Spackman Farmstead

The home that would later become the historic farmstead was owned by Newell F. & Anna L. Stoddard Bullen. Newell was an exceptional dairyman and one of the many men who organized the first Black & White Days event in 1912. Newell and Anna raised their nine children in the home. Though they lived in Richmond, Newell had his cattle in Lewiston, Utah, and rarely used the barn. It is not clear when the barn and home were constructed, but hypotheses indicate that it was built in 1904.1

Rene LaMar Spackman was born July 1, 1917 in Richmond to William H. & Maria Ulrika Jansson Spackman. LaMar married Janice Bullen, the daughter of Newell and Anna, on Oct 3, 1939, in the Logan, Utah Temple. They lived north for about a decade before Newell and Anna passed away in 1942 and 1955. LaMar and Janice purchased the farm in 1965 and raised their seven children in the home. LaMar began reusing the old barn and reconstructing it in the 1980s.3

LaMar and Janice raised their family to farm. Eventually, their three sons would work full-time along with LaMar, who renamed the farm to the La-Mar Spackman & Sons property. After the deaths of Janice and LaMar in 2004 and 2005, the same three sons inherited the farm and take care of it today, with one of the sons living in the home today.

Dr. Pierce's

Dr. Ray Vaughan Pierce was a Buffalo, New York, physician who typically cared for women in the late 1800s. He had the idea to paint his tonics on the sides of barns near railroad tracks around the United States, becoming the world's first billboards.2 Dr. Pierce died in 1914, when his son would inherit the business and run it until 1940. 

It's not clear when the ad was first painted on the Spackman barn. Every three years, someone would come and paint the sign, and Newell Bullen would receive $15 each year for allowing it to be done.

1. Cache County Parcel and Zoning Viewer, Cache County Government

2. About Utah: Old Barn Still Stands, Ad and All, Deseret News, Lee Benson, Nov 3, 2011

3. Janice and LaMar Spackman Interview, Bear River Heritage Area Barn Survey, March 21, 2003

   1. Historic Barns of Utah: A Self-Guided Driving Tour, Bear River Heritage Area,