Originally homesteaded by the Harrison McLane family in 1886, the farmland on SR 224 that also hosts the distinctive big white barn was purchased by Dan and Isabelle McPolin in 1896. In 1947, their son Patrick McPolin sold the farm to veterinarian D.A. Osguthorpe.
The Osguthorpe family was familiar with the farmland. In 1926, when D.A. was six years old, his grandfather Delbert Osguthorpe and uncle Clarence were running a sawmill and grazing cows at the head of Millcreek Canyon. The cows strayed across the divide and down onto the McPolin land, where they were spotted. The McPolin family sent a postcard to the Osguthorpes and D.A. joined his uncle on horseback, riding up and over Millcreek Canyon to retrieve the cows.
He never forgot that childhood memory, and some of his earliest thoughts were that it would be nice to someday own a beautiful farm such as that.
In 1947, as a young veterinarian, Dr. D.A. Osguthorpe, “Doc,” made frequent trips to Park City to care for the horses and mules living underground at the Silver King and Mayflower mines. On his way into town, he often admired the property on which the big white barn stood. He bought a ranch nearby in 1945. That ranch, on Old Ranch Road, is still owned and farmed by Doc’s son Steve.
In July 1947, Patrick McPolin, looking to move to Vernal and get into the oil business, approached Osguthorpe while the doctor was in town, offering to sell the property. McPolin was in a rush and having trouble selling his father’s estate; Doc was returning from business in Wyoming and Idaho and was flush with cash payment. The two shook hands and $1000 sealed the deal. McPolin even let Doc move in before the title was clear.
Doc began operating a dairy with fifty cows that October. By the following year, the purchase of the farm was complete. Over the next forty-three years, Doc went from hand-milking those first fifty cows to milking 250 cows through a fully-automated system.
Credit: Park City Historical Society and Museum, Judy Taylor Collection
Since 1947, various members of the Osguthorpe family have lived at the farm. Doc’s grandfather Delbert, his uncle Clarence and aunt Helen lived there for many years. The first house they occupied on the property burned, but they replaced it. It was located on the north side of the highway between the two large Colorado Blue Spruce trees that still stand.
The Doc’s son, Steve Osguthorpe, was born in 1948 and fondly remembers spending summers and weekends on the farm in Park City. He went to Utah State University, graduating with an Animal Science degree and in 1970 married Park City girl Vicki Leatham. They moved into the family home when they married. They lived on and operated the farm for twenty years.