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Show United States Department of the Interior National Park Service I National Register of Historic Places Registration Form NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 Erekson Artillo Dairy Farmhouse Name of Property Salt Lake County, Utah County and State the law ... farmers have the same right to sell milk at the farm as they have to sell anything else they produce. 2 The Artillo Guernsey Dairy Farm reached its peak of production in early 1960s around the time the farmhouse was expanded. A 1964 tax assessor's card noted sixteen outbuildings and structures associated with the farm. The commercial dairy outbuildings were primarily located southeast of the farmhouse. There was a drained pasture to the south and another more swampy pasture to the west. The north field was used for regular corn and corn silage. Near the farmhouse were resources for the family: a garden plot, the old granary, and the pumphouse where cans of milk were stored. By the 1970s, the dairy pastures and fields were surrounded by new development. Several large subdivisions had been built to the east. The intersection at 900 East and 5600 South was a thriving commercial district. In 1976, the Wheeler farm was abandoned and in 1977, the other branch of the family started advertising "Erekson Dairy lots close to Fashion Place Mall." In their later years, Arion and Helen scaled back the Artillo dairy, but were pasturing cows in the south field until 1990 when they began to sell off portions of the farm acreage. The larger parcel, the former south pasture, was sold to Village Mall Association, Inc., who built the Sport Mall, touted as "America's first sport and shopping mall complex." The Sports Center Business Park includes several office buildings on the north half of the former dairy farm. The last parcel, the vacant lot next to the farmhouse, was sold off in 1997. Arion Erekson died in 2003, but members of the family still occupy the residence. Although the cows are gone and the views of the house are partially obscured by an office building, many older residents of Murray consider the farmhouse on the hill to a landmark in the neighborhood. The Erekson Artillo Dairy Farmhouse makes a significant contribution to the historic resources of Murray City, particularly as an important reminder of the former 900 East dairy corridor. Historical Context of the Erekson Artillo Dairy Farmhouse On July 31,1873, John Benbow was granted a homestead patent for 160 acres in the SW% of Section 8, Township 2S, Range 1E. John Benbow (1800-1874) was one the first settlers of South Cottonwood (later Murray) when he built a dugout near the banks of the Little Cottonwood Creek in 1848. After his death in 1874, his widow, Rosetta Wright King Peacock Benbow (1819-1894), deeded the property to her son-in-law, Jonas Erekson (1827-1881), who had married Isabella Markham Benbow (1852-1914) in 1869. Although some improvements must have been made on the Section 8 property in order to obtain the homestead patent, the Benbow and Jonas Erekson families lived west of 900 East. The youngest son of Jonas Erekson and his first wife, Mary Powell Erekson (1830-1891), Norman W. Erekson, married Ellen Underwood in 1888 and may have built the first home on the property for his new bride. The extant brick farmhouse was builtfor Norman and Ellen in 1894.3 Norman Wines Erekson was born on March 9, 1867 in South Cottonwood, which was renamed Murray in 1883. Ellen Underwood Erekson was born in Birmingham, England, on AprilS, 1869. 2 Provo Daily Herald, August 18, 1959. Family and local histories have suggested both 1893 and 1895 as the year of construction. The Salt Lake County Tax Assessor records 1894 as the year of construction provided by the owner in 1938, therefore 1894 was chosen as the most accurate date for this nomination. 3 Section 8 page 12 |
