William Bringhurst was a legislator in the Territorial Legislature, a businessman in Provo, and a member of the Brigham Young Academy board of trustees. He was sent by Brigham Young to start a settlement in what is now Las Vegas. Brigham Young himself, was a frequent visitor to the home in Springville, according to family lore. Legend also has it that William Bringhurst kept a diary, but he wrote about something his wife didn't want remembered so she burned his diaries after he died.

At any rate, Shenk is sure that, if they existed, the diaries are not in the house. When they remodeled, they removed everything. Emptying out the top shelves of the long closet, Shenk came across an old family Bible and the logbook of births that had been kept by her great-grandmother on her mother's side, who was a midwife.

William and Ann Bringhurst were cared for in this house by their daughter, Deseret. She in turn raised a family in the home and was cared for in it by her son, William Bringhurst Crandall, and his family. William's son, Leo Crandall, was Mary Elen's father.

Except for two years of his life, Leo lived in the house. He brought his bride, Lillian Bird, to share a home with his mother.

Mary Elen's mother, Lillian, died, in 1997. In 1999, the Shenks began renovating the family home in order to build her father a bedroom on the ground floor. Her father took great interest and delight in the renovation, though he passed away before it was quite finished.

At first, the Shenks thought they'd remodel a room at a time. But when they realized Mary Elen's mother had had the historic home placed on the National Register, they decided they should consult the state's historical society for remodeling advice. The advice they got was this: Don't do a thing until you make sure the house is stable and structurally sound. So they hired an architect — Joey Clegg of CD Architects — and a contractor — Ole Jensen of Taylor and Jensen Construction. The Shenks decided to restore the entire home at one time.

The house was structurally sound, the Shenks learned. But they did have to take down a rear addition that was built in 1890. The space between the original house and the addition had acted as a wick and the adobe walls of the addition had absorbed too much moisture and become unstable.

They went to great trouble to restore it. They restored the original hardware, replastered, replaced the ceiling medallions that had originally encircled the chandeliers.

They hired David and Daniel Horne to repaint the hand-grained finish on the sills and door frames. They turned the upstairs parlor back into a parlor. They bought old claw-footed tubs for the bathrooms.

When they were working on the floor in the front room, or main parlor, they discovered a trap door leading to a small space. Since William Bringhurst was a polygamist during the years of prosecution, the Shenks assume this was a hiding place. They restored the trap door and cover it with a throw rug, just as the Bringhursts must have done.