Swallow's Nest (Blanding, Utah)
Encyclopedia
The Swallow's Nest, also known as the Albert Robison Lyman Study, is a small sandstone building in Blanding, Utah
Blanding, Utah
Blanding is a city in San Juan County, Utah, United States. The population was 3,162 at the 2000 census, making it the most populated city in San Juan County. It was settled in the late 19th century by Mormon settlers, predominantly from the famed Hole-In-The-Rock expedition...

. It was built in 1925 by Albert Robison Lyman as a retreat for writing. Lyman used the study until 1938 as a place for contemplation, where he could write in silence without inhibiting the activities of his family in the main house.

Description

The Swallow's Nest is located on the Nicklovis Ranch, named by Albert Lyman for its former owner, Nicholas Lovis. The retreat was built about 350 feet (106.7 m) from the main ranch house, which was itself built about 1914.

The one room building is built in random rubble sandstone obtained locally. The low gable room is supported by log purlin
Purlin
In architecture or structural engineering or building, a purlin is a horizontal structural member in a roof. Purlins support the loads from the roof deck or sheathing and are supported by the principal rafters and/or the building walls, steel beams etc...

s on log columns. The door is on the north side, with single windows on the south and west sides. The interior has a rough wood floor and is finished with lime-washed mud plaster on the walls. A masonry firebox is located in the southwest corner, which may have served a wood stove. A rough built-in writing desk with bookshelves is located in the southeast corner.

Albert Lyman

Albert Robison Lyman, his wife Mary Ellen ("Lell") and daughter Casse were the first settlers of Blanding in 1905. Born in Fillmore, Utah
Fillmore, Utah
Fillmore is a city in Millard County, Utah, United States. The population was 2,253 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Millard County. It is named for the thirteenth US President Millard Fillmore....

 in 1880, Lyman's family settled in Bluff
Bluff, Utah
Bluff is a census-designated place in San Juan County, Utah, United States. The population was 320 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Bluff is located at , in the scenic and very sparsely populated southeastern Utah canyonlands of the Colorado Plateau.According to the United States Census Bureau, the...

 in 1880 as part of a party of Mormon
Mormon
The term Mormon most commonly denotes an adherent, practitioner, follower, or constituent of Mormonism, which is the largest branch of the Latter Day Saint movement in restorationist Christianity...

 settlers sent to colonize the San Juan River region of southeast Utah. The Lymans bought the Nicklovis ranch in 1912 for $770. Albert and Lell had fifteen children; six sons and nine daughters, leading to an understandable need on the part of Albert for a quiet place to pursue his writing. The cabin was designed with a metal flag that could be raised when Albert did not wish to be disturbed. Albert wrote and published "The Voice of the Intangible" during the 1925-1938 period. In 1938 the Lymans sold the property to Ray and Elizabeth Young and moved to Salt Lake City to try to preserve Lell's failing health. After Lell's death in 1939, Albert married her sister at Lell's insistence and Albert and Gladys moved back to Blanding in 1942, where Albert continued to write about the San Juan region from their house in Blanding.

The ranch property that included the Swallow's Nest changed hands several times, finally being acquired by the town of Blanding for a park. The cabin is now part of the town visitor center property.

After many years on neglect the swallow's nest had the west side caved in. In 1988 the house was owned by Segal Realty, the family that lived on the land rebuilt the west wall and helped restore the swallow's nest to its usable state.

External links

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