A Utah charter school demolished one of Alpine’s last pioneer homes, despite efforts to save it

An excavator arrived at one of Alpine’s last remaining pioneer dwellings, the Carlisle House, in mid-May.

Most of the historic home’s 169-year-old adobe bricks and other artifacts had already been removed at the request of nonprofit The Friends of the Alpine City Library; its original mantle, doors, doorknobs, and antique newel posts stored away for potential display in the future.

Stripped to its bare beams, what remained of the Carlisle House splintered like dry twigs under the excavator’s might, collapsing into a heap of shingles and cladding at the order of local charter school Mountainville Academy.

“Literally, there is a dumpster full of history somewhere in Utah County now,” said Jennifer Wadsworth, founder of Friends of the Alpine City Library, on May 28.

The nonprofit, along with Alpine City officials, concerned residents and Utah sculptor Dennis Smith, made multiple attempts to save the home — and almost succeeded.

Almost.

How the Carlisle House ended up in a charter’s hands

The house’s fate, perhaps unintentionally, was sealed two years ago when the adjacent charter school purchased it for just under $1 million from a photographer who now sits on Mountainville Academy’s board.

The Carlisle House, as it’s informally known, was built in 1855 by Thomas and Fanny Carlisle on what is now Main Street. It was the first home built outside the confines of the “Old Fort Wall,” which had been constructed to protect Alpine residents from potential Native American “uprisings,” according to historical records maintained by the University of Utah.

“There were seven families in the fort,” said Dana Beck, a Carlisle descendent. “[My great-great grandpa] felt like that was way too many families.” So, Thomas and Fanny Carlisle moved out and built what became the Carlisle House, using adobe brick quarried from nearby.

The home passed through generations of Carlisles for 165 years until 2020, when the photographer, Mikelle Kennedy, acquired it with her husband.

Kennedy applied for her Mountainville board seat a year later. In her application, she wrote that she and her husband “bought” the historic home next door to the school.

“I have personally undertaken its renovation and now operate it as a photography studio,” Kennedy wrote.

She won her bid and officially joined the board that year. In 2022, she sold it to Mountainville for just under $1 million, according to board Chair Marisa Skousen.

Kennedy recused herself “to avoid a conflict of interest” when the nine-member board’s other members voted to buy the land, Skousen said.

Then, last November, Mountainville approved a budget of up to $30,000 for its demolition, according to documented meeting minutes, with Kennedy casting a favorable vote.

“This is such a loss for our community,” said Juliette Ensign, one of the residents who tried to save the home. “And it seems that with the charter school, there was no real oversight. … They were free to do as they wished. And they did.”

Demolition wasn’t first choice, charter says

Demolishing the Carlisle House hadn’t been Mountainville’s first choice, board Vice Chair Wayne Sleight contended.

“From the get-go, we didn’t want to demolish it,” Sleight said. After purchasing the home, the school spent a year exploring ways to make it functional while also preserving it. They considered options like converting it into a classroom or a library.

“Unfortunately, due to its structural issues, its non-standard foundation, and multiple non-conforming additions that were done over time, wiring and other factors ... renovation would be prohibitively expensive and ultimately impractical,” board Chair Marisa Skousen previously told The Tribune.

Following November’s damning vote, the school received a “wave” of emails from “angry” residents who wanted to preserve it, Sleight said. So the board put demolition plans on pause for about five months as they worked with the city and residents to reach a compromise.

“We tried for two years,” Sleight said. “We had a lot of people use the word ‘rash.’ ‘You’re making a rash decision.’ I don’t think two years would be defined as rash.”

But Ensign said they just needed more time.

“[Mountainville] continually said they wanted to find a way to preserve the house,” Ensign said. “They were the ones with the power to do so. They literally carried the keys in their hand. … I believe a compromise could have been reached with very little more time and effort.”

A property ‘swap’ is proposed

Alpine Mayor Carla Merrill in December emailed the Mountainville Academy board with a proposal to swap the Carlisle House property with an Alpine City parcel located at 124 E. 100 South, just north of the school.

“This proposal primarily aims to address traffic congestion issues on Main Street during student drop-off and pick-up times,” Merrill wrote.

The email noted that city officials had already met with members of the Mountainville board on Dec. 12, where the City presented a “detailed plan” for the proposed swap.

“Alpine City’s objective is to proceed with a fair property swap, taking into account the appraisal values of both properties,” Merrill wrote. “We believe that this approach will help us find a solution that benefits both parties and the community as a whole.”

Sleight responded Jan. 3, laying out Mountainville’s terms for a potential agreement.

First, the deed would have to include a public-use-only provision. “No commercial or residential use,” Sleight wrote. “We need to protect the school in case, in the future with a new City Council, they decide to sell the property.”

Second, the city would need to purchase the Carlisle lot at the same price the school paid — approximately $1 million. Then, Mountainville would buy the city’s lot in exchange for the same price the city paid — $760,000, according to the purchase contract.

