A History of All 8 former Great Salt Lake Bathing Resorts

     The south shore of the Great Salt Lake, as viewed from Antelope Island's highest point.


By Lynn Arave

PIONEERS and early settlers were fanatically attracted to the Great Salt Lake, a vastly salty body of water with no outlet -- and where bathers could "float like a cork."
Bathing resorts along the GSL sprang up starting in 1870, with 8 different locations in its heyday, but none have survived the decades.
The lake's fickle habit of greatly shrinking and then enlarging played havoc on the beach fronts of the resorts over the years.
The public also soon favored fresh water swimming, or hot springs over a briny experience. 
And, the popularity of the automobile also meant that Utahns could drive to the mountains, out of state -- basically to places not rigidly set by railroad travel only. (Most GSL lake resorts had railroad access and were even created to drive passenger traffic to the rails.)
One key confusing element of the former Great Salt Lake resorts was the overuse of the term "Lake" in resort titles. This led to plenty of historical confusion over the years and some resorts had their histories incorrectly mixed-up with other resorts.
For example, Lake Side in Kaysville is sometimes confused with Lake Park in Farmington. The local history book, "Layton, Utah," by the Kaysville-Layton Historical Society (1985) somehow managed to confused Lake Side with Lake Park. This is significant because Lake Park eventually moved eastward and became Lagoon Amusement Park, the largest such establishment in the Intermountain West.

(In addition, if you were to believe some of these mixed-up histories, you would surmise wrongly that Lagoon started in 1870 and not 16 years later in 1886.)

Note also that the Lake Shore resort is also sometimes confused with the Syracuse resort.

      Davis County 4th graders playing in the Great Salt Lake at Antelope Island, reminiscent of yesteryear.

One big void in the 8 lake resorts' geography was a lack of any GSL resort that Ogden, Utah's second largest city at the time, could lay claim to. However, Ogden had plans for such a resort to be built in the Promonory Point/Little Mountain area, directly west of today's 12th Street in Ogden. However, that dream never became a reality, though it was promoted heavily from 1912-1923.

-Here are some capsule historical glances at all 8 of the former Great Salt Lake resorts of yesteryear:


1. Lake Side was located southwest of Kaysville (but close to the Farmington border) and opened in June of 1870. It was probably the first-ever standard attraction along the lake's shore.

It monopolized the resort trade for several years with numerous church and family outings. John W. Young, third son of Brigham Young, built it. This Young had part ownership in the Utah Central Railroad.

A key highlight of the resort was that it eventually featured a 25-cent ride on the City of Corinne, a steamboat, going to Lake Point on the south shore. This former commercial ship on the lake took tourists during the 1872 season only on excursions. The boat could carry 100 passengers and even boasted its own live band.
In the 1882 season, Lake Side provided some 30,000 "baths" in the Great Salt Lake.

It is unclear exactly when this resort vanished, but it's certain the low lake level of the early 1890s would have closed it. More likely, the popularity of the much larger Lake Park, which opened to the south 16 years later, in 1886, would have killed it.

2. Lake Point was started during 1870 - about the same time as Lake Side. It was built by Dr. Jeter Clinton and offered sandy beaches. By 1874, it had a dining hall and dancing room, plus 40 hotel rooms.

On July 4, 1876, some 1,500 people visited the resort.

Today's Lake Point Junction, along I-80, is the only ghost left of the resort. It likely fell victim to Saltair's popularity by or before 1890.

3. Black Rock was opened by H.J. Faust in 1876, but this resort didn't catch on either. It soon fell into disrepair, something quickly possible along the lake's shores, given the corrosive salt water, winds and storms.

Alonzo Hyde, son-in-law of LDS Church President John Taylor, and David John Taylor, the president's son, took over Black Rock in 1880. It was located a few miles northeast of Lake Point. The resort was named for the large black rock monolith that's in or along the lake, depending on its level.

Heber C. Kimball's old ranch house was turned into a hotel, and the resort had swings and a merry-go-round, pulled by a horse.

But a much larger and grander resort, Saltair, opened in 1893 and put Black Rock out of business by the mid-1890s.

Black Rock was resurrected in 1933, but that didn't last either.

At Sunset Beach in 1934, still another small report was operating for a short time on the lake's south shore, but couldn't compete with Saltair either.

4. Lake Shore was described as a modest little resort. It opened in 1879 and was located a few miles southwest of where Lake Park (Lagoon's forerunner) would be. George O. Chase was one of the owners.

Like Lake Side, little is known about Lake Shore. It had some dressing rooms, but that apparently was it. Lake Shore was described as being 15 miles north of Salt Lake City and reached by the Central Railroad system.

Again, the establishment of the larger Lake Park in 1886 and the receding lake level would have doomed Lake Shore by 1890 or sooner.

