Native beans! Indigenous food update from my garden

These unusually large beans are known commercially as “Fremont Beans,” and are reported to have been re-introduced by the Worden family of central Utah (and Colorado) from 40 beans taken from an ancient ceramic vessel within an ancient dwelling in the 1960s.

This event does not appear to have been documented and I can’t find a primary source for this story.

I purchased these beans last spring at Liberty Heights Fresh which are commercially distributed by 21st Century Bean (also available from Hells Backbone Grill, although my note about this at the end of my post.

I planted some of the beans last spring and cooked the others.

I have been unable to determine the factual history of the bean. The story about rejuvenation from an ancient archaeological context has been told many times for many varieties of corn, beans, melons, etc. It’s a common story but rarely verifiable.

A 1977 study points out that seed viability deteriorates rapidly for domesticated species as they have been selected for high germination rates following planting, generally within a few years of their harvest. Seed viability for domesticated species tends to be measured in decades, not centuries.

This same study recounts several stories of the rejuvenation of ancient native seeds from around the American Southwest, but all with dubious origin stories. More likely is that native agricultural plants have been curated by native peoples, possibly reintroduced into archaeological context through packrats or people leaving offerings. Maybe, who knows.

Regardless of the origin story, the Fremont Beans that I planted appear to be the same variety identified as P22-009, a Runner Bean (Phaseolus coccineus, Fabaceae), curated by Native Seeds/SEARCH seed bank. The identified origin of P22-009 is “Utah.”

I have sent Native Seeds/SEARCH  request for more information about the origin of P22-009.

I will be posting more of my pondering and experiences with this bean. #beangeek

The Four Corner’s potato

Alastair Lee Bitsóí, Diné, holds a harvest of Four Corners Potatoes in a Diné Basket at his farm in the Navajo Nation. Photo Credit: Alastair Bitsóí

Local Indigenous foods: the Four Corner’s potato (Solanum jamesii).

Most of the world’s potatoes are descendants of a single South American native potato species, Solanum tuberosum, but Utah’s native potato is a different species.

Within the last 100-150 years, the Four Corner’s potato has largely been forgotten with few people (Indigenous and Non-Indigenous) recalling its abundance and importance.

That has changed within the last few years; the Four Corner’s potato is being revived as a native food.

Researchers from the University of Utah, primarily headed by Lisbeth Louderback, identified potato starch residue preserved on 10,000-year-old artifacts in the Escalante region of Utah.

That discovery prompted researchers to look for, and find, patches of wild Four Corner’s potato growing near the archaeolgocial site.

The Four Corners potato plant grows well in the high desert of New Mexico and it grows much more sparsely in Utah, often near archaeological sites; this, along with reduced genetic diversity measured within the Utah potato population, suggest that potatoes were brought to the Escalante region by ancient people- likely from what is now New Mexico.

In modern times, Indigenous farmers and researchers have been sharing their experiences with growing, harvesting, and preparing the native potato.

Cynthia Wilson and Alastair Lee Bitsóí, both Diné, have publicly discussed their revival work of the Four Corner’s potato.

Alastair is relearning how to grow the plant on his farm and he continues the practice of redistribution.

Cynthia has talked about her ancestors’ methods to prepare the food, including boiling the potato with bentonite clay- a traditional Diné method to reduce bitterness.

Researchers have called the Four Corner’s potato the “fourth sister” or “lost sister” as an indication of its importance as a native food. This is of course a reference to the three sisters- corn, beans, and squash.

Collaboration on the Four Corner’s potato continues.

External Links and Sources:

• Earliest Use of Wild Potato
• Ancient Trade Routes
• Indigenous Journalism
• Ancient Potato in a Changing Climate
• Repatriating the Four Corners Potato

The old Diamond Lil's Steakhouse

Diamond Lil's, April 2005. Note "Home Maid"

An old photo of Diamond Lil's. A steakhouse at 1528 W. North Temple. It was destroyed by fire in 2021. I took this photo in 2015.

Here is a short history excerpted from a 2009 Intermountain Catholic article:

In November 1969, Jim Pietramali and Garth Campbell opened Diamond Lil’s doors for business at 1528 West North Temple. The original building was a modest home, which was remodeled using old barn lumber and logs from pioneer cabins, some of which are 100 to 150 years old.

The seating capacity was 32 people in about 1,000 square feet. Today [2009] the seating capacity is 500. The original kitchen was about the size of a large walk-in closet.

Today [2009] Diamond Lil’s is owned by Pete Funaro. He started working at Diamond Lil’s in 1970 for his uncle, Jim Pietramali. Pietramali, 87, still works for Diamond Lil’s.

“A lot of customers kept coming back and we became the premier steak house in Salt Lake City,” said Funaro. “We are an independent Utah’s own company. The seating allows for parties that can seat as many as 275 people at one time.

