Our journey into the past began when the Orphan Building Research Team parked our cars in the lot of the Church of Latter Day Saints Family History Center, waiting for their door to open. It was incredibly exciting, as we were greeted by two friendly research volunteers at the center. We came prepared with a list of basic questions; Who was Fred’s architect and his first owner? and How much did the land and the building cost in 1900?
When we found out the the name of Fred’s architect, we were so excited that we could have jumped up and down because our adopted building was becoming an important part of our lives! We spent hours and hours learning as much as we could about our amazing architect, Edward F. Pickett. We wanted to know: Where was he was born?, How old was he when he built Fred?, and What were his other accomplishments?
With solid advice from these diligent research volunteers, we knew it was time to take the next step into the world of historical research!