The Hancock Mansion at 444 S 700 East in SLC is said to be haunted by the ghost of Ms. Hollister Hancock.
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The Hancock Mansion at 444 South 700 East, Salt Lake City. January 2023. |
Built in 1890 for SLC businessman Thomas F. Mulloy, the
house is often referred to as the Mulloy House by historians but it was the Hancock family that
occupied the house for decades and the owners of the building call it the
Hancock Mansion.
The mansion was purchased in 1901 by Col. William M. Ferry
Jr, who owned several silver mines in the Park City area; he gifted the house to
his daughters, Kate Hancock and Mary Allen.
Kate Hancock lived in the house with her husband George,
daughter Mary “Hollister” and son John. Two of Kate’s other children had died
in the two years prior, the loss of which was devastating to the family. The
gift of a new home was likely an attempt to cope and adjust to their new
reality.
Side note: Mary Ferry Allen’s son,
W. Montague Allen designed the Daughters of the ill-fated American Revolution
fountain gifted to Salt Lake City that is now a decoration at Liberty Park.
Second side note: Col William Ferry is also
known for gifting 22 acres of land for Westminster College. A stipulation of
his gift and the construction of Ferry Hall, the women’s dormitory, that the
management of the women’s building be handled by a board of women. The original
board included Col William Ferry’s wife, Jeanette, and their daughter
(Hollister’s mother) Kate Hancock.
Hollister Hancock also served on the board for 57 years. Ferry Hall was demolished in 1987.
In the early 1900s, the Hancock family often hosted parties
and weddings at their home, which was often decorated with roses and ferns. Hollister
was a socialite who attended prestigious finishing schools in the East; and, in
1903 she attended a reception at the White House hosted by the First Lady,
Edith Roosevelt.
Hollister Hancock inherited the house after her mother’s
death in 1940. Hollister lived in the house for 75 years, until her death in
1976. She was an active club woman and was devoted to her service with the
Women’s Board of Westminster College.
Hollister was said to have a prickly personality; my guess
is that due to her extensive society and etiquette training, her disapproval of
changing cultural norms were likely expressed quite often.
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Ms. Hollister "Holl" Hancock in 1956 having tea with the Westminster Mothers. Image from USHS. |
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The Hancock Mansion, ca 1970s. From USHS. |
In 1977, the house was leased and restored by Pam March, who
established her floral business, Every Blooming Thing. Pam reported that items were rearranged
overnight, doors were locked from the inside, and once an individual fell
through the ceiling from the attic during repairs and landed in the bathroom
below (he was not injured) and a card fell with him that read “Merry Christmas
from Hollister Hancock.”
Pam reported seeing the ghost of Hollister during Christmas
season who told her that “Hollister Hancock is pleased with what you have done
with the house and her spirit is with you.”
Perhaps a reference to flowers once again filling the old mansion (?).
Pam called “Holl” her guardian angel.
Ghost hunters and psychics have investigated the house.
Little children can be heard talking and laughing upstairs. A tall, thin man who is somehow connected the
Civil War also stands in front of an upstairs bedroom, likely a reference to
Col William Ferry who was an officer in the 14th Michigan Infantry
of the Civil War.
The Hancock Mansion at 444 S 700 East is located in the
Central City Historic District and is the last of the historic buildings on the
block.
The adjacent buildings such as Fendall’s Ice Cream/Big Daddy
Pizza, the old Modern Display and McArthur buildings were demolished in 2023,
leaving the historic Hancock Mansion a stalwart outlier to the surrounding demolition
and development.
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The Hancock Mansion after some adjacent structures were demolished, Aug 2024. |
Sources:
- Salt Lake Community College Student Newspapers 1993-10-27 Page
6
- The Salt Lake Tribune May 3 1970 p87
- The Daily Utah Chronicle 1903-01-27 p7
- The Salt Lake Tribune 1901-12-21 p3
- The Salt Lake Tribune 1977-04-04 p15
- Deseret News 2010-03-17
- Specters in Doorways by Linda Dunning 2003