In 1973, they started adding on to Diamond Lil’s. They used only logs from Utah cabins.

Funaro also has his own wholesale pasta business, Funaro’s Perfect Pasta. Diamond Lil’s serves Funaro’s pasta. All of his pasta was used during the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.

Urban Calm by Peter Wiarda

Framed print of a photograph from Peter Wiarda’s new book “Urban Calm.”

This is my favorite photograph from Peter Wiarda’s new book “Urban Calm.” This is photo is the view from Walker Center Parking at 160 S. Regent St. (2020). It looks south on Main Street, towards 300 South.

In this image I see an abstract view of modern archaeology of Salt Lake City’s built environment (and the real archaeology that is also subsurface).

The oldest building in this image is the Karrick Block, built in 1887. Surprisingly, the oldest building is also the most colorful (red) building in the photograph, which reminds me that the historic black and white photographs that preserve the past do not portray a fully perfect image of the past.

The Karrick Block has an interesting preservation story, which I will need to post about separately.

Also in this photograph are:

• The Lollin Block, 1894
• Clift Building, 1919
• American Towers, 1982
• One Utah Center, 1991
• 222 S Main building, 2009
• Federal Courthouse (Orrin G. Hatch/the Borg Cube), 2014

Peter Wiarda's print with my identification of buildings

Notably, there is 5-decade gap of buildings in this image. Part of that is simply that buildings of this age are not in view. But the other part is that downtown SLC had a lull in construction during the Great Depression, WWII, and the post-WWII suburban build-up. There are notable exceptions (e.g. mid-century modern Ken Garff Building 1955, LDS Church Office Building 1973), but in general this image portrays an accurate pattern of downtown SLC’s history.

The American Towers building is also an interesting component, Built in 1982, it represents an effort to draw individuals back to living in downtown. But interestingly, American Towers was initially an adult only living arrangement- so not an effort to bring families with children to downtown.

So, beyond the visual beauty of the photograph I also see a full historical spectrum of SLC.

Peter Wiarda has many other fantastic photos of SLC in his Urban Calm book.

And SLUG magazine has a nice article about Peter’s project. 

Be sure to check out his website where you can order your own copy of the book. www.peterwiarda.com

The Skeleton in Grandpa's Barn

In 1923, a few schoolgirls found a box of human bones in the barn of the Lund family at 127 W. North Temple, Salt Lake City. The box of bones was an open secret known by many of the kids in the neighborhood.

Herbert Z. Lund Jr. recounts the story of these skeletal remains in a Utah Historical Quarterly article titled “The Skeleton in Grandpa’s Barn” (UHQ V35 N1 in 1967).

Herbert Jr. states that his father, Dr. Herbert Z. Lund Sr., was a physician at the Utah State Penitentiary (at what is now Sugar House Park) and acquired the body of J. J. Morris. Morris was executed in 1912 by hanging for murder; and, in accordance with common practice his body was donated for medical purposes.

Dr. Lund intended the body to become a teaching skeletal specimen. After the anatomical dissection was completed, Dr. Lund reduced the body to a skeleton. Part of the process to create a skeletal specimen is maceration so Dr. Lund and his friend William Willis (a druggist by profession) took the remains to an open area near Beck’s Hot Springs and boiled the remains in sulfur water and lime. The final process of bleaching the bones was never completed and the bones retained a rancid odor.

Dr. Lund placed the bones in a wooden box and stored them in the unused hayloft of his father’s barn, Anthon H. Lund’s house at 127 W. North Temple (now demolished).

Dr. Lund’s children (Anthon’s grandchildren) were aware of the skeletal remains and often found ways around the locked entry to view the bones. Even the grandchildren of the adjacent neighbor, LDS apostle Matthias F. Cowley, knew of the bones. So it is not surprising that other kids got into the barn to sneak a peak at the bones of a convicted murderer.

Around 1925, Dr. Lund’s mother, Sarah, demanded that the bones be buried to keep curious people away. Dr. Lund’s son, Herbert Jr, buried the remains behind the old barn. He and his grandmother Sarah had a little graveside service where Sarah read excerpts from the LDS publication “The Improvement Era” and placed the old magazines in the grave with the skeletal remains.

The gravesite was dug behind the barn. Sanborn maps show that this barn was demolished around 1950-1951. In the 1967 article, Herbert Jr. stated that the area of the grave was still open land but that development was happening all around.

Herbert Jr. drew a map of where he believed the gravesite to be. This location is now in an expanded parking lot of the old Travelodge Motel at 144 W. North Temple. It is unknown if construction has impacted the grave or if it is still intact below the asphalt parking lot.

One complication of this story is that there is a burial record for J.J. Morris in the Salt Lake City Cemetery, which contradicts the identity of the skeletal remains as being J.J. Morris. 

However, both the Lund family history and several 1920s newspaper articles (including an interview with Dr. Lund, himself) indicate that the skeleton in Grandpa’s barn is J.J. Morris.

