Only a few yards from this monument – to the Northwest – stood the Milo Andrus “Halfway House”, a comfortable and convenient two-story pioneer inn. The inn was one of several built along State Street in the 1850-80 period to care for the many south and northbound travelers. The Andrus Inn became known as the “Halfway House” because it was located midway between “Traveler’s Rest” at 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 (sic) horse-drawn conveyance, the Andrus place was always a welcome stop. Built in 1859 and the early part of the 1860’s, the Halfway House served as both a hotel and a family residence for 120 years. The structure was moved from here beginning in 1982 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 leader of some Church members who were enroute 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 Oxford and the Salmon River Country in Idaho. They eventually bought 160 acres in the Dry Creek area of the Jordon Bottoms that included this land on State Street. This area is now part of the community of Crescent.

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The adjoining Benjamin Barr Neff farm – one forth (sic) 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 here 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 line 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 for 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.

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