Salt Lake City home with groundbreaking black history gets permanent protection

A monument tied to one of Utah’s most influential black residents has been officially assured of long-term protection. This week, the Paul Cephus Howell House became the first property in the state with significant African American history to receive a permanent easement — a move that will ensure the house will remain standing for generations to come.

If reported Through Fox 13Tiffany Taylor, owner of the Central City home, said she has always been drawn to old spaces and the stories they contain. But she didn’t realize the extent of history within her own walls until she bought the property.

“A friend of mine, he was a real estate agent, said, ‘You have to see this house.’ I came in to look at it and fell in love with it,” she recalled. “I’ve always wondered about the history, and Rachel Quist… wrote a blog about my house. So I contacted her, and that’s how I discovered Paul Cephus Howell.”

Howell, whose family had a lasting impact on the town, lived in the house for about fifteen years. According to Robert Burch – founder of the Sema Hadithi African American Heritage & Culture Foundation – Howell deserved a groundbreaking place in local history.

“He lived in this house for about 15 years. He was the first African-American detective in the Salt Lake City Police Department,” Burch explained.

Burch noted that Howell’s story rarely gets the recognition it deserves, even though he played a central role in Salt Lake City’s black community. According to him, preserving these types of houses is essential to make forgotten stories visible again.

“What often happens is that the past is forgotten,” he said. “We often remember the past through the buildings we sit in. And that’s why this building is important to this community. Because we can remember what Central City looked like.”

The newly signed preservation easement – ​​a binding agreement between the homeowner and a historic organization – ensures the structure cannot be demolished or substantially altered, even if ownership changes hands.

“I just signed the easement a few days ago, so this house will never be torn down,” Taylor said. “And even if I sell it, whatever, when I’m gone, it still can’t be torn down because it’s a great piece of black history. And Utah has a lot of black history that needs to be brought out.”

For Taylor and conservation advocates, the Howell House is more than an architectural gem. It is a physical reminder of a rich legacy that has long been overlooked – and is now permanently safeguarded.

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