The burial record for J.J. Morris indicates that he is buried along with 14 other prisoners whose remains were originally interred at the old Utah State Penitentiary, which is now Sugar House Park. These remains were disinterred from the Sugar House location in 1957 when the park was built. The remains were reinterred in a small prison cemetery at the Point of the Mountain Prison in Draper. In 1987, the remains were disinterred again and reinterred at the Salt Lake City Cemetery- with several remains (identified as cremains) interred in a single grave.

So if the cemetery record is to be believed (and with all those disinterment’s it is possible that records may have been compromised) then the remains buried behind the Grandpa’s barn are not those of J.J. Morris.

Utah executed several prisoners around the same time as J.J. Morris. It is possible that the identity of the skeleton in Grandpa’s barn is actually that of another prisoner whose remains were also donated to medical science around the same time. Potential candidates for this option include Harry Thorne executed Sept 26 1912 or Frank Romeo executed Feb 20 1913.

Utah Executions 1912-1913

• J.J. Morris, April 30 1912
• Jules C. E. Szirmay (Jules Zirmay), May 22 1912, Buried in Salt Lake City Cemetery
• Harry Thorne, Sept 26 1912, Body donated to medical science
• Thomas Riley, Oct 24 1912, Burred in Bluffdale City Cemetery
• Frank Romeo, Feb 20 1913, Body donated to medical science

Sources:

• “The Skeleton in Grandpa’s Barn” UHQ V35 N1,1967
• Ghosts of West Temple, Salt Lake County Archives
• "Ray Lund, Prison Doctor" by H Z (Zack) Lund (nd) from FamilySearch
• Salt Lake Tribune 1923-11-30
• Deseret News 923-11-30
• Ogden Standard Examiner 1923-11-30
• Salt Lake Telegram 1912-05-04
• Salt Lake Telegram 1912-04-30
• The Salt Lake Tribune 1980-06-19
• Various cemetery records from ancestry, names in stone, and find-a-grave

The Hancock Mansion is said to be haunted by Hollister Hancock

The Hancock Mansion at 444 S 700 East in SLC is said to be haunted by the ghost of Ms. Hollister Hancock. 

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.

Ms. Hollister "Holl" Hancock in 1956 having tea with the Westminster Mothers. 
Image from USHS.

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.

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

The Old Mill in Cottonwood Heights is often reported as haunted

The Old Mill, aka Granite Paper Mill, at the mouth of Big Cottonwood Canyon

The Old Mill in Cottonwood Heights is often reported as haunted. People report shadowy figures, cold spots, odd lights, sounds of footprints, and voices. Several stories involve people and dogs who have died in fires, suicides, and curses.

These spooky stories are difficult to tie directly to its history. Located at the mouth of Big Cottonwood Canyon, it was built in 1883 by the Deseret News to make paper for the newspaper.

The 3-story structure is built of granite from the same quarry as the Salt Lake City LDS Temple. It contains a basement and a prominent 100-foot elevator tower.

At the time of its operation, the main floor housed a machine room, engine room, rotary boiler, and cutting room. The upper story of the building was used for sorting material (mostly straw and rags) and the basement contained drainers and agitators. Power to the mill came from water forced into three separate power wheels through a 50-inch floodgate.

Image from USHS

 

Image from USHS.

A massive fire broke out in 1893 and gutted the entire building causing major damage to the roof structure and the papermaking machinery. A stockpile of paper also went up in flames. Insurance only covered a fraction of the loss, which, combined with the economical efficiencies of wood-pulp paper industry resulted in the abandonment of the mill.

In 1927, it was converted to a resort clubhouse; a portion of the building was repaired with a new roof and the south wing remaining uncovered. The Old Mill Club was originally advertised as a prestigious destination with horseback riding through Big Cottonwood Canyon, nightly dancing (except Sunday), trapshooting at its gun club, and plans for an 18-hole golf course to be designed by famed golf course architect, William H. Tucker. Other future plans included banquet and dining rooms to be run by a chef of “interesting fame,” swimming pool, and a toboggan slide.

As an aside – some of the names given to the 18 horses of the riding club are reminiscent of the roaring 20s.

• Smokey
• Kernal
• Buster
• Sox
• Moonshine
• Budweiser
• Blaze
• Snip
• Red Bird
• Dan Patch
• Shorty
• Smiler
• King Tut
• Zane Grey
• Queen Ann
• Cleopatra
• White Cloud
• Arabian

The Old Mill Club was intended to rival Salt Lake City’s Country Club and provide restful relaxation and complete privacy to its members. It also hosted theme events such as “Chocolate Night” and “Tabernacle Choir Night” and “Halloween Night.”

The Old Mill, ca 1930, when it was a dance hall, Big Cottonwood Canyon. Image from USHS.

 

Dancing at the Old Mill. Image from USHS.

