remarrying—was widowed again in later life. She remained a Salt Lake City resident, though little else is recorded about her later years.

Della Bolton, born Anna Adell Day on July 26, 1885, was the daughter of Arza Boyce and Charlotte Thomas Day. She had married LeRoy Jackson Bolton in 1907, and together they raised four children. By the time Della received the 3567 South property from Mary Clark in 1940, she had been widowed for seven years. She held the home for more than three decades, eventually deeding it in February 1972 to her three children as joint trustees. She passed away just five months later, on July 3, 1972. That September, the Bolton family sold the property to George H. and Diane A. Bruschke, the final owners before the home’s demolition.

The End of an Era

For decades, this modest home stood as a witness to the transformation of the surrounding landscape—from rural farmland to bustling suburb. In its early years, it would have been surrounded by open fields and quiet irrigation ditches; by its last, it sat on a busy road in a rapidly developing city. Eventually, the little crosswing home was torn down, replaced by modern condominiums.

The siding, the stoop, the garage doors—all are gone. Yet in the memories of longtime residents, and in the archives of our city’s history, the story of 3567 South 5600 West remains—a reminder of a simpler time and the steady march of progress.

Photo taken 2019

Current condos on the site