5. Garfield Beach began in 1881, two miles southwest of Black Rock. It capitalized on service via the steamboat from Lake Side. The boat was renamed "General Garfield," in honor of James A. Garfield taking a ride on it. The boat was anchored semi-permanently offshore of the resort.

In 1887, Garfield resort was purchased by the Utah and Nevada Railroad. Some $100,000 in improvements were added, including 200 bathhouses with showers, a restaurant, race track and bowling alley. It was then called "Utah's great sanitarium resort," and 84,000 total people visited Garfield that year.

Five years later, it was still going strong, and the Union Pacific Railroad purchased it and spent another $150,000 in upgrades. It was the lake's first resort to have an electric generator and lights.

A fire destroyed it (the steamboat too) in 1904, and despite rumors it would be rebuilt, it never was.

6. Lake Park started on July 15, 1886, between Lake Side and Lake Shore. Railroad magnate Simon Bamberger (later Utah's first-ever Democratic governor) built the resort with a $100,00 investment, as a proven way to increase passenger traffic on his trains.

It was promoted as one of the "most attractive watering places in the West." Some 53,000 people visited Lake Park in its first season.

Based on 1886 lake levels, it was probably located 1.7 miles west of today's Lagoon. It boasted an open-air dancing pavilion, a small Victorian-style hotel and a string of cabanas along the beach -- some 120 acres in all.

A sailboat racing and rowing club also had headquarters at Lake Park.

           A view of where Lake Park resort was, just grass and salt today.

By 1895, the resort was suffering from low water levels. What once was lake shore was now blue-colored mud. Guests had to walk a third of a mile or more to reach the water.

Bamberger decided to move the resort inland to a swampy area. Five of the resort's original buildings were moved.

     Another view of where Lake Park used to be, just a bird mecca and horse ranch today. 

The park reopened as "Lagoon" on July 12, 1896. That relocation, away from fickle lake levels, to another lake - a small fresh-water one - proved wise. The result is today's Lagoon - the largest amusement park between the Midwest and California.

                     The old Syracuse Resort in a Utah Historical Society photograph.
7. Syracuse Resort opened on July 4, 1887, when 13 train cars of bathers and a total of 2,000 people turned out. A train line from Ogden ended at the 93-acre resort.

It was built by Daniel C. Adams and Fred Kiesel right where today's causeway to Antelope Island begins along 1700 South, west of the Syracuse city limits.

It was described as "an oasis in the desert." Unique among lake resorts, it had a grove of trees, transplanted from Weber Canyon, and boweries. Boat excursions were also offered to nearby lake islands. It had 70 bathhouses.

       The train access to the Syracuse Resort ion a Utah Historical Society photograph.
A picnic area in the shade of the trees was 400 yards from the lake shore. That area was also used for outdoor LDS Church conferences in the area. A horse-driven streetcar traveled between the picnic area and bathhouses.

Syracuse Resort even staged bicycle races on a nearby dirt track. Artesian wells and water tanks served the resort.

                   A view today of where the Syracuse resort used to be.

It had a dance pavilion, suspended on pilings, but later some slipped and the dance floor warped.

Trains were known to sometimes strand people at the resort. For example, on July 8, 1889, a group from Ogden had to spend the night there when the night's only train left early.

This LDS Chapel, on 4500 West, near the gate to Antelope Island State Park, was where the east end of the Syracuse bathing resort used to be.

Syracuse Resort closed in 1892 from a twofold problem - a dispute over ownership of the land and the receding waters of the lake that left it mired in mud.
Area industries used the railroad tracks for some decades, but they are now also long since removed and there is no trace of the old resort to be found today.

8. Saltair, the lake's last legendary resort, was also its most elegant and popular. Only it was grand enough to have the magic to survive past the early 1900s.

It opened on Memorial Day 1893 at a cost of $350,000. It was built over the lake itself on 2,500 10-inch wooden pilings. It originally had 1,000 bathhouses.

Some 10,000 people came out for its official June 8, 1893, dedication. Its main hall was similar in size and shape to the Mormon Tabernacle. It boasted a 50-cent train ride from Salt Lake and the ticket also included Saltair admission.

Saltair eventually became a world-class resort and wanted to be the "Coney Island of the West."

In the early 1900s, this was a popular place for church groups, though the resort struggled with whether or not to sell alcohol on site. (The LDS Church owned half of the Saltair Beach Co.'s original shares.)

By 1906, the resort was sold to a group of private investors.

Its overall annual attendance went from 250,000 in 1906 to 450,000 in 1919.

The resort seemed a magnet for natural disasters, too. Two windstorms in 1910 destroyed 200 bathhouses and other structures.

                                      The south end of Saltair III today.

A large fire in 1925 caused $500,000 damage, with insurance only covering $100,000 of it. However, 21/2 months after the fire, Saltair was open again. Another fire struck in 1931, damaging its coaster and amusement rides.