 

Advertisements from the Old Mill Club
Left: The Salt Lake Tribune 1930-10-27 p11
Right: The Bingham Bulletin 1927-08-04 p5

 

Interior of the Old Mill, 1967. From HABS No U-39, NPS.

 
John Basil Walker operated the Old Mill Club from 1927 to 1942. He also owned Walker Sand and Gravel which operated the gravel pit adjacent to the Old Mill at 6950 Wasatch Boulevard.

The Old Mill Club closed during WWII, but the property remained in the Walker family for several more decades. The building had many phases of being empty and being used as an entertainment venue, including being utilized as a haunted house in the 1970s-1990s. The building was condemned by Cottonwood Heights City in 2005.

It has also appeared in several movies including “SLC Punk,” “Team Alien/The Varrow Mission,” “Halloween: The Curse of Michael Meyers,” “Hereditary,” “Bleep” and “March of Dimes.”

I have included some scenes from "Team Alien/The Varrow Mission", which can be viewed on YouTube.

 

Scenes from "Team Alien/The Varrow Mission"

The Old Mill in 2012

Sources:

• Granite Paper Mill HABS No U-39, National Park Service
• Davis County Clipper 1893-04-06
• Deseret News 1884-10-15 p7
• Deseret News 1893-04-01 p2
• Salt Lake Tribune 1927-07-21 p9
• The Bingham Bulletin 1927-09-15 p5
• The Bingham Bulletin 1927-11-23 p7
• Salt Lake Tribune 1927-09-23 p9
• Salt Lake Tribune 1927-08-26 p17
• Deseret News 1927-12-09 p14
• Salt Lake Tribune 1973-10-28 p66
• A Directory of the Mining Industry of Utah 1965. University of Utah Bulletin 79

The Purple Lady of the Rio Grande Depot

The Purple Lady, the ghost of the Rio Grande Depot at 300 S. Rio Grande St, Salt Lake City.

The building was constructed by the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad in 1910 and was intended to outdo the nearby Union Pacific Depot at South Temple and 400 West and built a year earlier.

The story is about a woman who met her fiancée at the train depot; he was a soldier (either WWI or WWII) and she wore a purple outfit, often described as wearing a long purple dress or a 1940s light violet suit with matching shoes, hat, and veil.

The couple argued and the soldier threw the Purple Lady’s engagement ring onto the railroad tracks. When she ran to retrieve the ring she was struck by a train and died instantly.

I have been unable to verify these events in old newspapers articles.

Regardless, the Purple Lady has been sighted at the Rio Grande Depot for more than 80 years. She is often seen near the women’s restroom, downstairs near where the old Rio Grande Café used to be. While the building is currently vacant and undergoing repairs from the 2020 earthquake, it used to house the offices of the Utah Division of State History/Utah Historical Society, and staff often reported sightings.

Stories involve a woman singing in the bathroom, water being turned on, lights flickering and turning off, sounds of footsteps, and even a 3am call from an empty elevator’s emergency phone.

It’s not just the Purple Lady who is said to wander the Rio Grande Depot, many believe that there are numerous ghosts.

The building has been subject to numerous investigations.

Do you have any stories, post in the comments for everyone to read!

Source: Lost Landscapes: Utah's Ghosts, Mysterious Creatures, and Aliens by Linda Dunning. 2007.

Using a black cat to heal the sick, a Utah folklore story

Using a black cat to heal the sick is a regional folklore story.

Lyman Lafayette Woods (1833-1918) was an early Mormon settler who lived in Provo, Springville, St. George, and Clover Valley (near Barclay, Nevada).

Lyman was described as a “good Latter-day Saint and active in Church work” and a “splendid nurse using mostly nature’s remedies.”

A daughter of Lyman, Roxa, was ill with pneumonia and was not improving with his normal cold-water treatment. He and an individual described as “an old Welsh lady” known as “Grandma Jones” cured Roxa using the skin of a black cat. Grandma Jones saying “the darker the cat, the surer the cure.”

The cat was killed, and its skin removed and placed on Roxa. As told, the [static] electricity in the skin of the black cat seemed to draw out all the poison from the body of the sick girl. Roxa survived.

There are several other examples of the belief in using the skin or fur of a cat to cure various ailments. The book Popular Beliefs and Superstitions from Utah records references to cure appendicitis, tuberculosis, pneumonia, and various stomachaches. And the editors of the book note that as recently as the 1960s, drugstores in Paris displayed tanned cat furs in their store windows for use in various respiratory and arthritic diseases.

After a little sleuthing, I believe the old Welsh lady to be Dinah Davies Vaughn Jones (1813-1895). She was born in Wales, arrived in Salt Lake City in 1861, and is often referred to as a healer, physician, and midwife. She and her family spent a few years in Salt Lake City and then relocated to Gunlock, Utah. However, Dinah spent a lot of time away from her Gunlock home while tending to her patients, primarily women.

