Sugarhouse Park Former Prison Site (Murray, Draper: house, grocer, vacation)

[burnw005]

Just returned to Fla. from vacation to SLC and vist to daughter in Sugarhouse area. Had occasion to visit the beautiful Sugarhouse Park and must remark how wonderfully it is cared for, kudos to SLC Parks Dept! Being a history buff, I came across a stone monument hidden in some trees to a prison that occupied this site many years ago. I was amazed, as the only remnants of this prison was the actual monument with plaque. Does anyone have the actual name and dates this exsisted, as I did not copy down the detail on the plaque. As an aside, as beautiful as the Park is, we did notice about half-dozen dead ducks floating in the pond, as water was rather nasty. Thanks

[Lmejh]

That was a story on the news, about the ducks. Some disease has been affecting them or something and the man (i.e. the Department of So-and-so) is just baffled as to what's killing them.

[SouthernBelleInUtah]

This was the prison that held the LDS men who were polygamists when the Feds cracked down, in the 1800s, not sure of the dates. I mean, it was a prison before that, from what I've read, but it was where they were sent when sentenced. Don't know when it was pulled down, but I think it was infamous and it was razed.

[cottonwood2420]

Sugar House Prison (also known as the Utah Territorial Prison) was the first and only prison in Utah. It closed in 1951 because of the residential development in the area and the prisoners were moved to the new Utah State Prison in Draper. I'm not sure when it was opened, but I know that the Warden Mathew Burgher was murdered by prisoners during an escape attempt at the prison in 1876.

[Murraydad]

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[SouthernBelleInUtah]

Originally Posted by Murraydad

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Thanks for the links! I had seen some photos of the prison, from the 1800s, but these were new to me. It sure was a massive place!

[markg91359]

This is an old thread, so I hope you still reading replies. However, the Old Sugarhouse Territorial Prison was established out 1870. As previous writers have pointed out it was used to house those convicted of the federal anti-polygamy laws. George Q. Cannon who was in the First Presidency of the LDS Church was one of the prisoners held there at one point.

Perhaps, the most famous event in the history of the prison was the execution of Joe Hill. Joe Hill was a labor leader and union organizer in the early twentieth century who had immigrated to the USA from Sweden. One Saturday evening a grocer was found shot to death in his Salt Lake store. Joe Hill appeared at a local physician's office requesting medical attention for a gunshot wound of his own. It turned out that Joe had been shot with a gun of the same caliber that was owned by the murdered grocer. Based largely on this fact and Hill's refusal to explain what he had been doing that evening he was convicted of murder and sentenced to death. A world wide outcry followed and even President Woodrow Wilson requested a commutation of Joe Hill's death sentence. Governor Spry denied this request and Hill was shot by a firing squad at the Sugarhouse Prison.

The prison did close in 1951, but some of the buildings were used as a Salt Lake County Jail into the 1960's before they were finally torn down.

Its hard to imagine such a turbulent past when you sit at a picnic table today in this beautiful peaceful park isn't it?