Bown, Joseph, House
2020 E. Victory Rd., Boise, IDThe Joseph Bown residence is significant as a surviving example of early Idaho farmhouse architecture employing stone.
Joseph Bown came to Idaho in 1863 and mined gold at Idaho City. In 1865 he brought his family out from Iowa and in 1869 started his ranch three miles east of Boise. At first, the family lived in a log house, but in 1879 the present structure was built. The stone was quarried across the river at the "Buckley quarry," near Table Rock. When completed it was considered the grandest dwelling in Boise's outlying districts. The Browns lived in this house until 1893 when they moved to a farm south of Boise. W. T. Booth, a realtor, purchased the property and held it until 1927 when it was sold to J. R. Bright.
The house, still surrounded by open pasture land, remains a significant local landmark. It is a substantial, rare, and well-preserved example of a pre-1890s Idaho stone farmhouse.
Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 1979.
The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the Nation’s historic places worthy of preservation. Authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places is part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect America’s historic and archeological resources.