Her affinity to travel may not be too surprising as she had a weird home life: Dinah had four surviving children with her first husband, William Vaughan, who died in 1852 in Missouri. Dinah married her second husband, William Ellis Jones in 1856 in Missouri. Dinah, William, and their blended family made the trip across the plains to Salt Lake City in 1861. William married Dinah’s eldest daughter (William’s stepdaughter), Martha Vaughan, as a plural wife and they had six kids together.

Needless to say, it was probably weird for Dinah to visit her husband, who was also married to her own daughter. Dinah’s grandchildren were also her stepchildren.

 
This story comes from the book Our Pioneer Heritage Vol 2 by Kate Carter, 1959, “And They Were Healed” “A Black Cat” pages 105-106 and seems to have been derived from The Dora Woods and Larkin Richard Schaffer Family manuscript pgs 105-126, which is on FamilySearch.

Other sources:

• The Woods Family of Clover Valley, Nevada 1869-1979. Published by Woods Family Genealogical Committee, Boulder City, NV 1979. Available from Washington County Historical Society
• Life of Lyman Lafayette Woods of Brigham Young’s Company, by Roxa Edwards Keele, 1956.
• The Dora Woods and Larkin Richard Schaffer Family. Ch 17 Dora’s Close Ancestors. From FamilySearch
• Popular beliefs and superstitions from Utah. 1984. University of Utah Press. Edited by Anton S. Cannon, Wayland D. Hand, Jeannine Talley
• Washington County News 1941-11-20 p1. St George Woman Dies at Home
• Various genealogical data sources on FamilySearch, Ancestry, Find-a-Grave

Historic Intermountain Casket Building at 276 W 100 South

Intermountain Casket Co. building, constructed by the Villadsen Brothers, 1920.
Located at 276 West 100 South, Salt Lake City. Image from USHS.

The historic Intermountain Casket Building (aka Struve Distribution Building) at 276 W 100 South, in Salt Lake's Japantown, was built in 1920.

As discussed in my previous post about the Midwest Casket Building, several casket manufacturers were in Salt Lake City during the 1910s and1920s and one of them was the Intermountain Casket Company.

Intermountain Casket Company building, 2024.
Located at 276 West 100 South, Salt Lake City. 

Intermountain Casket was founded in 1919 by Alma O. Taylor (son of “Pioneer Undertaker” Joseph E. Taylor) and Lafayette Holbrook (quite wealthy from mining and commercial endeavors, former mayor of Provo, and well-connected political and religious relationships).

Alma split from his brothers Samuel and Joseph W. Taylor’s Salt Lake Casket Company and formed his own competing operation. There must have been some Taylor family drama there, especially factoring in that "Pioneer Undertaker" Joseph E. Taylor practiced polygamy, which meant that Joseph W. was the first-born of the first wife and half-brother to Samuel and Alma who were both from the third wife.

As a new company, Intermountain Casket built a new and modern 3-story factory at the corner of 100 South and 300 West. Construction started in 1919 and it opened in January 1920. 

As an aside- The property of the Intermountain Casket Company building was purchased from Annette “Nettie” Eliza Amussen Evans, who inherited it from her father Carl Christian Amussen who was an early Mormon Pioneer, Utah’s first jeweler and wo built the Amussen Building originally located at 62 S Main Street in 1869. The facade of the Amussen Building was relocated during the construction of City Creek Center and is now within a pedestrian walkway south of Deseret Book at about 45 W South Temple.

 I mention this because I wondered why Intermountain Casket built in SLC's Japantown, which would have been very active in the 1920s and Intermountain Casket (unlike the Midwest Casket Co) seemed heavily affiliated with the LDS religion, so it seemed an odd choice of location. However, it seems as simple as it was a large lot with a small adobe home owned by a Mormon pioneer family; the adobe house was being rented out and, like today, a large lot was more valuable for building upon so it was available for purchase. The lot was split with the Intermountain Casket Co building on the west half at 276 W. 100 S. in 1920 and the Japanese Church of Christ building on east half at 268 W. 100 S. in 1924. 

Japanese Church of Christ adjacent to the Intermountain Casket Company (note sign).
Unknown date.  Image from USHS.

The 3-story Intermountain Casket building was constructed by the Villadsen Brothers, who had recently opened an office in Salt Lake City. The Villadsen Brothers were authorities on reinforced concrete and one of the biggest general contractors in the Western US. They also built the Ford Motor Company Service Building at 280 S. 400 West and the Continental Bank Building (Hotel Monaco) at 15 W 200 South, Salt Lake City. 

Villadsen Brothers advertisement. Deseret News 1920-07-12 p11.

The Intermountain Casket building is made of reinforced concrete frame and brick infill that was popular around the time of WWI. The insignia of the Intermountain Casket Company “cIc” can still be seen on the second level of the façade along 100 South.

