When 10,000 Hens Ruled Granger: Cackling Acres
Blaze Levels Coop: 10,000 Hens Lost in 1965
Cackling Acres – A Beloved Granger Egg Producer
In the 1960s through the mid-1970s, Cackling Acres, Inc. was a well-known and trusted egg supplier serving families throughout the Salt Lake Valley. While the company operated convenient retail “Milk Depot”-style outlets at:
5402 South Redwood Road
4038 South 2700 East
its large-scale hen houses were located in Granger (now West Valley City), where thousands of hens produced fresh eggs daily for area distributors.
The 1965 Fire Tragedy
On a Monday afternoon February 8th 1965, tragedy struck the Granger operation at 2662 West 4700 South. A devastating fire broke out at approximately 4:45 p.m., destroying a massive 75-by-240-foot metal and frame chicken coop.
According to County Fire Chief Frank P. Jones, sparks from a welder melting tar on the roof ignited the structure. The flames spread rapidly, engulfing the building within minutes.
A workman attempted to rescue the hens, but the intensity of the fire forced him back.
10,000 hens perished
Approximately 125 chickens escaped
An estimated 7,000 eggs were lost
Automatic feeding, watering, and egg-gathering equipment was destroyed
Estimated loss was reported at $340,000 (a staggering amount in 1965)
Fire crews from the Salt Lake headquarters station at 3690 South Main, along with units from Kearns and Granger, responded. It took four and a half hours to bring the blaze under control, and the structure smoldered for hours afterward.
Thankfully, three additional coops housing approximately 15,000 hens were saved from damage.
Community Impact
Cackling Acres (sometimes referenced as Cackling Brothers, Inc.) supplied eggs to distributors throughout the Salt Lake area and was part of the agricultural backbone of Granger during its farming era. The sight — and sound — of thousands of laying hens was part of daily life in what was then still a largely rural community.
Though the fire marked a heartbreaking chapter, it remains an important reminder of the scale of agricultural enterprise that once thrived in Granger before suburban development transformed the landscape.
