Preston Interurban

The 1915 Preston arrival of the popular interurban railway sparked a massive celebration that drew over 7,000 people to Preston's city park. Eventually, passengers could travel the interurban from Preston to Payson, Utah, 166 miles to the south.
We have been unable to find a photo of the interurban in Preston. This picture was taken in July 1915 when the first interurban arrived in Orem, Utah.  We believe the interurban cars shown here are a reasonable facsimile of those that would have been in use in Preston at the same time. 

https://collections.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s6r78pnk

Prior to the arrival of the interurban, Preston was a typical rural western city with unpaved streets that often became a mud bog in wet weather.  Travel to nearby communities was a time-consuming and often tedious journey.  The interurban changed all that by connecting Preston with a new world of opportunities.

http://www.franklincountyhist.org/

When Ogden, Logan and Idaho Railways Company officials announced in December 1914 they were going to extend the line to Preston it was Big News throughout the area.

https://www.newspapers.com/clip/62010237/december-1914-preston-announcement/

"Ollie", as the Ogden, Logan and Idaho Railway was known, didn't waste any time in following through on their promise. The line reached Preston in March 1915.  Since Wasatch area March weather isn't conducive to large outdoor public events, Preston People and Ollie officials wisely waited until mid-April to celebrate the interurban's arrival in Preston.

https://www.newspapers.com/clip/61955581/official-opening-april-17-1915/

The interurban celebration attendance remains one of the largest single-day events in Preston history. Only "That Famous Preston Night Rodeo" has been able to top the April 1915 celebration attendance.

(Editor's Note: The screen clip above is from a BYU Master's Thesis linked below.  The thesis author quoted from the "Franklin County Citizen", April 22 1915  for the account of the celebration.)

"A History of Preston, Idaho"

by Clarence G. Judy, 1961

Brigham Young University - Provo

Pages 70-71 (78-79 on PDF viewer)

https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=5843&context=etd

Ollie constructed an entirely new railway to reach Preston.  It was completely separate from the older, nearby Cache Valley RR of the Oregon Short Line Railroad.  The line approached Preston in a piano-wire-straight due-north directione before curving northwest to intersect South State Street.

https://ngmdb.usgs.gov/topoview/viewer/

This 1915 USGS topo map clip shows how the interurban intersected South State Street and then turned north to its terminus at Oneida and State in downtown Preston.

https://ngmdb.usgs.gov/topoview/viewer/

Just to be on the safe side, we studied USGS topographical map symbols to verify that the interurban did indeed extend north on State Street to its intersection with Oneida.

1918 Map key

https://pubs.usgs.gov/unnumbered/70039569/report.pdf

Page 223

By deriving GPS coordinates from the 1915 USGS topo map, we were able to determine the extent of the interurban's line in Preston.

https://bit.ly/3ouv1fU

Using additional GPS coordinates derived from the 1915 USGS topo map, we found the interurban's alignment out in the farmland adjacent to Preston.  In some places, the old line is still clearly visible on Google Earth's imagery. We're confident that our own red lines drawn in here are within a few feet of where the interurban line actually existed and intersected with South State Street.

Image courtesy of Google Maps.

Travel on the interurban line from Preston  to Ogden supposedly took five hours, presumably because of many stops in between and the slower speed of the interurban.  Ogden had trolley lines long before the interurban reach Preston. Eventually the lines along Washington Avenue became an interurban backbone.  (Editor's Note: the source of the above view is linked below.  You can find many early views of "Ogden Washington Avenue" but simply using that search term without quotes on eBay."

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Postcard-Post-Card-Ogden-Utah-Ut-Washington-Avenue-2/303743269871

Ridership statistics for the Preston stretch of Ollie have yet to be found.  The above figures are from a completely different interurban along the Wasatch Front.  Clearly, the interurban was very popular in its heyday.

https://digital.lib.usu.edu/digital/collection/Bear/id/32426/rec/93

We found online this share certificate for Ollie. Ironically, the antique certificate sold for $1000, the same value for which it was issued  long ago.

https://www.glabarre.com/category/Railroad_Bonds/c30d5p6

Occasionally, some Ollie artifacts turn up online.

https://picclick.com/Ogden-Logan-Idaho-Railway-Company-1916-Railroad-173435357136.html

As far as we can discern, the Ogden, Logan and Idaho Railway eventually became the Utah Interurban Company.  Equipment was upgraded as better technology became available.  Automobile usage eventually spelled the end of the interurban.  The lines were all closed down and removed not long after the end of WWII.

Source of photo is Page 2
https://www.cachecounty.org/assets/department/devserv/zCWP/September%202019%20(1.2).pdf

For a fascinating history of the Utah Interurban Company see:

https://issuu.com/utah10/docs/uhq_volume27_1959_number2/s/97326
 

Preston Milling Co. Carload flour sale at SLC United Grocery - 1920

 Preston Milling Company flour was once considered some of the best of the best in the Idaho-Utah region. Salt Lake City's venerable United Grocery touted a genuine "car load" sale in late  October1920.

