in Utah is dominated by the historical styles, beginning with the classical modes and culminating in the picturesque tradition. Generally, house design was rarely confined to a single style and was, more often, the end result of a process of combining and interchanging historic motifs. This fluidity of composition, however, should not be dismissed as a local occurrence. Rather it grew from an eclectic intellectual tradition which was widely felt throughout the United States during the 1850-1900 period.

During this period, rural areas were becoming less isolated from stylistic developments occurring at both the national and local levels. The quality of design and workmanship were affected during the Victorian era through improvements in technology. Pattern-book styles and standardized building components were now more available and easily adapted for use with local materials. The former isolation of rural areas was no longer a major hurdle that prohibited good design.

During the second half of the 19th century, architectural styles in Utah began a transition from the austere symmetrical forms of the settlement era to a more organic appearance. Reacting against the rigid classical style, architects and builders in Utah introduced a new architecture based upon highly irregular plans, asymmetrical forms, and highly ornamented and textured surfaces. This visually complex, picturesque style was popularized after 1875 in America by the Queen Anne, with it's use of multiple cladding material, paint colors, turned and scroll-cut woodwork and towers (or turrets). It became quite visible in Utah's urban centers and rural settlements by the 1880s and produced a dramatic change in the architectural landscape of the state.

The adoption of the picturesque styles was universal, though it occurred at a different pace throughout the country. Building plans and elevations were disseminated through the state by the specific works of particular architects and by the popular house pattern books of the period. In time, there is little doubt that the new styles were absorbed into the vernacular tradition and were also spread by local and itinerant carpenters.

Victorian Eclecticism could be considered as more of a picturesque expression than a style. Common in Utah between 1885 and 1910, Victorian Eclecticism drew from the many styles that were both currently and formerly fashionable such as Queen Anne, Neoclassical, Romanesque Revival, and Colonial Revival. Characteristics include bay windows, patterned-shingle gable ends, gingerbread and small bargeboards, decorative spindles and brackets, leaded and stained glass transom windows, segmental arched windows and doors, and asymmetrical massing. Both large mansions and humble cottages implemented Victorian Eclectic detailing to varying degrees making it the most common architectural expression of the era.