By then, Saltair had a tunnel of love, six bowling alleys, a Ferris wheel, fish pond, fun house, pool halls, penny arcade, photo gallery, shooting gallery and roller skating rink. It was described as the "biggest amusement value in the world" during the 1930s.

Saltair was also billed as having the world's largest dance floor, where 5,000 people could fox trot at once in the open-air hall.

However, Saltair continued to be plagued by disasters. In 1932, a windstorm killed two construction workers. In 1939, a fire destroyed its pier.

The resort closed from 1944 to 1945, during World War II, because of gas rationing and other problems. Yet another fire damaged it in 1955 and destroyed many bathhouses. A freak wind gust destroyed its roller coaster in 1957. By 1959, the state of Utah had taken possession of the crumbling resort and closed it.

The abandoned resort burned to the ground in November 1970.

In 1983, Wally Wright spent $3 million to build a new Saltair resort about a mile west of the original resort site.

However, within a year the lake level was rising and the new Saltair was struggling to survive. Saltair III is still there, but only as a specter of the old "Lady of the Lake" that existed there in the early part of the century.

-From a Deseret News article by Lynn Arave on March 29, 1998.

Why Ogden City is named for a man who never even traveled there ....

I 

    INTERESTINGLY,  Ogden City is a town that is named for a man who never even visited the place. Ogden also  ranks as the third-oldest incorporated city WEST of the Missouri River, following ONLY San Francisco and Salt Lake City.

   So, how did the Ogden name come about?

   

   Here’s the summary of a story from the Ogden Standard-Examiner of April 4, 1914, under the headline of “How Ogden got its name and a sketch of Peter Skene Ogden:

Many a famous city has been named after its founder, but Ogden is named for a man who never saw it.

Scores of hunters, trappers and explorers had camped on the site of eventual Ogden and some had even made maps and reports of their visits --- Ashley, Bridger, Carson, Provost, Goodyear and Bonneville to name a few.

Mormon pioneers were also inclined to name towns after their own or their religion – like Brigham City, Nephi, etc.

But it was Ogden’s name that won out. How?

Who told the Mormon Pioneers about Ogden?

First, it was probably Jim Bridger, trapper and romancer. Bridger had known Ogden since 1825 and likely associated his name with the river and the valley.

Then, the pioneers found Miles Goodyear already established in Ogden and eventually bought him out.

Goodyear likely told them that is the Ogden River, yonder is Ogden’s Hole.

                   An old Ogden sign, probably from the 1930s in Weber Canyon.

And, at the very time the pioneers were told this, Peter Skene Ogden was at Fort Vancouver, near Portland, Oregon and head of the Hudson Bay Company. He was a key man, perhaps the key man then in all the northwest country drained by the Columbia River, at the time.

Ogden visited Ogden Valley, but there is no evidence he ever set foot on the west side of the mountains, where Ogden City is today.

 It also may be no coincidence that Johnnie Grant of Fort Hall, Idaho and a clerk of the Hudson Bay Company, was Miles Goodyear’s friend and backer.

The Mormon Pioneers, then finding certain points of local geography already well established in title, accepted them.

 Still, Ogden City was originally known as Brown's Fort, or Brown's Settlement. Soon "Brownsville" took hold as the name and held for several years.

The City was named for Peter Skene Ogden on Feb. 6, 1851, when it was incorporated. 

 (However, it was more than three years before the post office dropped the name Brownsville.)

It was President Brigham Young himself who had strongly suggested the Ogden name of the famous trapper for the City’s title during his 1849 visit to the area.

 -BUT now on a “what if” possibility, had the original Brownsville name became Ogden City’s actual name, would Ogden Valley have been named “Brown Valley”?

 PERHAPS…. As Ogden Valley wasn’t explored by the Mormon Pioneers until 1854 and not settled until 1860.

                    Ogden Valley as seen from Snow Basin Ski Resort.

The 'Dark Side' of Lagoon Amusement Park, Utah

By Lynn Arave

Fatalities/Accidents at Lagoon:

 There is one taboo subject at all amusement parks – fatalities and accidents.

Accidents do happen -- nothing in life is totally safe.

However, rest assured that statistically, you are far more likely to be injured, or killed in a car accident on the way to/or from Lagoon Amusement Park, Farmington, Utah, than on any of the park’s attractions.

 With only 27 fatalities in the park’s long history, dating back to 1886, that isn’t a bad safety record at all. The park would prefer to have had no deaths, but then reading below, one can clearly conclude that most of the deaths at Lagoon were caused by a patron’s own negligence or recklessness.

In others, riders "tested" their safety restraints, or even tried to exit the ride on their own.