Source: https://www.newspapers.com/clip/61934602/preston-flour1/

United Grocery went into business on Salt Lake City's Main Street in 1887. By 1920,United was considered one of the city's top grocery stores. Source:

The Preston Milling Company car load flour sale was prominently featured in United's ad on Page 4 of the 72-page Sunday October 24, 1920, edition of the "Salt Lake Tribune."
Source: https://www.newspapers.com/clip/61934728/preston-flour-2-full-united-ad/

"High Patent" flour was (and remains) considered as the finest possible quality obtainable.

See: https://bakerpedia.com/ingredients/patent-flour/

"Generous response is sure to follow" so "Be there EARLY as possible"
Can you imagine the crush of humanity that must have crowded up to the rail car?

This clip from a Sanborn Fire Insurance Map shows the rail siding (left circle) in proximity to  United Grocery's location (right circle). Source of Map: https://www.loc.gov/item/sanborn08891_006/

We'll never know what type of a boxcar carried the flour from Preston to Salt Lake City.  The above box car was probably the type of car used in 1920.
Source of photo: http://www.lomita-rr.org/exhibits/?exhibit=boxcar

However, it could have been this "new & improved" type of box car.  This is an HO scale model.

Source: https://www.con-cor.com/shop/1880s-1930s-wooden-boxcar-union-pacific/
For more details on vintage boxcars see Page 14 here:

http://magazine.trainlife.com/rmj_1993_2/

United Grocery occupied at least two locations during its50-year-run in Salt Lake City. This photo appears to show a 269 S. Main address.  The business is said to have been located at 276 S. Main before settling into its final location.  Source of 1911 photo:
https://collections.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s69w0swf

This appears to be the 322 S. Main St. address that United occupied for its final years of operation.
Source of 1929 photo: https://collections.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s61p092b

United Grocery went out of business in 1937 after 50 great years of service to Salt Lake City.

Source of article: https://www.newspapers.com/clip/61937006/united-grocery-closes-1937/

As far as we can discern, this is 322 S. Main Street in Salt Lake City.

Today, the location appears to be on the south side of the heart of downtown Salt Lake City's burgeoning business district.  Some old buildings across Main Street house an eclectic assortment of boutique eateries.

Franklin County seat Preston, Idaho, has always been a thriving community. In 1920 Preston's population was over 3,200.  For a 127-page history of Preston up to 1960 see:
https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=5843&context=etd

Source of photo: http://www.franklincountyhist.org/home.html

The Preston Milling Company was a Big Deal in the community. "The Preston Milling Company had a reputation of being among the best flour mills in the west with the very latest machinery. Trucks and the railroad took the Optimo brand of flour to markets down through Cache Valley and stores in Ogden and north to Pocatello. The mill was known to give a square deal to both the producers of grain and the consumers of their products, both flour and cereal. In 15 hours of time they could grind about 550 bushels of wheat and “carload after carload was being shipped throughout the west.”

For a full history of the mill see:
https://www.hjnews.com/preston/developing-town-preston-milling-site-still-serves-up-grain-today/article_2986eb97-cc19-5277-b572-58d91cc8b6b1.html

Sanborn Fire Map field staff were meticulous in describing the "innards" of any manufacturing plant.

They also typically described a plant's capacity and how the owners provided fire protection.

Source of map: https://www.loc.gov/item/sanborn01658_002/

The Preston Milling Company was located on the far south edge of town in the area of red circle.

Here's a view of that area today via Google Maps Streetview. Valley-Wide Home and Ranch main store is at left in this view.

Agriculture continues to be a mainstay of Preston and Franklin County culture and economy.
For a detailed look at Franklin County ag stats see: 
https://www.nass.usda.gov/Publications/AgCensus/2017/Online_Resources/County_Profiles/Idaho/cp16041.pdf

Wheat has always been a staple crop in Franklin County and it's good to see quite a few acres remain planted to this grain.

Part of the ultimate success and reputation of the Preston Milling Company came when Joshua Rallison purchased stock in the Preston Milling Company. His investment in the company motivated him to be creative in his encouragement to farmers to use the milling company for their grain and flour. In the fall of 1916 for the local fair the Preston Milling company offered a 98-pound sack of Optimo flour for the best bushel of Turkey Red Wheat entered at the fair. He noted that he was doing all in his power to get the farmers to grow the Turkey Red and then to show it so they would see how it compared with other wheats." (Quote from history of Preston Milling Co. cited above.) 

Interestingly, history repeats itself in Southeast Idaho. The Arcadia Company is urging farmers to plant their brand called "Good Wheat."  It's quite an intriguing story you can read about here:

https://www.idahostatejournal.com/news/local/wheat-going-good-southeast-idaho-is-production-hub-of-wheat-brand-bred-for-health-benefits/article_ee296479-0218-545c-987c-1f774a4f51c5.html

See also:

https://arcadiabio.com/

Finally, for the truly curious--here's how Idaho's 2020 wheat crop turned out:

https://www.postregister.com/chronicle/news/idaho-wheat-crop-makes-up-ground-after-slow-start/article_84ca8630-7504-5223-b981-91631d2eb388.html