“The school won’t want to take a loss on the property and it was purchased at the peak,” Sleight wrote.

“Timing is extremely tight because the Carlisle [House] was already supposed to be demolished last month,” Sleight continued at the time, adding that his hope was the City Council “can discuss and vote on this on January 9.”

But a vote never came, because the two parties couldn’t reach an agreement, the mayor said. Still, negotiations continued for months.

“Their conditions were kind of preposterous at first,” the mayor said, referring to the deed restrictions. “We were really engaged in trying to come up with a compromise. I don’t know if they were just going through the motions to say that they did.”

But Sleight argued that if the city’s purpose was to preserve the home, then Mountainville’s requested public-use provision shouldn’t have been an issue.

“If we’re going to have to shift to a new location, that’s not as desirable because it’s not on Main Street, that’s fine, but it better be truly to protect this house and protect it for public use,” Sleight said.

Two private deals fall through

While the city and Mountainville negotiated, Wadsworth and another resident, Wes Funk, were busy finding alternative ways to save the Carlisle House. Funk had previously served on the Mountainville board but resigned last August. He redirected his efforts to preserving the home.

“I worked with a private donor who offered to buy the house at [the] price that [Mountainville] had suggested,” Funk said.

Sleight confirmed that an offer was submitted to the board in December. However, the buyer wouldn’t agree to the public-use restriction, so the board rejected the offer.

In January, Funk found another private buyer who agreed to the restriction. The Mountainville Board even voted to accept the offer once it came in — but the buyer suddenly backed out.

Funk doesn’t know why.

“We were so close,” Funk said. “The buyer fizzled; they backed out. It was really strange, and they didn’t tell us why and asked us not to follow up.”

That’s when the idea of creating a children’s library took shape, prompting Wadsworth to start her nonprofit, The Friends of the Alpine City Library. The goal was to raise enough funds to restore the Carlisle House and transform it into the envisioned library space.

And a famous sculptor wanted to help.

Combining art and history

Cadie Burton, an agent representing sculptor Dennis Smith, doesn’t exactly remember how she and Wadsworth connected. But when Smith heard about the children’s library idea, he saw it as the perfect space for a sculpture garden, a project that has been in the works for years, Burton said.

Now in his 80s, Smith was raised in Alpine and is best known for his figurative bronze sculptures of children. His work can be found in hundreds of museums and public squares throughout Utah, the U.S. and several other countries.

Smith has also featured the Carlisle House in several oil paintings throughout his career.

“It was a good way to promote his legacy, and to honor what he’s done for Alpine in a historical location such as the Carlisle House,” Burton said. “It [was] just this beautiful idea of a children’s library, history and his experience being raised there.”

Burton helped forge a partnership between The Friends of the Alpine City Library and the Heritage Arts Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to bringing art to Utah communities.

The foundation would leverage its network of donors to fundraise for the sculpture garden and help save the Carlisle House, but all funds would be managed through Wadsworth’s nonprofit. The two nonprofits along with the city put together one last proposal for Mountainville.

The final proposal

The April 11 letter of intent proposed the same land swap the city had outlined in December — with a few additions.

The Friends of the Alpine City Library would give the city a $225,000 restricted grant to help cover the price difference between the two lots. However, Wadsworth said that while that money had been pledged, it hadn’t been raised yet.

The nonprofit would also sign a three-year lease with the city, paying $1 a year in rent. As part of the deal, The Friends of the Alpine City Library would have the option to buy the property for $762,000 within those three years, with the expectation that they would once they raised enough funds.

The letter also asked that Mountainville lift the restriction against residential use of the Carlisle property.

“In the unlikely event that [The Friends of the Alpine City Library] is unable to secure funds to purchase the property and restore the Carlisle Home, the City would like the flexibility to allow for potential residential use of the property,” the letter stated. “The City wants to work with Mountainville and would agree to the commercial deed restriction, but feels the residential restriction would be potentially harmful to the City.”

Mountainville rejected the proposal because, according to Sleight, it left the school too vulnerable if the nonprofit couldn’t raise enough money.

“Someone could build their big, nice, fancy house right there, and now the school has a residential neighbor,” Sleight said.

The excavator arrived a month later.

Finding a new home

In place of the Carlisle House, Mountainville intends to build a STEM learning center that may double as a multiuse facility, though the details haven’t been finalized, Sleight said.

And while it’s too late for the Carlisle House, a new location for a children’s library and sculpture garden is already in the works.

Wadsworth and Burton presented their proposal to the Alpine City Council late last month. The plan is to transform “The Olsen House,” an original pioneer dwelling built by Hans Olsen in 1888, into the “Alpine Historic City Square and Dennis Smith Sculpture Park.” All project costs would be covered through fundraising efforts by The Friends of the Alpine City Library, the Heritage Arts Foundation and Smith.

The hope is to incorporate the bricks and artifacts preserved from the Carlisle House as a tribute.

“But the truth is,” said Wadsworth, ”it will never be the history that was the Carlisle House.”

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