6 of Utah's most historic and prominent abandoned structures

Estimated read time: 7-8 minutes

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

This story is sponsored by Brad Debry Law Firm.

There's something incredibly haunting and interesting about abandoned places, and Utah has no shortage of them. Where people once spent countless hours swimming, dancing, working or simply living, these structures are now completely empty or mostly ruined from the effects of time. Most are mere shadows of times gone by — or just simple reminders that things don't always go according to plan.

Many of the following places and structures will sound familiar, but there may be some you've never heard of before. Either way, each of these adds a fascinating dot on the map of Utah history.

Please note that just because these places are abandoned, doesn't mean they are open to public access. If you trespass on private property you should expect to be arrested.

Intermountain Indian School in Brigham City

If you pass by Brigham City, it's hard to miss the big block "I" on the mountainside. It's a reminder that the town was once home to the world's largest boarding school: the Intermountain Indian School. Its goal was to help assimilate Native American students into mainstream society.

According to information from Utah State University historical collections, a hospital was converted into a boarding school that opened in 1950 with 500 Navajo students. At its peak, the school housed more than 2,000 students.

6 of Utah's most historic and prominent abandoned structures

"Renamed the Intermountain Inter-Tribal School in fall 1974, the school enrolled students from 26 other tribes. Tensions ran high and in February of 1975 rioting erupted. During the riot, students injured three officers and destroyed several police cars," the Utah State University information states. "After this incident, enrollment fell and the stability of the school was called into question. Moreover, the federal government reversed previous rulings regarding assimilation. The Intermountain Indian School closed its doors on May 17, 1984."

While some of the buildings were torn down, some were converted to other uses and others still stand empty.

Raging Waters in Salt Lake

If you were a child of the 1990s growing up around Salt Lake, you likely whiled away some hot summer days zooming down the slides at Raging Waters. (Or you might have visited when it was Wild Wave or Seven Peaks.) Despite the endless family-friendly fun and childhood nostalgia, the water park sank in 2018 when the city didn't renew its contract with Seven Peaks to operate the site.

Since then, the only visitors have been graffiti artists, vandals and trespassers, which motivated the city to begin the demolition of the once-beloved park. But that doesn't mean the fun is over just yet. KSL.com recently reported Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall supports a plan to turn the site into a regional park — similar to Liberty or Sugar House Park.

Great Salt Lake pumps

It's hard to imagine a time when there was ever too much water in the Great Salt Lake, but that was the case back in the 1980s. After a record level of snow melted into the Great Salt Lake, the state had to take action to prevent local businesses (including the airport) from flooding. A KSL.com article reported the estimated damage from the flooding was $260 million.

The chosen solution was to install giant pumps that could move water from the lake into the desert. According to Utah Humanities, it was a $60 million project that miraculously took less than a year to complete. Once the pumps successfully did their job of diverting millions of gallons of water back toward the desert, they were turned off in June 1989, just 26 months after they started.

With the Great Salt Lake at historic lows, the pumps are unlikely to be needed in the foreseeable future.

The state still maintains these pumps just in case they're ever needed again. (Though the current drought conditions suggest it will be a long time before that ever happens.)

The Old Mill

There are many abandoned mills in Utah, but only this one boasts of being one of the most haunted places in the state. (It's even been featured in a few Hollywood horror flicks.) The Cottonwood Paper Mill — or "Old Mill" — was originally the Deseret News Paper Mill back in the 1880s. In its heyday, the mill was a prime spot for rolling out newspapers, books and other records, but it eventually became too expensive to operate.

It exchanged hands with different owners, endured a devastating fire in 1893 and would later be repurposed as an open-air dance hall until World War II. After that, Utah Historical Markers reports that it was rebranded as a discotheque until Cottonwood Heights condemned it in 2005 because of earthquake codes. Because of its storied and fascinating history, the Old Mill secured a spot on the National Register of Historic Places.

Though no one knows what the future holds, rumor has it that the current owner hopes to one day restore it to its former dance hall glory. In the meantime, you can enjoy the Old Mill safely from the road to avoid being haunted by any ill-intentioned spirits — or a trespassing violation.

Delta Solar Ruins

These days you can take your pick from dozens of different solar panel companies that dot the Beehive State. But you'll never see a billboard advertising this solar project. The Delta Solar Ruins out in the desert of Hinckley are not only abandoned — they're also a topic of controversy. Altas Obscura describes this as an "ambitious and corrupt attempt at tax fraud, dressed up as an alternative form of alternative energy."

Here's the gist: In an effort to save money, the engineers of this project tried to harness solar energy using cheap materials. Unfortunately, the cheaper material didn't hold up very well to the harsh desert winds and climate, so most of the collectors were damaged.

In 2018, a Deseret News article reported a federal judge ruled the project was a fraud and its instigators received a hefty fine of $50 million. Now the only thing the Delta Solar Ruins collect are curious passersby who want to see the rusty remnants.

Tintic Mill near Goshen

This mill was built in 1920 for extracting silver from ore by the Tintic Standard Mining Company. It only operated for five years because the reducing process the mill used became obsolete, according to a KSL.com article.

Even though the business has been idle for nearly 100 years, much of the structure is still visible on the hillside although it is so covered with graffiti it is almost unrecognizable. At the time of construction, the mill was built into a hill so gravity could help move the raw ore from the beginning of the process down to the end.

According to information in the KSL.com article, the area is dangerous and unhealthy because of contamination from the mining activities and instability of deteriorating structures. Although the land now belongs to the state, it is fenced and posted and anyone caught trespassing will be prosecuted.

Don't trespass or you'll pay the price

Here's a word of caution if you plan to visit these or any other abandoned places in Utah: Don't assume you can roam around freely wherever you'd like.

According to an article published by HowStuffWorks, "entering a structure without explicit or perceived permission, even if that structure is abandoned, is considered trespassing, and people caught doing so can face penalties ranging from community service and fines to significant jail time."

To avoid any potential legal trouble, it's best to observe most of these structures from the road. (You can still get an impressive, Instagram-worthy photo even from a safe distance.)