When the pioneers first came to the Salt Lake Valley on 24 July 1847, one of the first
places considered for settlement was the winding green strip of land
that flanked what they soon called Millcreek. While the primary settlement
was on the north end of the valley, Millcreek was soon settled as irrigation
ditches were dug and some of the valley's finest farms, orchards, and
dairies were initiated. The plan for Salt Lake City's blocks ended at
900 South, and the area south, to present-day 2700 South, was referred
to as the "Big Field," where the pioneers cultivated crops. The land
just south of the Big Field was called Millcreek, after the creek that
runs through the area to the Jordan River.
The area continued
to be sparsely populated agricultural land, with parcels allocated in
five- to twenty-acre units, until about 1870. Around that time, local
businesses began to develop; they included Husler's Mill, built about
1865 on the bank of Millcreek on Territory Road, which is today's State
Street. Other private, noteworthy developments of that era include Winder
Dairy and Calder Park. Winder Dairy is still a prominent name throughout
the area today, but it has long since moved to the west side of the
Salt Lake Valley.