  THREE of the fatalities on rides -- the most of all -- are from the wooden Roller Coaster. Add the worker's death accident on the tracks and that's 4 fatalities from the coaster, making it the park's most dangerous.
Swimming/diving produced Lagoon's most fatalities in its early years. In fact, the Ogden Standard-Examiner on July 29, 1912 stated in an editorial that due to all the drownings at Lagoon, its lake should only be 3 feet deep. It also stressed that more warnings for riders of Lagoon's Scenic Railway ride should be posted, given the ride's turbulent nature.

-Still, a FOX News story in July of 2017 ranked Lagoon as the one of the nation's 11 most dangerous amusement parks, based on its fatal ride accident history.
(http://www.foxnews.com/travel/2016/07/15/most-dangerous-theme-parks-in-us.html)

Note too that state fair rides and traveling amusement rides are likely far more dangerous than the rides at amusements parks. 

(Note too, that "Lake Park" was Lagoon's original name and was at a different, westward location in Farmington. There's no information of any injuries or fatalities at Lake Park, which existed for almost a decade (1896-1896). Thus, all injuries/fatalities listed here happened at Lagoon's current and second location.)

                                       Lagoon's most dangerous ride?

The accident list below does NOT claim to be a complete history of all accidents at Lagoon. Still, it is likely the most comprehensive list available anywhere.

DEATHS:

1.   Henry John Barnes, 50, of Farmington, drowned in about 3 feet of water at Lagoon's Lake on August 3, 1907. He had been drinking and was believed to be intoxicated. His body was not found until the next morning. (-From the Deseret Evening News, Aug. 5, 1907.)


2. Herbert Lee Reeder, 19, of Ogden drowned in Lagoon Lake on June 5, 1909. A passenger in a shell-like boat with a friend, Fred Naisbitt, the boat capsized when the two were changing oars. Reeder, who could not swim, sank to the bottom and Naisbitt nearly lost his own life trying to save him. Others came from shore and also tried to help. The June 6, 1909 Ogden Standard-Examiner article on the accident noted that Lagoon management has made no effort to patrol the lake, to keep it safer.
  

3.  “Emma Youngquist drowned at Lagoon.”

The young woman was boating on Lagoon Lake with a boyfriend on July 28, 1912, when she decided to change places and row the boat. The young man disagreed with that action, but she stood up anyway, the boat rocked and both fell out. The young woman drowned, her body being found 25 minutes later, 16 feet from shore and in eight feet of water. (-From the Davis County Clipper, Aug.2, 1912).

4. "Railroad man is killed at Lagoon."  Albert Fulton, 27, a Denver & Rio Grande Railroad employee, died at Lagoon on July 15, 1914 when he struck his head on the bottom of the pool and fractured his skull. Fulton leaped from the Lagoon high dive and hit the water perpendicularly, as he was believed to have slipped off the platform. The depth of the pool water was clearly posted at 6-feet. (Ogden Standard-Examiner, July 16, 1914.)

5.  “Earl E.  Logston killed after races.”

Logston of Salt Lake City was killed on the Lagoon racetrack on Sept. 5, 1921 in a vehicle accident. He and a companion were trying to see how fast they could drive around the track, following the day’s official races there. Somehow a light in the car came loose, stuck in the steering gear and caused the car to crash into a fence. A splintered rail struck Logston and instantly killed him. (-From the Davis County Clipper, 9 Sept. 1921.)

6.  "Auto racer at Lagoon Killed." Chris Chioles, 23, died when the race car he was in crashed into a fence around the Lagoon racetrack on July 24, 1922. (Chioles was the vehicle's mechanic.) Charles W. Herman, of Salt Lake City, was driving the vehicle and was injured in the crash. It is believed that a cloud of dust on the track had blocked Herman's vision. (-From the Ogden Standard-Examiner, July 25, 1922.)

7. "Husband dies after saving wife in flood." Arnold Christensen, 38, a Lagoon employee, rescued his wife from flood waters that struck Lagoon on Aug. 14, 1923, after a cloudburst in Farmington Canyon. Farmington Creek was overflowing and caused thousands of dollars in damage to the park. Christensen, a brother of A.C. Christensen, Lagoon Park Manager, "died of heart disease, caused by excitement and exertion," according to reports. He and his family were living in a tent at Lagoon that summer. This is undoubtedly the strangest of all deaths in Lagoon's long history. (-From the Salt Lake Tribune, Aug. 14, 1923.)

8. “Ogden man killed on Dipper at Lagoon.”

George Burt, 19, of Ogden was killed instantly on Saturday, July 26, 1924 when he fell 25 feet from the Dipper roller coaster (today’s wooden roller coaster).

Burt was making his fourth ride of the night and was insistent on standing up during the ride. He eventually lost his balance, slipped out – hung onto the car -- and was dragged 30 feet down one incline and partially up another, before he lost his grip and suffered the fatal fall.

He had a broken neck. (-From the Davis County Clipper, 1 Aug. 1924.)

Note that this coaster at the time likely did not have seat belts.

