Neff Station and Halfway House (2) Markers

Two stops on the old State Street road south share this stone pillar. A few yards northwest stood Milo Andrus's Half Way House, a two-story inn begun in 1859 midway between Travelers Rest and Porter Rockwell's place at the Point of the Mountain; the plaque credits the venture to his wife Lucy Loomis Tuttle Andrus. It was moved from here beginning in 1980 to the state's Pioneer Trails park. A quarter mile north, Neff's Station was a Deseret Telegraph office from 1871, run by Mary Ellen Love Neff at twenty.

What the plaque says

Half Way House Only a few yards from this monument — to the northwest — stood the Milo Andrus "Half Way House", a comfortable and convenient, two-story pioneer inn. The inn was one of several built along South State Street in the 1850-80 period to care for the many south and northbound travelers. The Andrus inn became known as the "Half Way House" because it was located midway between "Travelers Rest" and 6400 South State and Porter Rockwell's layout near the Point of the Mountain. If one were walking, riding horseback or in a buggy or ther horse-drawn conveyance, the Andrus place was always a welcome stop. Built in 1859 and the early part of the 1860's,the Half Way House served as both a hotel and a family residence for 120 years. The structure was moved from here beginning in 1980 to the Pioneer Trails State Park in Salt Lake City after its history was authenticated by the state. The inn was actually a project of Lucy Loomis Tuttle Andrus, one of several wives of Milo. Lucy was a widow with children when Milo married her in 1850 as they were crossing the plains. At the time he was a leader of some Church members who were in route to Utah from England. After the group arrived in Utah,he worked hard to get them all situated. During the 1850's Milo and his families were involved in the great Church colonization program. Locations they helped settle were Green River, Dixie and Cache Valley in Utah, and Oxfort and the Salmon River country in Idaho. They eventually bought 160 acres in the Dry Creek area of the Jordan Bottoms that included this land on State Street. This area is now part of the community of Crescent. (Almost all of the above information was researched by the late Russell Stocking, member and officer of the Temple Quarry Chapter, Sons of Utah Pioneers.) Site 26 Temple Quarry Chapter, Sons of Utah Pioneers Neff's Station 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 1873, 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

• Neff's Station — steps away
• 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