HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Sugar House Prison, previously the Utah Territorial Penitentiary, was a
prison A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, corre ...
in the Sugar House neighborhood of
Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the capital and most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in Utah. With a population of 200,133 in 2020, th ...
,
Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to its ...
, United States. The prison housed more than 400 inmates. It was closed in 1951 due to encroaching
housing development A housing estate (or sometimes housing complex or housing development) is a group of homes and other buildings built together as a single development. The exact form may vary from country to country. Popular throughout the United States ...
, and all of its inmates were moved to the new
Utah State Prison Utah State Prison (USP) was one of two prisons managed by the Utah Department of Corrections' Division of Institutional Operations. It was located in Draper, Utah, United States, about southwest of Salt Lake City.Utah Department of Correc ...
in
Draper Draper was originally a term for a retailer or wholesaler of cloth that was mainly for clothing. A draper may additionally operate as a cloth merchant or a haberdasher. History Drapers were an important trade guild during the medieval period, ...
. The site is now occupied by
Sugar House Park Sugar House Park, also known as Sugarhouse Park, is located between I-80, 2100 South, 1300 East, and 1700 East in the Sugar House neighborhood of Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. The park is at the heart of the Sugar House neighborhood. ...
and Highland High School.


History


Territorial prison

In January 1852 Territorial Assembly of the
Utah Territory The Territory of Utah was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from September 9, 1850, until January 4, 1896, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Utah, the 45th state ...
approved a memorial requesting Congress appropriate $70,000 for a territorial penitentiary. Congress approved an appropriation of $20,000 in March 1853 and plans were drawn up. The following October, territorial governor
Brigham Young Brigham Young (; June 1, 1801August 29, 1877) was an American religious leader and politician. He was the second president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), from 1847 until his death in 1877. During his time as chu ...
selected the government-owned site, then known as "The Big Field Survey", about six miles from central Salt Lake City. Sixteen "cozy cells dug into the ground, with iron bars on top" comprised the original prison at a cost of $32,000. The facility that became known as the Utah Territorial Penitentiary was opened in 1855. In 1867, the
Utah Territorial Legislature The Utah State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Utah. It is a bicameral body, comprising the Utah House of Representatives, with 75 state representatives, and the Utah Senate, with 29 state senators. There are no term ...
determined that the prison was inadequate and once considered moving it onto an island in the
Great Salt Lake The Great Salt Lake is the largest saltwater lake in the Western Hemisphere and the eighth-largest terminal lake in the world. It lies in the northern part of the U.S. state of Utah and has a substantial impact upon the local climate, particu ...
. From 1871 to 1896, the penitentiary was federally operated by U.S. Marshals. The inmate capacity was expanded in 1875 to accommodate 300 individuals with the construction of a new cell house and prison walls.


State prison

In 1896, the buildings and surrounding lands were given to the newly created State of Utah and were designated as the Utah State Prison, sometimes referred to as the "state pen". Starting in 1900, executions by the state were carried out in the prison. Prior to that, death penalties were administered in the counties where the crimes had been committed. (reposted by Utah.gov) Tickets were distributed in 1903 for admission to publicly view an
execution by firing squad Execution by firing squad, in the past sometimes called fusillading (from the French ''fusil'', rifle), is a method of capital punishment, particularly common in the military and in times of war. Some reasons for its use are that firearms are u ...
. With the continuing growth of Salt Lake City, the local residents eventually wanted the prison population relocated away from the neighborhood of Sugar House. In 1937, plans were approved for a new prison, 22 miles south of the city in
Draper Draper was originally a term for a retailer or wholesaler of cloth that was mainly for clothing. A draper may additionally operate as a cloth merchant or a haberdasher. History Drapers were an important trade guild during the medieval period, ...
. By 1941, work began on the 1019-acre (408 ha) site, then called "Point of the Mountain", to replace the aging penitentiary. However, construction of the new facility was delayed because of shortages stemming from
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
. On March 12, 1951, the 575 inmates at the old prison were transferred by bus to the newly completed
Utah State Prison Utah State Prison (USP) was one of two prisons managed by the Utah Department of Corrections' Division of Institutional Operations. It was located in Draper, Utah, United States, about southwest of Salt Lake City.Utah Department of Correc ...
. After nine sticks of
dynamite Dynamite is an explosive made of nitroglycerin, sorbents (such as powdered shells or clay), and stabilizers. It was invented by the Swedish chemist and engineer Alfred Nobel in Geesthacht, Northern Germany, and patented in 1867. It rapidl ...
had little effect on the heavy walls of the shuttered penitentiary, the demolition of many sections had to be carried out stone by stone.


City/County Park

Following the razing of the old prison, proposals to repurpose the land included an amusement park, campground, golf course, and shopping center. The former site eventually became Sugar House Park, jointly owned by Salt Lake City and Salt Lake County, while were set aside for the future campus of Highland High School.


Notable inmates

* George Q. Cannon, early Mormon leader who was given a six-month sentence in September 1888 for "unlawful
cohabitation Cohabitation is an arrangement where people who are not married, usually couples, live together. They are often involved in a romantic or sexually intimate relationship on a long-term or permanent basis. Such arrangements have become increas ...
" under the
Edmunds Act The Edmunds Act, also known as the Edmunds Anti-Polygamy Act of 1882,U.S.History.com is a United States federal statute, signed into law on March 23, 1882 by President Chester A. Arthur, declaring polygamy a felony in federal territories. The ac ...
. * John Deering, convicted
murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification or valid excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person without justification or excuse, especially the ...
er who was executed by firing squad in 1938 while hooked up to an electrocardiogram. * Joe Hill, convicted of murdering storekeeper John A. Morrison on circumstantial evidence; executed in 1915 at the prison despite attempts at intervention by President
Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...
.


See also

* Capital punishment in Utah *
List of Utah state prisons This is a complete list of List of U.S. state prisons, state prisons in Utah. There are no List of U.S. federal prisons, federal prisons in Utah and this list does not include county jails located in the state of Utah. As of 2010, Utah eliminated ...
*
Utah Department of Corrections The Utah Department of Corrections (UDC) is a government agency dedicated to the management and supervision of convicted felons in the U.S. state of Utah. It is currently led by the Executive Director Brian Nielson. It has its headquarters in ...


References


External links


Sugar House Park
(official site)

(photos)

at the Utah State Archives and Records Service
Utah Territorial Prison, Sugar House 1855-1951
at UtahRails.net {{authority control Government buildings completed in 1855 Infrastructure completed in 1855 Buildings and structures demolished in 1951 Buildings and structures in Salt Lake City Defunct prisons in Utah 1855 establishments in Utah Territory 1951 disestablishments in Utah Joe Hill (activist)