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John Albert Scorup, the Utah Cattleman Whose Bluff Home Made the National Register

A Utah-born cattleman and banker, J. A. Scorup left a documented footprint in Bluff, where his stone house still stands on the National Register.

Who Was John Albert Scorup?

John Albert Scorup was a Utah cattleman and banker who spent much of his working life in Bluff, a small settlement in the southeastern corner of the state. He is remembered in ranching circles by his initials, J. A., and as Al Scorup, and a full-length book about his career, Lonesome Trails of San Juan, carries the phrase The Ranching Legacy of J.A. (Al) Scorup in its title, as shown in a WeRelate source record.

This profile is short on ranch detail on purpose. The pages that could be opened for it document his family background, his house and his two trades, and it keeps to those.

Early Life in Ephraim, Utah

According to the Wikipedia article on the Scorup House, Scorup was a settler from Ephraim, a Sanpete County town in central Utah. His parents were Danish-born converts to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, part of the wave of Scandinavian converts who settled in Utah in the nineteenth century.

The article does not give his birth date, schooling or first jobs, so this profile does not either. The assignment record for this site gives his years as 1872 to 1959.

Life in Bluff, Utah

Scorup lived in Bluff until 1917, when he moved to Provo. In Bluff he lived with his first wife, Emma Bayless, and their six daughters.

Bluff was founded by Latter-day Saint pioneers and sits along the San Juan River. For a cattleman, a base there meant working remote country, far from rail lines and big markets.

The Scorup House: Built 1903 to 1904

The best documented physical trace of Scorup's career is his Bluff house, built in 1903 and 1904 in the Late Victorian style. Stone masons Nick Loveless, sometimes spelled Lovelace, and Ed Thompson built it. The property covers less than one acre.

The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on April 13, 1983. A 1982 photograph shows it apparently vacant, and a 2007 photograph shows it had been improved. A substantial stone house in a settlement that small tells readers that Scorup's cattle and banking income was not trivial, though the article gives no dollar figures.

Cattleman and Banker

The Wikipedia article describes Scorup as both a cattleman and a banker. The sources reviewed do not describe his ranches, herd sizes, brands, partners or grazing leases, and none of those details are repeated from memory. Readers who want the working side of his career should start with the Vallentine book.

What can be said is that he combined livestock with banking, a pairing common among Western cattle owners who needed credit and sometimes became lenders themselves.

The Key to Scorup's Success

With the available record, the lessons are modest and tied to what is documented rather than to guesses about his methods.

Taken together, the sources point to a man who anchored himself in a community and built lasting assets there.

  • He lived and worked in one region, Bluff and the San Juan country, for years before moving on.
  • He invested in a permanent stone house built by local masons, not a temporary camp.
  • He carried on two trades at once, cattle and banking.
  • He raised a large family in Bluff, with six daughters by his first wife, Emma Bayless.
  • He moved to Provo in 1917 after leaving Bluff.

Hall of Great Westerners and Legacy

The Hall of Great Westerners at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum honors people who shaped the American West. The Hall of Great Westerners overview lists inductees, and Scorup is carried on this site as one of them. His induction year could not be verified from the pages opened for this profile.

His house is the most visible legacy, and the Vallentine book is the main published study of his ranching career. For related stories, see the ranching pages of farm.FM, or read a farm.FM story about Utah ranch history.

Timeline

  1. 1872Born (assignment record); raised in Ephraim, Utah
  2. 1903Construction of the Scorup House in Bluff begins
  3. 1904Scorup House completed
  4. 1917Moves from Bluff to Provo
  5. 1959Dies (assignment record)
  6. 1983Scorup House listed on the National Register of Historic Places, April 13

Frequently asked questions

Who was John Albert Scorup?

John Albert Scorup was a Utah cattleman and banker from Ephraim who lived in Bluff until 1917, built the Scorup House there, and later moved to Provo.

Where is the John Albert Scorup House?

The Scorup House is in Bluff, Utah. Built in 1903 and 1904 in the Late Victorian style, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on April 13, 1983.

Is there a book about J. A. Scorup?

Yes. John F. Vallentine wrote Lonesome Trails of San Juan: The Ranching Legacy of J.A. (Al) Scorup, a book about his ranching career.

Sources and further reading

Profiles are compiled from public sources and reviewed against them. See our editorial policy to suggest a correction.

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