Huslers Mill, Salt Lake City
This page was last updated on May 16, 2008.
Located on the south bank of Mill Creek at the point the creek was crossed by the Territory Road (today's State Street) at about 3000 South. The course of Mill Creek was straightened between the Territory Road (State Street) and the point the creek passed under the Utah Southern Railroad, matching the rail spur that was built along the creek's south bank to reach Huslers Mill on the Territory Road. (side note about Salt Lake County's early street names south of 9th South [900 South], i.e. 10th South [1300 South] through 17th South [4800 South]).
Huslers Mill was opened by George Husler in about 1860 as one of the pioneering flour mills in the entire Utah Territory, and was one of the first industries south of Salt Lake City to receive its own rail spur when Utah Southern was built through Salt Lake County during the summer of 1871 (ground breaking was on May 1, and the line reached Sandy in early September). The 1890 city directory shows George Husler as the proprietor of the Utah Cracker Factory, and of the Wasatch Roller Mills on the State Road. The 1880 U.S. census shows George Husler, age 42, born in Switzerland, working as a miller in the Mill Creek Precinct.
With the coming of rail service south of Salt Lake City, local businesses started to be developed taking advantage of both rail service and the paralleling Territory Road. In April 1885, George Husler became a partner with Henry Wallace in the startup of Utah Cracker Company. Wallace bought out Husler's interest in April 1892, and Utah Cracker Company became American Biscuit & Manufacturing Company. American Biscuit was a major component in the 1898 formation of National Biscuit Company (Nabisco), and the cracker factory at Huslers remained a big customer of UP rail service throughout the time of its location on State Street.
Husler's flour mill remained in the Husler family until about 1907 when it was sold to Colorado Milling & Elevator Company of Denver. These companies, the flour mill and the cracker factory, give indication of just how important the growing of wheat and other grains were at one time to the farmers of Salt Lake County.
Huslers remains today as a location on UTA's line between Salt Lake City and Sandy, although it is no longer a siding. Throughout its history, both the siding, the spur itself, and numerous other spurs in the immediate area were a source of traffic for UP. Several rail-related businesses grew up around the area along Mill Creek, and between the State Road and the UP line. Located at mile post P-795.60 on UP's Provo Subdivision, as late as 1985 there were as many as 11 separate spurs that served local businesses. (map)
It was a hub of activity that required daily switching service for UP's local trains along the Provo Sub. The spur was the location of one of UP's team tracks in the Salt Lake Valley. Located between Main Street and West Temple Street, the Huslers Team Track was provided by UP as a loading area for customers, including a loading dock and ramp, who did not have their own spur or siding.
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