9-10. “Park City miner meets death at Lagoon July 4”

Tobias Oritz, a Park City miner and formerly from Santa Fe, New Mexico, died in the Lagoon swimming pool on the afternoon of July 4, 1925.

He leaped from the pool’s high dive and struck his head on the bottom. He was under the water 10 minutes before he was located, pulled out and resuscitation was used unsuccessfully. His neck was not broken, so it is believed that he was stunned under water and drowned.

“This is the second accident of the kind that has occurred there since the diving place has been in use.” Thus a similar such death from diving happened earlier, although no details are available. (-From the Davis County Clipper, 10 July, 1925.

11. "Rocking boat brings death to young boy." Henry Wright, 15, of Salt Lake City, drowned when horseplay on a boat while fishing on Lagoon Lake knocked him into the water. (-From The Weekly Reflex newspaper of June 30, 1927.

12. “Park City woman accidentally killed at Lagoon.”

Mrs. Luka La Fay Goodfellow, of Park City, died instantly from an accident in the Lagoon Fun house on July 13, 1930.

She was accidentally thrown from the “fun wheel” in the fun house and struck her head against a post. Note that this was the original Lagoon fun house – the one that burned down in the 1950s --  not the later version. (-From the Davis County Clipper, 18 July 1930).

13. Ernest Howe, 21, Ogden, stood up on the roller coaster ride and fell out as made its first turn, dying on impact, with a fractured skull, on Aug. 20, 1934. . (-From the Salt Lake Telegram, Aug. 21, 1934.)

14. Samuel George Marler, 20, of Idaho Falls, Id., died August 14, 1942, from a neck fracture three days after diving into Lagoon's swimming pool. (-From the Weekly Reflex Newspaper of Aug. 20, 1942 and the Salt Lake Telegram of Aug.18, 1942.)

15. James Young Hess, 23, of Farmington, died from injuries sustained from being stuck by a roller coaster car at Lagoon on Sept. 1, 1946. Hess was hit by the car while working on the ride’s scaffolding. He suffered skull, leg and arm fractures and died later at a Salt Lake hospital. (-From the Salt Lake Telegram, Sept. 2, 1946).

16. F. Dana Loveless, 51,  of Salt Lake City, was found drowned in the Lagoon Swimming pool by workers. Foul play was not suspected. (-From the Salt Lake Telegram, Aug. 5, 1952.) 

17. Michael Scott Johnson, 7, of Granger, drowned in the Lagoon swimming pool on Aug. 1, 1961. The boy had went to the pool with his mother and three sisters. The mother had told the boy to wait for them by the women's dressing room, but he said, "I'm no sissy." When the rest of his family came out of the dressing room, the boy could not be found. He was discovered moments later floating lifelessly under the surface in five feet of water. He had not learned to swim. (-From the Salt Lake Tribune, Aug. 2, 1961.)

18. William Stewart, 23, of Layton drowned in the Lagoon swimming pool on July 5, 1975. He was found at the bottom of the pool's deep end and could not be revived. (-From the Herald Journal, July 7, 1975.)

19. Ryan Beckstead, 6, of Bountiful, was killed on the “Puff the Little Fire Dragon” ride at Lagoon on April 30, 1989. This mini children’s roller coaster did not malfunction. The newly hired ride operator hastily decided to give the riders a second ride and failed to notice that Beckstead – in the rear car -- was already almost out of his seat, believing the ride to be over. Beckstead was tossed out of the ride and stuck in between the tracks. No one – including his father – could reach him before the coaster came back around a second time and struck him on the tracks. (-Deseret News, 1 May 1989). Note that thereafter, Lagoon enhanced the restraints on this ride to hopefully prevent any future such accidents.

20. Kilee King, 13, of Bountiful, died July 9, 1989, after she fell 35 feet from the lead car of the roller coaster ride. She suffered a broken neck and had been trying to “get air” by pushing her legs against the seat of the car as it went over a hill. The result was she was thrown out of the ride’s car. Her lap bar had remained closed, but failed to keep her inside the car. (-From the Deseret News, 13 June 1989). Note that soon after, Lagoon moved all the coaster seats permanently slightly forward, to lessen the chances of this type  accident from happening in the future.

21. A 32-year-old man died several days later from critical injuries suffered in a 50-foot fall from the Sky Ride on August 14, 2021. (The Sky Ride is a tram ride, virtually identical to ski lifts, that transports riders from one end of Lagoon to the other.) The ride has no seat belts, but the man had to have purposely climbed out of his seat in order to fall. Videos taken by other riders showed the man with two arms hanging onto one of the front enclosure bars and his feet dangling. He eventually lost his grip and fell to the ground, probably crashing on asphalt. The Sky Ride opened at Lagoon in 1974 and had never suffered any significant accidents prior. Unlike any other ride at Lagoon, this tram ride (like all such "lifts") is subject to extra strict governmental regulations and regular inspections. There was no malfunction here, as the man willingly left the safety of his seat and ultimately caused his own death. Was it a suicide attempt or a stunt gone fatal? One may never know. 

