USU Research Farm

Customary to many who practiced polygamy in the early years of the Church, a home was constructed for the wives of the man who was practicing.

Marriner Wood Merrill married his second wife Cyrene Standley, June 5, 1856 in Salt Lake City, Utah. They moved to Richmond in 1860 and began their farm in the area that would later become the South Farm. In the same company as Marriner was his brother-in-law Edwin Pace who owned about 20 acres around the area. The same year, Edwin became distasteful about the quality of life in Richmond and traded his land with landMarriner owned in Bountiful, Utah.1

The Merrill family continued to live in Richmond near the High Creek Canal, including purchasing a home across the canal from the Prator family. In the winter of 1872-1873, the Prator home was delicately taken apart and was moved to build a home on the South Farm.1 Some records indicate that the rock home was constructed in 1860 before the Merrill family added the wooden backside.3

Marrine married Maria Loenza Kingsbury on Oct 4, 1867 in Salt Lake City, Utah, a granddaughter of Stillman Pond. She moved to Richmond to begin raising her family and moved into the home on the mill on the northwest side of Richmond. In 1885, Cyrene and Maria did a home switch as each one wanted to live in the other's home. Maria lived in the home until 1906 after Marriner's death her children were adults. She sold the home to Parley Merrill, the oldest son of Cyrene and Marriner.2

It is unclear how long Parley owned the home. Sometime before 1962, the home was owned by John T. Caine as his country home.3 During the 1962 Earthquake, the home was destroyed and was leveled. By 1870, the property was owned by Lawrence B. Caine who had two of his children born in Richmond. A two-story home was constructed after the Merrill home was destroyed, but it is unknown which Caine member built it.

By 1999, the farm was donated to Utah State University and used the home to house some of the workers. By 2021, the home was demolished.

1. Merrill, Melvin Clarence, (1937). Utah Pioneer and Apostle: Marriner Wood Merrill and His Family, pgs. 402. Digital copy Internet Archive, Contributed by the Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center. Internet Archive. https://archive.org/details/utahpioneerapost00merr/page/405/mode/1up

2. Merrill, Melvin Clarence, (1937). Utah Pioneer and Apostle: Marriner Wood Merrill and His Family, pgs. 456-458. Digital copy Internet Archive, Contributed by the Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center. Internet Archive. https://archive.org/details/utahpioneerapost00merr/page/457/mode/1up

3. "Caine, John T.-Country Home P.1 | Classified Photographs". collections.lib.utah.edu. Retrieved June 18, 2024.