Intermountain Casket Company insignia "cIc"

Intermountain was described as having “the finest casket display rooms west of Chicago.” They were a wholesale company supplying Utah, Colorado, Idaho, Wyoming, and Nevada.

In 1924, Intermountain Casket supplied 120 caskets for the victims of the Castle Gate Mine Disaster near Price, Utah.

Mass burial services for some of the Greek immigrants killed during the Castle Gate Mine explosion in 1924. Held in a hall at Castle Gate. Caskets supplied by Intermountain Casket Company in Salt Lake City.  Image from USHS.

Intermountain Casket closed business in 1943 with the company’s president Alma O. Taylor saying that WWII wartime restrictions had become too severe to manufacture caskets as ordered. He was quoted as saying “production of metal caskets and handles were ordered stopped by the war production board, a 50% reduction on silk for trimming was ordered, then the length was reduced, then came the limitation of styles, and with no priorities what can one do?”

These wartime restrictions were ordered by the War Production Board and included an order that steel could not be used for caskets so manufacturers switched to wood and concrete. I also found reference to “Order L-34 (caskets, shipping cases, and burial vaults)” which mandated reduction of length of certain percentage of caskets.

Consolidated Amusement purchased the building in 1943 and in addition to its own offices it also provided office space to a variety of other businesses.  Consolidated Amusement was known for jukeboxes. 

Consolidated Amusement 1945. Interior of the Intermountain Casket building.
Image from USHS.

The building in 1945, when it was the Consolidated Amusement Company.
Located at 276 West 100 South, Salt Lake City. Image from USHS.

Intermountain Casket Company building, 2024.
Located at 276 West 100 South, Salt Lake City. 

Struve Distributing Company purchased the building in 1966. They were known for pool tables, billiard supplies, and other amusement and tavern equipment. They closed 2011.

Struve Distributing Company advertising home pool tables.
From The Salt Lake Tribune 1967-12-16 p35. 

Struve Distributing Company advertising Elton John's Capt. Fantastic pinball machine.

From Marketplace Issue July 04 1976 (from International Arcade Museum)

Some comments on my Instagram post made reference to Real Ride Skatepark using the interior of the building (and all that concrete!) as a (private?) skatepark.   

Interior of the Intermountain Casket Company building, from LoopNet.

Interior of the Intermountain Casket Company building, from LoopNet.

Interior of the Intermountain Casket Company building, from LoopNet.

Currently the building is available for lease. It is located just east of the Delta Center and although not specifically identified for redevelopment, it is within the general area of the Smith Entertainment Group (SEG) redevelopment project.

Location of the building relevant to Japantown and Delta Center.

Sources:

• Goodwins Weekly 1924-08-23 p30
• Salt Lake Herald 1919-07-13 p23
• Salt Lake Herald 1919-06-11 p14
• SL Herald 1916-06-12 p7
• Salt Lake Herald 1919-07-13 p29
• Salt Lake Telegram 1924-03-10 p3
• Salt Lake Tribune 1943-02-11 p12
• 276 W 100 S USHS file
• Various Sanborn maps and FamilySearch data

Harry Houdini in Salt Lake City, 1915

Famed escape artist Harry Houdini (Erik Weisz) made his Salt Lake City debut in December 1915 and performed thrilling stunts (a “trick” for October's #spookyslc).

Clip from the Salt Lake Herald 1915-12-19 Pg 32

Clip from Salt Lake Herald 1915-12-19 Pg 20

 
While researching the history of the Midwest Casket Building, I saw a reference in a 1928 book about the Salt Lake Casket Company providing a casket in which Houdini escaped during a show at the Orpheum Theater (now Capitol Theater) in 1915. However, I could not verify this information.

What I found indicates that members of the Local No 184 United Carpenters and Joiners of America Union sealed Houdini in a “sturdy wooden box” that they constructed on the stage, on Christmas Eve, 1915.

The carpenters selected were: George H Rose, John H Durbin, Henry J Schmittroth, J H Cox, Bert Harris, Fred Rose.

Houdini entered the box; the lid was nailed down and a strong rope tied around the box. A curtain was drawn around the box and the audience were quiet for the 7 minutes it took Houdini to escape.

The carpenters had made their own secret markings on the box and they declared that the box had not been switched out. According to their report “not a nail was pulled, a board sprung, or a knot in the ropes untied.” The box appeared to still be sealed. 

Houdini performed another trick the day prior. He freed himself from a straightjacket while hanging upside down from his ankles from the Walker Center Tower at 175 S Main Street, Salt Lake City.

Clip of Houdini from the SL Herald 1915-12-23 and the
Orpheum Theater & Walker building in 1920, from USHS

A note about Houdini’s Salt Lake performance, a few weeks prior Houdini had performed and filmed these same feats in Los Angeles. The film of his Los Angeles stunts were shown at the Salt Lake Orpheum Theater for several days before his live performance.