(Note that Disneyland used to have a similar ride, the "Skyway," that operated from 1956-1994. It was more gondola like, though the top half was open. Two riders fell to their deaths in separate accidents, in 1980 and 1994 respectively on that ride, that passed through the Matterhorn. One of those deaths was ruled a suicide and the other an accident. Disney removed the ride, likely because of not just the two fatalities, but also because of some required costly structural upgrades, that would have been needed.)

22-27. There have been at least six other non-attraction related deaths that happened at Lagoon since 1978:

-Neil Keith Hansen, 28, of American Fork, died in a rodeo accident at Lagoon on July 3, 1978. He was thrown off a bull he was riding and then it kicked him fatally. (American Fork Citizen newspaper, July 13, 1978.)

-Park officials say one person died in the park from a seizure and another from a heart attack.
-A Lagoon employee, Denise Davis, 16, was also critically injured on June 29, 1981 after she fell off a garbage truck in the parking lot. She died a few days later.
-Still another person drowned in the old Lagoon swimming pool after illegally entering the park grounds after hours.
-An Idaho girl was killed when she was struck by a car in the Lagoon parking lot on May 16, 1996.
-A 72-year-old Roy man died from a heart attack at Lagoon on May 17, 2003. A lawsuit later claimed the man did not receive prompt enough emergency care. (-From the Deseret News, 11 June 1989 and also 1 Aug. 2004; plus the Provo Daily Herald, May 20, 1996).

NOTE: Obviously, others likely died of illnesses, etc. at Lagoon over the years, especially before 1980.

SOME NON-FATAL ACCIDENTS AT LAGOON:

-July 5, 1898: The young daughter of Dr. J. Thomas of Salt Lake City, suffered moderate burns to her chest from a large fireworks rocket that went haywire and exploded near her during a pyrotechnic display at Lagoon. (-From the Salt Lake Herald, July 6, 1896.)

-June 16, 1900: Andrew Jensen, a ZCMI employee, rescued two young women from drowning in Lagoon's lake. He was walking over a bridge on the lake and heard cries for help. With a loud musical presentation going on at Lagoon at the time, it was hard to hear. He supposed the women had been flung from an overturned boat. He was the only person nearby at the time. (-From the Salt Lake Herald, June 20, 1900.)

-July 18, 1902: “Accident at Lagoon. Reckless man causes injury to several children” was a July 19, 1902 headline in the Salt Lake Herald Republican newspaper. An unknown man with a palm tree fan in his hand struck the horse that powered the merry-go-round ride at Lagoon to make it go faster. As a result, Sarah Jane Cameron, 14, was knocked down and out of her seat and was stepped on by the horse. She sustained bruises and cuts. Hattie Crabbe, 12, was knocked off the ride and hit the picket fence surrounding the ride. She was badly bruised. An Ogden boy was thought to have a broken arm from the accident, but it was only a sprain. The man who caused the accident disappeared into the crowd and was not found.

-Early April of 1906: Charles Boylin of Farmington, who looked after the grounds and animals at Lagoon, was seriously bitten by a monkey. He suffered a paralysis to both arms initially, but after several weeks recovered full use of his limbs. (From Box Elder News, April 19, 1906.)

-April 22, 1907: Two painters suffered serious injuries when their scaffold fell to the ground after the ropes broke. They had been painting the roof of the Lagoon dance hall, which had been replaced after high winds blew it off last fall. (From the Deseret News April 23, 1907.)

-May 30,1908: Undoubtedly Lagoon's most disastrous opening season day: two injuries, one very serious -- 1. Logan Balderston of Bountiful was seriously injured on Lagoon's scenic railway, when he was thrown out of the car on a turn and fell 40 feet to the ground. He broke his leg, displaced ribs and moved his heart a few inches. Doctors thought he would not survive at first, but he did gradually improve; 2. Leonel Layton of Layton, broke his arm on the park's skating rink. (-From the Davis County Clipper, June 5, 1908.)

-April 28, 1908: Lorin H. Heninger of Ogden, was seriously injured at Lagoon while riding "bumping the bumps," some kind of ride. No other information available. The ride may have been similar to today's "Dodge 'em" car rides. (-From Davis County Clipper, Aug. 28, 1908.) 

-July 4, 1915: "M.L. Rose seriously injured at Lagoon." Mr. Rose, a Lagoon employee was struck by a scenic railway car in the park. The force of the crash pushed him six feet and to the ground. He had four broken ribs and had to have a damaged kidney removed. (-From the Weekly Reflex newspaper, July 8, 1915.)

