The Farmer-Goodwin House sits on land purchased by Pierce Carrick Shannon, a local saloonkeeper, in 1880. Shannon completed construction of the house in March 1883 and sold it to Hiram Bradford Farmer in January 1886.

Hiram Bradford Farmer was the first teacher and principal of the Territorial Normal School in Tempe. Farmer only held these positions for two years, from 1886 to 1888, but he had a lasting impact on the school’s legacy and on Tempe. During Farmer’s time at the Territorial Normal School, he focused on establishing the school’s core curriculum and ensuring his students were prepared when they graduated. During his three semesters at the school, he only handed out diplomas to five students who met his demanding academic standards.

Even after leaving the Territorial Normal School, Farmer continued to be involved with the school and its students. He offered up his house as a dormitory for women students and allowed them to live alongside him and his family. Later owners of the house continued to rent rooms to students until at least the 1970s.

Farmer was also responsible for developing 160 acres of land into the Farmer’s Addition, one of Tempe’s earliest subdivisions.

The Farmer family left the Salt River Valley in 1890, and the house went through several owners until James Wilson bought it in 1897. Wilson kept the house until 1902, when he deeded it to his daughter Libbie when she married James C. Goodwin.

James C. Goodwin was a prominent member of the community and was elected to the Arizona Territorial Legislature in 1897 and twice elected twice to serve as a member of the Arizona House of Representatives, from 1915 to 1918. Goodwin was also responsible for establishing Tempe’s first streetcar system.

The Goodwin family continued to own the house until Woodrow Wilson Goodwin, Libbie and James’ son, passed away in 1992. Afterwards the house was bought by a couple with the intention of turning it into a bed-and-breakfast. They made extensive renovations to the house –including upgrading old wiring and adding modern conveniences, such as a laundry room— with the assistance of preservation grants and the approval of the City of Tempe.

However, the couple split up before the bed-and-breakfast could open. The property and a neighboring plot of land were sold to a developer in 2005. Since then, townhomes have been built on the neighboring plot of land, and the Farmer-Goodwin House has been preserved under a façade conservation easement held by the City of Tempe.

The Farmer-Goodwin House is a one-and-a-half story rectangular adobe structure built in the Folk Victorian style. However, unlike most Victorian-style houses, the house lacks the “gingerbread” exterior detailing. The exterior adobe walls have been finished with plaster and scored with lines to emulate cut stones; the corners are detailed with quoins of built-up plaster. The roof is hipped with 10 flush wall dormers.

Both the east and west exterior are divided into three bays of equal size. The interior plan features a central hall, or zaguan, with equally sized rooms placed symmetrically on either side. The upper floor is accessed via a staircase and is identical in layout to the lower floor.

Numerous modifications were made to make the house suitable for commercial use. These modifications include updating the wiring, adding bathrooms, and installing a new roof. Additionally, the missing front porch has been rebuilt.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Berry, Jahna. “ASU, Tempe showing interest in historical house.” Arizona Republic, January 15, 2005.

“Hiram Bradford Farmer.” Office of the President, Arizona State University, archived on March 10, 2025, at https://web.archive.org/web/20250310181852/https://president.asu.edu/the-office/past-presidents/hiram-bradford-farmer.

Kaminski, Diana. Staff Summary Report. Tempe City Council. December 01, 2005.

National Register of Historic Places Nomination. Farmer-Goodwin House. 1972.

Vinson, Mark. Staff Report. Tempe Historic Preservation Office. April 01, 1999.