The Wild About Houdini website by John Cox has a great account of Houdini’s 1915 Los Angeles and Salt Lake performances, including a lost and recently recovered film clip of the Los Angeles performance that would have been shown in Salt Lake City.

Cox indicates that Houdini regularly engaged with local groups (Newspapers, Police, Fire Depts) for them to issue a (likely pre-arrange) challenge which Houdini would accept and perform. It was a way to build up excitement and market Houdini’s appearances.

This is likely what transpired with the Carpenters Union, who issued Houdini a challenge for Houdini to escape a box constructed by the union.

I didn’t find any connection of these men to the Salt Lake Casket Company, so they probably didn’t construct a casket and more likely built the “sturdy wood box.” But, it is an oddly specific reference to the Salt Lake Casket Co, so who knows? 

Photo of Houdini with a sturdy crate. Not Salt Lake City.
From crazyabouthoudini.com

Also, check out this Salt Lake City History Minute video about Houdini in SLC.

AND, see me on Fox13!

Sources:

• Salt Lake Herald 1915-12-16 p10
• Salt Lake Herald 1915-12-19 p5
• Salt Lake Herald 1915-2-19 p20
• Salt Lake Herald 1915-12-19 p32
• Salt Lake Herald 1915-12-21 p5
• Salt Lake Herald 1915-12-22 p9
• Salt Lake Herald 1915-12-23 p4
• Salt Lake Herald 1915-12-23 p7
• Salt Lake Herald 1915-12-25 p3
• Salt Lake Telegram 1915-12-21 p12
• Salt Lake Telegram 1915-12-22 p12
• Salt Lake Telegram 1915-12-23 p9
• Salt Lake Tribune 1915-12-16 p13
• Salt Lake Tribune 1915-12-25 p3
• Wild About Houdini by John Cox, especially SLC and LA 
• Film clip of Houdini in LA and shown in SLC
• Houdini his life story by Harold Kellock, 1928

Midwest Casket Company Building at 440 W 600 South SLC

Midwest Casket Co Building, September 2024.
Note the recently demolished buildings to the east (right). 

Midwest Casket Co Building, September 2024.

The old Midwest Casket Company building at 440 W 600 South is one that you have likely passed by on numerous occasions. It is representative of the transition to modern funeral services, especially among the middle class.

The building was constructed in 1912 (although the Salt Lake County Assessor states 1905) for the Utah Casket Company for the manufacture of caskets, undertaker’s supplies, and a dressmaking department for burial dresses, shrouds, and robes.

The early 1900s was a busy time for the casket industry in SLC. Prior to about 1880, SLC had one primary undertaker – Joseph Edward Taylor (often referred to as the Pioneer Undertaker) and his family. He was appointed by Brigham Young to be the SLC Cemetery Sextant, undertaker, and provide coffins (through his father-in-law, William Capener, who was a cabinet maker).

Slowly, things changed around 1880. In James Farrell’s book “Inventing the American Way of Death 1830-1920” (so interesting!), he indicates the growth of the middle class demanded attention to the deceased “more in accordance with their surroundings,” meaning something more elaborate than a simple box lined with linen. At this same time in SLC, a greater influx of non-Mormons demanded a greater variety of services, commodities, and cemeteries.

Utah Casket Company advertisement showing an elaborate casket, 1913.
Clip from Salt Lake Herald 1913-04-04 Page14

 
At the end of the 1800s, there were a variety of funerary start-up businesses. Most only lasted a few years but several have endured to the modern time (some names you may recognize Evans, O’Donnell, or Larkin). Often, when one of these businesses ended, another would purchase their real estate and equipment, often at auction.

This is what happened with the original occupant of this building; in 1910 a newly incorporated Utah Casket Company acquired the equipment of the Crescent Manufacturing Company. 

Crescent manufactured caskets and its establishment in SLC was a bit of weird situation. Through my reading of the old newspapers articles, it seems that Mr. Edward H. Sherman re-established Crescent Manufacturing Company in SLC in 1908 from Butte, Montana and it seems he did so in order to escape a significant judgement against the company in Butte. In 1910 Sherman sold the equipment and supplies of Crescent in exchange for stock in the Utah Casket Company. At the time, Utah Casket Company was located at 32-36 E 800 South.

A year later, in December 1911, The Utah Casket Company announced it would build a new modern facility to manufacture caskets, undertaker’s supplies, and couches at 440 W 600 South. The two-story building is constructed of brick and cement and was constructed so that a third story could be added if needed. The building was “modern in every detail…with rest and lunchrooms for the employees, which will include a large number of women” who worked in the sewing department creating burial clothing, shrouds, and linings for the caskets. The building formally opened in October 1912.