-July 24, 1922: Charles W. Herman, of Salt Lake, an auto racer suffered a concussion, cuts and bruises, when a race car he was driving crashed into fence around the Lagoon Race Track. (Chris Chioles, 23, of Salt Lake City, his mechanic, was also in the vehicle and died in the crash.)

-Aug. 16, 1924: "Three injured when Lagoon balloon bursts." Three men were hurt, two seriously, when a gas balloon being readied to go airborne to advertise Lagoon, exploded and caused burns to workers. (-The Weekly Reflex newspaper of Aug. 21, 1924.)

-July 14, 1930: Edward Miller, 22, from Pennsylvania, suffered lacerations of the head and a fractured elbow after diving from the high dive at Lagoon's swimming pool. (-From the Weekly Reflex newspaper, July 17, 1930.)

-August 30, 1951: "Train victim, 5, 'poor' in Hospital." Karen Winter, 5, of San Leandro, Calif., suffered a skull fracture, shock, body, head and leg injuries when she stepped into the path of the miniature train at Lagoon. The train was entering the depot and was traveling about 5 mph and was unable to stop. The train had to be turned on its side of remove the injured girl. She had wandered away from her parents just before the accident. (-From the Salt Lake Telegram newspaper of Aug. 31, 1951.)

-November 13, 1953: At 10:56 p.m., Lagoon’s 67-year lucky streak of no fires ran out. It was a blaze!

   A Farmington resident, Fred D. Fellow, first noticed the fire. The skies were red and smoking. The flames were so high - up to 300 feet - they could be seen from 20 miles away in western Salt Lake City.

   Owner Peter Freed was at his 16th Avenue home in Salt Lake City and a neighbor who worked at the Salt Lake Tribune called to tell him of the fire.

   Flames swept down the west side of the midway, destroying everything thing in their path.

   The front (east end) of the wooden roller coaster was wiped out. The Fun House and the Dancing Pavillion were reduced to rubble.

Also destroyed were the Tunnel of Horrors, the Shooting Gallery, cafe, taproom, several storehouses and small concession booths. The historic Merry-Go-Round was saved by a constant flow of water sprayed on it. Volunteer firemen from the city battled the blaze for more than six hours, but no injuries were reported from the fire.

                                                                    From Lagoon's photo collection.

   Looking at photographs taken by the Deseret News the morning after the fire, the scene looking from the Merry-Go-Round out was like seeing the aftermath of a nuclear explosion.

Twisted metal columns were sticking out of the ground.

                                                            From Lagoon's photo collection.
                                                                                     

  It was simply amazing the east section of the roller coaster was almost totally destroyed and that the Merry-Go-Round was saved. Thousands of spectators from Salt Lake to Ogden were attracted to see the fire, that caused an estimated $500,000 in damages. The fire was undoubtedly the largest commercial fire in Davis County during the 20th Century.

   Lagoon had been closed since Labor Day for the season, though a few employees had stayed on for maintenance work.

   The exact cause of the fire was never determined. It was suspected that an electrical transformer near the Fun House had caused the fire. Spontaneous combustion and some greasy rags near the Fun House were also a possibility.

   Even before the flames had died down, the Freeds' had vowed to rebuild Lagoon.

  The park had insurance, but it didn’t cover enough of the damage as the entire west end and the ballroom were destroyed.

This was still a summer enterprise and one that had yet to make a profit. Only the Freeds' other business enterprises, the Freed Finance Company and a ranching business kept them going.

   Like a phoenix, Lagoon rose from the ashes and never looked back. 

-July 29, 1954: "Gay Lagoon coaster ride injures eight." A train returning to the station on Lagoon's wooden roller coaster, failed to come to a stop and crashed into another coaster car being loaded. Injuries to the neck, back and a fractured pelvis were among the worst of the injuries. Others were bruised. The ride operator saw the errand coaster car coming and had moved the outgoing car around the bend, a move that, with emergency brake application, probably lessened the injuries. (-From the Ogden Standard-Examiner, July 30, 1954.)

-Sept. 2, 1954: Hans Gregerson, 19-month-old son of Clyde Gregerson of Bountiful, suffered a fractured skull and other injuries when he fell backwards and into the concrete water channel on the baby boats ride. The miniature tug boat ride then ran over top the boy and he became tangled in the boat's propellers (From the Deseret News Sept. 9, 1954.)

-June 23, 1958: Carolyn Brain, 15, of Salt Lake City, lost the end of a little finger when it became caught in a flange on the side of slide at the Lagoon Swimming Pool.

-Circa mid-1960s: According to a March 2016 Facebook post by Laurie Capener of Layton -- She was a teen waiting in line for a ride nearby the original Wild Mouse (Then located at the north end of the midway). She said she saw the Wild Mouse malfunction -- "Watched one car not make it up the last hill, while another one rammed the stalled car from behind. Several kids were injured. I would never get on it again."
Apparently no one was seriously injured, but this accident may be the source of overblown urban legends that the Wild Mouse jumped off the tracks and some riders were killed.

