Neff's Station

A twenty-year-old woman tapped out the news at this crossroads. In 1871 the Deseret Telegraph — the church's own network of wires strung the length of the Territory — opened an office on Benjamin Neff's farm, where its north-south line between Salt Lake and the south met the east-west line linking the mines at Alta and Bingham. Benjamin's second wife, Mary Ellen Love Neff, worked the key, and 'Neff's Station' took her family's name. When the railroad reached Sandy in 1873, the station moved into town — and Mary Ellen moved with it, still the operator.

What the plaque says

The adjoining Benjamin Barr Neff farm - one forth of a mile north of here - became known as "Neff's Station at Dry Creek" or just "Neff's Station" after Deseret Telegraph established an office there in 1871. Mary Ellen Love Neff, 20-year-old second wife of Benjamin, operated the station. The Neff farm was an ideal location for the telegraph station because the north-south lines connecting Salt Lake City and east-west lines connecting Alta and Bingham, crossed at that point. With the coming of the cross-valley railroad through the Sandy area in 1973, the telegraph station was moved to that community. Mary Ellen was retained as operator of the new Sandy station. Benjamin Barr Neff, of Swiss ancestry, became a successful farmer owning dairy cows, horses and mules. The well which he dug for the farm was used until a few years ago and remains on the property. Site No. 27 Temple Quarry Chapter, Sons of Utah Pioneers

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• International Peace Gardens — 11 mi
  A hidden garden where 28 countries are represented in miniature
• Lehi Roller Mills — 12 mi
  The flour mill from the movie Footloose
• Snowbird — 12 mi
  The aerial-tram resort of Little Cottonwood Canyon, with steep terrain, deep snow, and one of the longest seasons in the country.
• Gilgal Sculpture Garden — 12 mi
  A surreal and eccentric sculpture garden hidden in a residential neighborhood

More markers nearby

• Hope Rising - To Lift a Nation 9/11 Memorial — 0.5 mi
• Utah Freedom Memorial — 0.5 mi
• Utah Freedom Memorial Battlefield Cross — 0.5 mi
• South Jordan Settlement — 1.6 mi