One word you just never hear while visiting the Taylorsville-Bennion Heritage Center (1488 W. 4800 South) is “new.” The only Taylorsville home appearing on the National Register of Historic Places (since 2023) was built in 1906. Everything displayed in the home and around the grounds is at least as old as your great grandparents – unless you are the great grandparent.

No matter where you look… whichever way you turn… absolutely nothing in sight is “new.” 

So, let’s just say there are a lot of “different” things happening this spring at the venerable museum… inside the garage, behind it… and at the former Jones Dairy Store, next door to the west. 

“The (Taylorsville) City (Council) has been wonderful in recent years, providing us with critical capital improvement funding,” Taylorsville Historic Preservation Committee Chair Susan Yadeskie said. “They have allocated our committee $15,000 in improvement funding each of the past three years. They have not promised it will continue. But the council seems to understand, it costs money to keep historic places like this standing.”

Taylorsville City first purchased the property in 2002 for $500,000. That may sound like a steal now, given all the acreage around the property. But at that time, the home was in pretty rough shape – and the city was still in its infancy, after incorporating just six years earlier.

Right after the property purchase, the Historic Preservation Committee was one of the earliest Taylorsville volunteer service committees to be created. 

With the recent influx of improvement funding, the committee first focused on several important structural concerns inside and out of the main home. Once those issues were resolved, Yadeskie said her group next wanted to create additional space, so more of their vintage memorabilia could be displayed and enjoyed by the public.

“Directly behind (north of) the Heritage Center is a large, 3-door garage, built decades after the home,” Yadeskie said. “We have stored historic items in there for years. But it was not functional to allow the public to go inside. There was dust everywhere… it did not have heat or air conditioning… the floor was a mess. We finally decided it was time to make better use of that space.”

A few outside professionals had to be hired to improve lighting and install heat and A/C. But all of the rest of the improvements were made by Historic Preservation Committee members, primarily Keith Sorensen, Kent Tanner and Yadeskie’s husband, Bill Yadeskie.

“They installed a new ceiling and new floor, built the display cabinets and painted,” Yadeskie added. “We did have to purchase the glass shelves and large, glass displace case doors. But our volunteers did all the rest. We never could have afforded to hire out all of that other work. And they did a great, professional job.”

The Historic Preservation Committee has named its refurbished display space the Spencer-Webster Learning Center.

“The Spencer and Webster families were among this area’s very earliest settlers, and each included several educators,” Yadeskie added. “George M. Spencer was my great-great-grandfather. His mother was a teacher… he was a teacher… and five of his six children became teachers and school administrators. Meantime, sisters Emma Jane and Georgiana Webster were both prominent educators in our area also.” 

Just about the time the Spencer-Webster Learning Center was being completed, another new – er, “different” – thing also happened at the Taylorsville-Bennion Heritage Center, when the Historic Preservation Committee got a new renter.

“We have spent a lot of time in recent years cleaning up the old dairy store next door to the museum,” Yadeskie said. “We rent the space out for wedding receptions, family reunions, things like that. It’s never been much of a money maker. But now, with new flooring and paint, I think more people will want to use it. That’s why we were excited when Judd Houser and his group stopped by.”

Houser isn’t “new” either. He’s closer to 70 than 60. But that still makes him a youngster compared to the cars he collects. Houser is secretary of the Salty A’s Ford Model A Club (saltyasfordmodelaclub.com). He owns several vintage automobiles – the oldest built just three years after the Heritage Center farmhouse was completed.

“I own seven antique cars, dating from 1909 to 1931,” Houser said. “I have three Ford Model Ts and two Ford Model As. Our Salty A’s car club is affiliated with the national Model A Ford Club of America (MAFCA). There are five chapters in Utah from Ogden to St. George. I’ve been a member of our local chapter four years and was vice president for two before becoming secretary this year.”

As secretary, one of the things his fellow Salty A’s club members hoped he could do is find a new location for their monthly meetings.

“My wife grew up in the neighborhood across the street, south of the museum, and my mother-in-law still lives there,” Houser added. “I remember when the Jones Dairy store was still open. One day I was out to lunch with a fellow club member when we decided to stop in at the museum. Luckily, Susan Yadeskie was there.”

The Historic Preservation Committee rents its dairy store meeting space for $40 per hour. The Salty A’s are receiving a discount for their monthly meetings because Houser has agreed to volunteer as a docent (museum tour guide) one day per month.

“Our first club gathering at the dairy store drew 33 members – our best-attended meeting since I joined,” Houser said. “All of the club members seemed to love it. We enjoy all kinds of antiques – not just our cars. As for volunteering as a docent, I’ve been looking for an opportunity to do something like that for years. So, it is a great fit.”

Houser reports his Salty A’s club members are also already talking about possibly staging an antique car show outside the Heritage Center sometime this year. And he suspects several club members will be driving their antique Fords in this summer’s Taylorsville Dayzz parade, as the city marks its 30th year of incorporation. 

“I think this is going to be a wonderful win-win opportunity for our Salty A’s and also for the museum,” Houser concluded. “We are always looking for activities to do with our antique cars. Now it looks like we’ll be able to do more of them in Taylorsville.”

Mayor Kristie Overson is thrilled as well.

“Our Historic Preservation Committee members are so quiet and fly under the radar; but they get so much done, it’s amazing,” the mayor said. “Any work they can do themselves around the museum, they always take care of it. And it’s just delightful this antique car club has discovered the museum – and Taylorsville. A car show outside the Heritage Center would be wonderful. And if we get some of their cars in the Taylorsville Dayzz parade this summer, it would be incredible.”

The Taylorsville-Bennion Heritage Center is open for free public tours on Tuesdays 9 to 1, Wednesdays 6 to 8 in the evening and 2 to 6 Saturday afternoons.