Utah Casket Factory announcement illustration, January 1912.
Clip from the The Salt Lake Tribune 1912-01-28 Page 11

Utah Casket Company building completion, December 1912
Clip from the Deseret News 1912-12-21 Page 97

 
Two workplace accidents at 440 W 600 South were reported in the newspapers in January 1919. Sixteen year old Rulon Hanson lost his little finger of his left hand while working with the buzz saw and another employee lost four fingers of his right hand while using the same saw.

The Utah Casket Company occupied the building for about 8 years. They exhibited their caskets at the Utah State Fair and won a blue ribbon, which they proudly advertised. Around 1920, Utah Casket Company was defunct.

Around the same time period, there were competing casket business. The Salt Lake Casket Company was incorporated in 1910; this company was associated with Joseph E. Taylor (“Pioneer Undertaker”) and his son Alma O. Taylor and was the successor and outgrowth of Joseph E. Taylor’s operation. 

In 1919, Alma O. Taylor split from Salt Lake Casket Company (run by his brothers Samuel and Joseph Taylor) to form the Intermountain Casket company with Lafayette Holbrook. In 1920 the Intermountain Casket Company opened a new three-story building at 276 W 100 South and is still standing in SLC’s Japantown.

In 1920, it was the Salt Lake Casket Company that acquired the building at 440 W 600 South including the real estate, building, and equipment of the defunct Utah Casket Company. They occupied the building for several years. In 1937 the company was bankrupt and the building, real estate, machinery, fixtures, and equipment were sold at public auction.

Around 1938 the Midwest Casket Company moved into the building. Midwest Casket was associated with brothers Curt and Henry Skola. Midwest Casket occupied the building for decades. It became known for its custom caskets and interiors, including caskets for pets. They provided custom options in an ever-growing market of mass production with limited choices.

A 1991 article from the Salt Lake Tribune interviewed three women who worked as seamstresses at Midwest Casket. They worked in a sunny room on the top floor that was filled with bolts of fabric and antique sewing machines. (The casket production area was on the main floor.)

As an example of how the workplace environment has changed since 1991, there were posters of Chippendale dancers in thong bathing suites covering holes in the walls on one side of the room. In 1968 they provided 35 caskets for an airplane crash at the SLC Airport. They provided caskets for LDS church presidents, local politicians and in 1985 they sent a champagne velvet lined casket for actor Rock Hudson as one of the options for his burial. They are still in business and have relocated to South Salt Lake.

Recently the building and surrounding parcels are undergoing redevelopment as part of the Silos Block project in the Granary District. Many buildings on the block have been or will be demolished, the most notable being the Cereal Foods Silos.

The Midwest Casket building is to be preserved and adaptively reused as a commercial space. The adjacent building to the west (Euro Treasures) will also be preserved and adaptively reused (plans indicate a garage for 117 parking stalls). Rimini Coffee at 532 S 400 West will also remain.

Also of note, the old Portland Cement art-dec style building (554 S 400 West) will be demolished.


Sources

• Sanborn Maps for Salt Lake City, 1898,1911,1926,1950,1969
• Salt Lake Herald Sat, Sep 03, 1910 ·Page 15
• Salt Lake Telegram Thu, Dec 08, 1910 ·Page 10
• Salt Lake Herald Wed, Dec 13, 1911 ·Page 4
• The Salt Lake Tribune Sun, Jan 28, 1912 ·Page 11
• The Salt Lake Tribune Mon, Jul 08, 1912 ·Page 10
• Salt Lake Herald Fri, Oct 04, 1912 ·Page 12
• Deseret News Sat, Dec 21, 1912 ·Page 97
• Deseret News Sat, Apr 05, 1913 ·Page 38
• Salt Lake Herald Fri, Apr 04, 1913 ·Page 14
• Salt Lake Herald Tue, Nov 16, 1915 ·Page 8
• Salt Lake Telegram Fri, Jan 31, 1919 ·Page 13
• Salt Lake Tribune Oct 7 1919 Page 20
• Deseret News 1930-10-26 Page 32
• The Salt Lake Tribune Thu, Dec 31, 1936 ·Page 20
• Salt Lake Telegram Jan 6 1939 Page 16
• Deseret News 1939/05/17 Page 11
• The Salt Lake Tribune 1955-06-24 Page 54
• The Salt Lake Tribune 1980-07-17 Page 103
• The Salt Lake Tribune 1988-03-27 Page 41
• The Salt Lake Tribune 1991-03-11 Page 12
• The Salt Lake Tribune 1943-03-05
• Biennial Report by Utah Secretary of State 1913
• Kate B. Carter, Heart Throbs of the West, 1945, Daughters of the Utah Pioneers. 
• James J. Farrell, Inventing the American Way of Death, 1830-1920. 1980. 
• USHS Files for Midwestern Casket Co Building
• USHS Files for Intermountain Casket Co Building
• Salt Lake City, Silo Phase 2 Staff Report - Final, 2023