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| Thomas G. Wimmer house at 601 E 300 S, Salt Lake City. An inverted photoshopped view to make it look more spooky. 601 E 300 S. |
One of the creepy old houses I was able to explore recently was this large house at 601 East 300 South, Salt Lake City. This post is primarily on the basement experience, which is super creepy.
There are lots of ghost stories and unexplained events that have occurred here, one of which is the ghostly presence of an angry solitary man, sometimes inhabiting the basement. Recent happenings include burst lightbulbs and generally cold and confined feelings of people who visit the basement.
I don’t know how ghosts work; but, when researching the history of this house I came across a history of a solitary man with an unfortunate ending.
The house is formally known as the Thomas G Wimmer house (built about 1900) but that story comes later. Before the house was built it was property owned by the Charles H. and Louisa King family.
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| 1898 Sanborn map showing King Corner 600 East and 300 South, Salt Lake City |
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| 1911 Sanborn map showing King Corner 600 East and 300 South, Salt Lake City |
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| Modern aerial image showing King Corner 600 East and 300 South, Salt Lake City |
Charles was a Mormon convert from England who crossed the plains in a wagon train and arrived in SLC in October 1852 at the age of 35. When Charles was 40 he married 18-year-old Louisa, also from England, and they immediately started their family, of which William Charles King was the 3rd of 8 kids.
William (who also went by Charles W) lived his entire life in the small adobe family home on a large corner lot on the NE side of the corner of 600 E and 300 S, known as King Corner.
He seemed to be a responsible and studious individual and was in regular employment by George M. Scott & Co (a store primarily for mining items) since he was a boy.
By the time William was 26 he was working as an accounts collector and was in high standing with his employer, his accounts were in good order. He was unmarried, which was unusual at his age but nothing too concerning. Unfortunately, William suffered from depression and his family indicated he had been despondent for many years.
After returning home in the early morning hours of Wed, Oct 8, 1890, William shot himself in the head above his right ear. His mother found his stiff body a few yards away from the family’s home as she gathered the morning paper, around 7am. William’s father recalled hearing something like a gunshot around 2am but paid no attention to it.
The coroner officially stated his cause of death was a pistol shot wound in the head inflicted by his own hand during a spell of despondency.
William Charles King (Feb 8 1864 to Oct 8 1890). Born and died in Salt Lake City on his family's plot of land, 267 South 600 East. He is buried in the Salt Lake City Cemetery.
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| Stairs to the basement at 601 E 300 S |
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| Storage shelf in the basement which was the primary area of ghostly encounters when I visited in Oct 2022. 601 E 300 S. |
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| Closed off coal shaft in the basement, with wallpapered plaster remnants,601 E 300 S. |
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| Wallpaper in the basement, 601 E 300 S. |
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| Spooky window, 601 E 300 S |
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| Normal view of Thomas G. Wimmer house at 601 E 300 S. Salt Lake City. viewed from 300 South. |
Sources:
- Records on ancestry.com
- Salt Lake Tribune, March 30 1890
- Deseret News, Oct 8 1890
- Salt Lake Herald, Oct 10 1890
- Salt Lake Times, Oct 8 1890
- Salt Lake Herald, May 9 1899
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