The house at 1311 Brumback Street is thought to be a farmhouse style dwelling that, with remodels, has been transformed into a folk Victorian style house. The farmhouse style can be seen in some of the structural elements of the house such has rising stature of the house and how the clap boards are in a knocked style.
The evidence for a folk Victorian style structure can be seen in the scallop shingles along the top of the house, the columns on the porch, which was recently added, and the bay window that faces the street. The house was originally built with a sandstone base but because of the condensation of water, the sandstone, originally mined from the quarry by the Old Penitentiary, had to be supported with concrete stylized as brick.
The dwelling also has what appears at first to be a shed, but is actually an old fashion icebox. The icebox was made out of brick, and would be packed with saw-dust, when used for its original purpose, in order to keep cold air trapped inside and the ice from melting. Now a days the icebox functions as shed.
The house was first built, based upon the cityʼs records, in 1895, and is part of the Brumback addition, which contained around 250 lots when first organized. Jeremiah Brumback purchased the land in 1875 from Jacob Mendenhall who purchased not only the area that would eventually be labeled the Brumback addition, but also a number of other acres from the administration of Ulysses S. Grant for $875. The official document can be viewed at blm.glo.records.gov under the name Mendenhall.
The Brumbacks owned an extensive amount of property including mines, acres, and even a homestead, which Jeremiah and his wife Harriet abandoned in 1885, before
The house at 1311 Brumback Street was built. Mr. Brumback also practiced law verified by a number of cases reported in the Idaho Statesman from the time period. Based on the research, we at BAP were unable to determine if Jeremiah Brumback ever lived in the house or not. The architect is also unknown, though a history of the residences in the dwelling shows that the house was in the position of the Moore family for around 30 years, between the years of 1950 to 1980, and before that was vacant for a time in 1935.
The house was also up for rent, for adults only in 1921, and based on the maps located at the Idaho Historical Archives has a structural element labeled 1/2 harness s. t.c., whose meaning is still unclear. Inside, the dwelling has wood floors on the ground level and carpet in the basement addition. The ceiling in some spots appear to have light burn patterns, most likely caused from the hurricane lanterns that were used in the house pre-electricity.
The history of the house is difficult to pin point because of both its age, over a hundred years old, and because the house is not on a historical listing, nevertheless the building is a gorgeous one that continues to stand against the passage and wear of time.