The Old Utah Country Nursing Home..... err Jail??
Posted by piteamut - Feb. 27, 2012
Posted by piteamut - Feb. 27, 2012
We have always felt that one of the most important parts of a paranormal investigation is finding out as much history on the location as possible. As a genealogy / history buff I can literally spend hours digging through records of people and locations (and thoroughly enjoy myself in the process). It is amazing what you can find and it can really help bolster your findings when you do conduct an investigation, or help you get rid of what if’s that simply wouldn’t have been possible.
The Old Utah County Jail is a perfect example of how beneficial taking the time to do thorough research of a location can be. We were originally introduced to the Old Utah County Jail by film crews who had some unnerving experiences at the jail. Our initial info was really limited. We knew that it was a jail (obviously) and we knew that it was in service from sometime in the 1970′s to about 1996-1997 when the Utah County Jail moved to their current facility. We were told that Gary Gilmore served time at the jail and that there was a slight possibility that Ted Bundy was booked through this jail.
I immediately tried to confirm this and I very quickly ruled out the possibility of Ted Bundy being booked through this location as he was booked through the Salt Lake County Jail in August of 1975. I also found that there was an original Utah County Jail that was used from the late 1800′s until December 1979. The original jail had become so run down that they would often have to use torches to cut the inmates out of the jail cells and the judges felt that sentencing someone to time at the jail could possibly be considered cruel and unusual punishment.
From the late 1960′s city officials were discussing the building of a new jail. They were concerned about the cost to build an entirely new facility and found that Utah County had acquired the Eldred Sunset Manor (also called Eldred Hospital) and with some renovation and additions it could possibly serve as the new jail.
The Eldred Sunset Manor opened in 1959 and was said to be the most modern facility in the nation to handle long term illness. It cost $1.3 million to build and according to an article from when it opened:
”It has a lobby, administration offices, pharmacy, rooms for doctors, nurses and welfare workers and utility rooms for each of three wings. Patients’ rooms are spacious, designed generally to house two persons. Two four-bed wards are provided. Each room has piped oxygen.
The structure has its own laundry, kitchen, incinerator, bakery, X-ray laboratory in a lead-lined room, dental office and laboratory, soft water plant, emergency generator for electricity, occupational therapy rooms, employee dining room, large general laboratory and other facilities.”
When the nursing home opened it had 84 beds and always had a waiting list of those wanting to stay there. There isn’t a ton of information about Eldred Sunset Manor but I was able to verify that quite a few people died there, both from old age and extended illness.
From 1959 – 1969 the hospital was run and managed by the Eldred Sunset Manor Foundation. In 1969 the foundation transferred control to Utah County and its name was changed to the Central Utah Extended Care Center and continued to function as a nursing home / hospital until 1977 when Utah County finally was able to start renovations and turn the hospital into a jail.
Construction on the jail complex was completed and it officially opened in December of 1979. They added the maximum and medium security cell blocks, exercise yard, visiting areas and sally port and renovated the rest of the building to house the the Sheriff’s dispatch center, alcohol and other rehab treatment areas. A good portion of the building has original features intact.
Because I was able to definitively verify the date that this jail opened we could rule out both that Ted Bundy and Gary Gilmore were not housed here. Gilmore was executed in January of 1977 and Bundy was serving time in Florida. The jail was in service at this location until approximately 1996 – 1997 and has sat empty ever since.
This research has helped us better determine locations to focus on during future investigations, and based on our most recent investigation we think the few hours spent on research is already paying off.
-Jennifer
The Old Utah County Jail is a perfect example of how beneficial taking the time to do thorough research of a location can be. We were originally introduced to the Old Utah County Jail by film crews who had some unnerving experiences at the jail. Our initial info was really limited. We knew that it was a jail (obviously) and we knew that it was in service from sometime in the 1970′s to about 1996-1997 when the Utah County Jail moved to their current facility. We were told that Gary Gilmore served time at the jail and that there was a slight possibility that Ted Bundy was booked through this jail.
I immediately tried to confirm this and I very quickly ruled out the possibility of Ted Bundy being booked through this location as he was booked through the Salt Lake County Jail in August of 1975. I also found that there was an original Utah County Jail that was used from the late 1800′s until December 1979. The original jail had become so run down that they would often have to use torches to cut the inmates out of the jail cells and the judges felt that sentencing someone to time at the jail could possibly be considered cruel and unusual punishment.
From the late 1960′s city officials were discussing the building of a new jail. They were concerned about the cost to build an entirely new facility and found that Utah County had acquired the Eldred Sunset Manor (also called Eldred Hospital) and with some renovation and additions it could possibly serve as the new jail.
The Eldred Sunset Manor opened in 1959 and was said to be the most modern facility in the nation to handle long term illness. It cost $1.3 million to build and according to an article from when it opened:
”It has a lobby, administration offices, pharmacy, rooms for doctors, nurses and welfare workers and utility rooms for each of three wings. Patients’ rooms are spacious, designed generally to house two persons. Two four-bed wards are provided. Each room has piped oxygen.
The structure has its own laundry, kitchen, incinerator, bakery, X-ray laboratory in a lead-lined room, dental office and laboratory, soft water plant, emergency generator for electricity, occupational therapy rooms, employee dining room, large general laboratory and other facilities.”
When the nursing home opened it had 84 beds and always had a waiting list of those wanting to stay there. There isn’t a ton of information about Eldred Sunset Manor but I was able to verify that quite a few people died there, both from old age and extended illness.
From 1959 – 1969 the hospital was run and managed by the Eldred Sunset Manor Foundation. In 1969 the foundation transferred control to Utah County and its name was changed to the Central Utah Extended Care Center and continued to function as a nursing home / hospital until 1977 when Utah County finally was able to start renovations and turn the hospital into a jail.
Construction on the jail complex was completed and it officially opened in December of 1979. They added the maximum and medium security cell blocks, exercise yard, visiting areas and sally port and renovated the rest of the building to house the the Sheriff’s dispatch center, alcohol and other rehab treatment areas. A good portion of the building has original features intact.
Because I was able to definitively verify the date that this jail opened we could rule out both that Ted Bundy and Gary Gilmore were not housed here. Gilmore was executed in January of 1977 and Bundy was serving time in Florida. The jail was in service at this location until approximately 1996 – 1997 and has sat empty ever since.
This research has helped us better determine locations to focus on during future investigations, and based on our most recent investigation we think the few hours spent on research is already paying off.
-Jennifer
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