Territorial prison In January 1852
Territorial Assembly of the
Utah Territory approved a memorial requesting Congress appropriate $70,000 for a territorial penitentiary. Congress approved an appropriation of $20,000 in March 1853 and plans were drawn up. The following October, territorial governor
Brigham Young selected the government-owned site, then known as "The Big Field Survey", about six miles from central Salt Lake City. Sixteen "cozy cells dug into the ground, with iron bars on top" comprised the original prison at a cost of $32,000. The facility that became known as the Utah Territorial Penitentiary was opened in 1855. In 1867, the
Utah Territorial Legislature determined that the prison was inadequate and once considered moving it onto an island in the
Great Salt Lake. From 1871 to 1896, the penitentiary was federally operated by
U.S. Marshals. The inmate capacity was expanded in 1875 to accommodate 300 individuals with the construction of a new cell house and prison walls.
State prison In 1896, the buildings and surrounding lands were given to the newly created State of Utah and were designated as the Utah State Prison, Tickets were distributed in 1903 for admission to publicly view an
execution by firing squad. With the continuing growth of Salt Lake City, the local residents eventually wanted the prison population relocated away from the neighborhood of
Sugar House. In 1937, plans were approved for a new prison, 22 miles south of the city in
Draper.
City/County Park Following the razing of the old prison, proposals to repurpose the land included an amusement park, campground, golf course, and shopping center. The former site eventually became Sugar House Park, jointly owned by Salt Lake City and Salt Lake County, while were set aside for the future campus of Highland High School. ==Notable inmates==