Prison once stood where park now is

SUGAR HOUSE — Up until 54 years ago, Sugar House was a much different community than it is today. Notwithstanding great advances in technology, it was the town's state prison that was the major difference.

From January of 1855 until 1951 — nearly a century — today's Sugarhouse Park was home to the "state pen."

While today the large area southeast of 1300 East and 2100 South comprises the park and Highland High School — with students, joggers, bikers, picnickers and sporting events — a large rock wall and fences used to surround the area to house criminals and "undesirables."

The Utah Territory built its first prison on the site in 1854, just southeast of the city limits. Brigham Young himself chose the prison site, which was six miles from the city center, in October of 1853. This site had been known as "The Big Field Survey."

According to information from the Utah State Historical Society, it was 10 acres at first. About $32,000 was spent on the prison facilities, but none was for land, because the property was government-owned. Plans were made in March of 1853, and the prison opened a year later.

The original prison was just 16 "cozy cells dug into the ground, with iron bars on top."

These first cells resembled large bird cages, and sometimes cloth or canvass would be draped on top of the cell to halt the sun or inclement weather.

A few years later, an adobe wall, 12 feet high and 4 feet thick, was added, and it enclosed a log dining room and meeting hall. The warden had his own house.

Sir Richard Burton described the area in 1860 like this:

"It is a somewhat oriental-looking building, with a large quadrangle behind the house, guarded by a wall with a walk on the summit and pepper-caster sentry boxes at each angle. There are cells, in which the convicts are shut up at night, but one of these had lately been broken by an Indian, who had cut his way through the wall. We found in it besides the guardians, only six persons, of whom two were Utah Indians."

The cells were poorly ventilated and plain undesirable. In fact, women prisoners were originally placed in the warden's house.

By 1863, another $3,000 was appropriated for repairs, which included $1,000 for the warden's yearly salary.

In 1866, the inmates asked the warden for schooling. Some limited education programs soon began.