Thomas Frazer

Who is Thomas Frazer?

Thomas Frazer was an American mason who worked in Beaver, Utah. Born in Scotland, he created many works that are listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.

Frazer moved from Lehi, Utah to come to Beaver, Utah.

Frazer arrived in 1868 and immediately began construction on industrial structures, none of which remain. He built almost exclusively with the black rock until about 1881. The black rock is actually basalt, a very hard, dense volcanic stone and it is commonly found in the nearby foothills in small outcroppings. Because basalt is so hard, it weathers very well, but is somewhat difficult to cut. Frazer and his masons split the stone and then used chisels to make the fracture even smoother. If the basalt had no air pockets, it often fractured in several, small clean flakes, making a roughly squared face. These roughly squared blocks were set in courses on the front facades of buildings, the facades that faced the streets. Because they were not perfectly squared, the blocks were finished around the edges with black-dyed mortar and joined by a white mortar joint, the effect of which was to give the stone blocks a perfectly squared appearance.