Image by Candie_N via Flickr The History of The Avoca House, the Best Hotel or Motel in Kanab, UtahIn 1912, in the little Southern Utah town of Kanab, Utah, James and Harriet Swapp built a new home for their Family. This home, now known lovingly as The Avoca House, is the beautiful home of Grandma Bonnie and Grandpa LeRoy. The Avoca House is Kanab's best Bed n Breakfast and is better lodging than any hotel or motel in Kanab, Utah. They have poured out their hearts into this lovely home and opened their doors for anyone who is weary, anyone who is worthy, and even some that are not. The Avoca House is Southern Utah's finest Bed n Breakfast experience. Quaint, homey, beautifully decorated, and historic in every way. The Avoca House has been a witness to our country's finest years, having spanned the entire 20th Century, and has been the home of many Hollywood actors and actresses. The Avoca House is the place where parents of Abundant Life Academy stay while visiting their child (Abundant Life Academy is a Christian boarding school located in Kanab, Utah). The Swapp's purchased the home from Sears and Roebuck almost 100 years ago. The name of the home in the Sears and Roebuck catalog was "The Heart of 'The Avoca' #109. This is straight from the Sears Roebuck catalog, and the cost of the home was a stagering $640.00. That price was quite a lot for James Swapp, who was at the time the Kanab City Marshal, as well as a sheep rancher and father of ten children. The Avoca House came as with precut and marked beams, siding, roofing, paint and other components. These building materials journeyed by train from Chicago, Illinois to Marysville, Utah (aprox 1,483 miles), and then finally by horse and wagon to Kanab, Utah. The journey took 6 months and the order arrived in perfect condition without a single element missing. The Swapp's were more than delighted and eager to put their Sears and Roebuck Home together, building on a strong foundation of the courageous RED earth that is the beauty of Southern Utah.
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