Broadbent & Son

No other family-owned enterprise in Lehi remained in business longer than Broadbent & Son, more commonly known as Broadbent’s Store.

In 1859, English immigrants Joseph Lees (1836-1920) and Sarah Ann Dixon (1833-1888) Broadbent arrived in Lehi after crossing the plains with fellow saints from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Sarah started a home industry by turning bolts of blue denim into overalls and jumpers with copper rivets, a symbol of well-made clothing, added by Joseph.

In 1882, Sarah suggested the family open a small mercantile, which Joseph and 19-year-old son Joseph Samuel (1863-1937) did. In addition to watch repair and jewelry work, Broadbent & Son carried a small line of merchandise and furniture along with Sarah's work clothing.

Their industriousness brought immediate success. Over the years they made multiple additions and remodels and added departments until it carried everything needed to run a home.

In 1892, the Broadbents constructed the two-story structure with the four Victorian Romanesque Revival style semicircular arched windows, for which it was most famous. The windows are now replicated in the new Police Department building.

When Joseph S. died, the store passed to his 20-year-old son John (1917-2003), who ran the store with his wife, Alice (1918-2010) for five decades. Daughters Nann (1939-2015) and Betty, who had grown up in the store, transitioned into the store’s leadership as their parents aged. The property was sold to the city in 2017.