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Show United States Department of the Interior National Parj( 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 HISTORY OF THE EREKSON-AlilTILLO DAIRY FARMHOUSE On July 31, 1873, John Benbow was granted a homestead patent for 160 acres in the SW% of Section 8, Township 25, 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 built for Norman and Ellen in 1894.2 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 April 5, 1869. She immigrated to Utah with her family in 1879. Norman and Ellen were married in March 1888, but did not have children until after the farmhouse was built. In the 1900 census enumeration, the household on 900 East included Norman and Ellen, a five-year-old son, Ellen's mother, Elizabeth Underwood, and a servant, Daniel Monk. Norman's occupation was farmer and stockman. Daniel Monk was a farm laborer. Norman and Ellen had a daughter in 1901 and another son in 1908. Only the daughter, Laveta, lived to maturity. The Ereksons had a large ranch in Tooele County. On the 1910 census, the family is listed with the two youngest children, Elizabeth Underwood, and two lodgers (probably ranch hands), in the Vernon Precinct of Tooele County. The household also included two lodger/laborers, The Salt Lake City directories list Norman W. Erekson on 900 East, so the family likely maintained both residences during the period. 3 Around 1911, Norman and Ellen Erekson moved their family to the neighborhood east of Murray's downtown business district. They lived in a couple different homes before settling on Wasatch Avenue. They sold the 900 East property in January 14, 1915, to Hyrum J. Jensen. Norman W. Erekson served as mayor of Murray between 1918 and 1919. Norman and Ellen moved to downtown Salt Lake City in the 1930s. Norman Wines Erekson died in Salt Lake City on April 6, 1945. Ellen Underwood Erekson returned to Benbow Street in Murray where she lived until her death on July 11, 1951. Hyrum Julius Jensen (1869-1953) was an extremely successful real estate developer and contractor. Jensen likely purchased the Erekson property as an investment. He and his wife, Bodell Christine Hansen Jensen (1868-1963), lived in the Sugarhouse area of Salt Lake City and did not live at the 900 East property. Erekson family tradition suggests that Italian renters may have lived in the house and worked the farm in the 1910s. This is possible since there are several Italian families who established truck farms in Murray in the early twentieth century. 2 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 source for this nomination. 3 The 1910 census of the area does not provide location information, so it could not be determined if the house was occupied or vacant. Section 8 page 11 |
