The historic McDonald home on 4659 S. Highland Drive is about to move into the future. Built by David and Arabella McDonald in 1890, the house was listed on the National Historic Register in 1980 but has been empty for several years. 

John Branscomb is the home’s new owner and he recently petitioned the Holladay City Council to add the home to the city’s list of historic sites. The council approved the request unanimously. 

“We’re excited to take over an old home that’s been empty for five years and is literally falling apart in places and grown over,” Branscomb said. “Since we bought the home, we’ve met the great-grandchildren of the home. They came to us very excited about the fact that the home was going to be restored.”

Branscomb is the owner of J. Brooks Jewelers and plans to turn the home into a jewelry boutique. He intends to maintain the home’s original character while updating the heating and cooling system, incorporating energy-efficiency and making it ADA compliant. 

Already, the dead trees have been removed and the canal has been cleaned out. Surveyors have been establishing the property lines, and now that he has approval from the planning commission and city council, he can move forward. 

“We are in the business of creating custom-made one-of-a-kind pieces and the facility has the room to do those things with a boutique showroom, as well as an upstairs to house our corporate office,” Branscomb said. “We want to restore the house and [the family is] working on some pictures and drawings for us so we can return the house, as close as possible, back to the original.”

His goal is to restore the beautiful heirloom home to the community and create a classic place to do business. The two-story Victorian house was first constructed by the McDonald’s using hand-made brick and adobe. They were immigrants from Scotland and Northern Ireland who came to the United States in 1869. They lived in the home until their deaths in the 1920s. 

“In the end, I think that we’ll be a good fit as we help people build heirlooms, and, in this case, restore an existing heirloom to this family,” Branscomb said. “They’re so very excited for it to be restored to the way it was.”

J. Brooks Jewelers is a family business that’s been around for 28 years, with store locations in Murray and Lehi. Branscomb’s daughter is a second-generation jeweler and he hopes the McDonald home can serve his business and community for decades to come. 

“I know our Historical Commission is going to be thrilled that somebody’s buying that home and tends to keep it the way it is, renovate it and make it even better,” said Mayor Rob Dahle. “We’re excited that you’re locating another store in the Holladay area. It’s a double win for the city, for sure.”

Built in 1890, the McDonald home at 4659 S. Highland Drive was built by David and Arabella McDonald, an immigrant couple from Scotland and Northern Ireland. (Photo courtesy of Holladay City)