 -June 27, 1967: “Ride at Lagoon hurts worker.” The Salt Lake Tribune reported on June 28 that a Lagoon employee, Greg Wilson, 16, of Salt Lake City, was seriously hurt when a midway car at an attraction struck him from behind.

-April 20, 1968: Danny Smith, 12, of Bountiful, was critically injured when he fell from a swing at Lagoon's playground and the swing struck him in the head. The accident happened when the park was not open. (-From the Salt Lake Tribune, April 21, 1968.)

-June 27, 1968: Six riders were treated for injuries and released after an arm of the Octopus ride fell to the ground. One of the main pivet pins on the ride sheared off, causing the crash. No one was seriously hurt. This ride was taken out of Lagoon for good, soon after.

-May 31, 1976: “Fall at Lagoon hurts employee.” The Ogden Standard-Examiner stated on May 31 that James Holt, 17, of South Weber, a Lagoon employee, was in fair condition after a 15-foot fall at the park. Holt had climbed up on the Jet Star ride to dislodge a stuck car on the tracks, when he fell after the car moved. He suffered a broken back and pelvis.

 -Sept. 7, 1980: "Guard OK after attack by caribou at Lagoon." Steve Keller, 22, of Layton, a Lagoon security guard, was attacked and bruised by a loose caribou at the park. The area was off limits to Lagoon visitors and the animal was later sedated with a dart gun and put back in its enclosure. (-From the Lakeside Review, Sept. 11, 1980.)

-June 11, 1983: A Lagoon employee, Shauna B. Lassen of Clearfield, lost her left arm after it was severed by the Fire Dragon ride as it raced by.

-June 20, 1983: Bart Page, 16, of Centerville, a teenage worker at Lagoon, lost his right foot when it became caught in the control mechanism for the Tilt-A-Whirl ride. Page somehow pushed his foot through a narrow slot, where it was crushed. (-From the Provo Daily Herald, June 21`, 1983.)

-1984: Two children were injured when the kid's Helicopter ride plunged to the ground. A lawsuit followed. 
 
 -1987: A Pittsburgh, Penn. Woman said she was injured on the Jet Star II ride, when it came to an abrupt halt. Also, in 1987, a Ketchum, Id. man said he was hurt when a Jet Star II car struck his car from behind.

-June 19, 1989: "Bad wire shocks Lagoon visitors, one employee." A faulty wire at a coin-operated basketball game at Lagoon caused a minor electrical shock to four patrons and one park employee. The short circuit sent 110 volts of electricity into a metal fence behind the game and that's where the 5 people were shocked. (From the Provo Daily Herald, June 20, 1989.)

-1990s: A young girl suffered a serious ankle injury when the Sky Ride struck her as she exited the attraction. She required multiple surgeries to repair a torn Achilles tendon and also reportedly received more than $100,000 in a settlement from a lawsuit.

 -June 10, 1991: A cross board on the Lagoon roller coaster (2X6 feet) came loose and broke the arm of an Elko. Nev. teenager, Frank Greco, 18, who was riding at the time and it struck him from overhead as the coaster car went by.

 -August 1996:  A 16-year-old Centerville girl, working at Lagoon, was bit in the arm by a cougar at the Lagoon Zoo. The animal was euthanized later, to check if it had rabies, or other diseases.

 - July 3, 2000: A Layton man injured a finger and his arm in “The Drop” water slide at Lagoon-Beach.

 -Sept. 2000: A South Jordan man injured his knee after crashing into the end of the pool of “The Drop” ride in Lagoon-A-Beach’s water slide area. (This was at least the third injury that resulted in a lawsuit against Lagoon on the “Drop” slide.)

-August 9, 2001: A freak accident on the Scamper, a children’s bumper car ride, frightened but did not hurt a male rider, age 6. A pole at the top of one of the ride's cars shorted out, produced an arc of electricity and caused a heavy piece of metal about 1 1/2 inches long to heat up and fall onto the seat next to the boy. 

-Summer of 2002: Jessica Jackson was riding the Jet Star 2, with a mother, aunt and cousin. The brakes on the incoming car behind them malfunctioned and struck their car. She and most of her group suffered some minor injuries from the crash,

-2012: An elderly man shattered his leg in a fall getting off the Dracula's Castle ride. He apparently could not exit the ride quickly enough, before the next ride car came around the corner and bumped him to the ground.

-Sept. 25, 2016: A decoration at Lagoon's Halloween event, "Frightmares," caught fire and sent people running. A grim reaper decoration burst into flames and caused brief havoc at the park. No one was injured.  (Source: KTVX, Ch. 4 news on Sept. 26, 2016.)

-December 18, 2021: A fire broke out in a candy shop building at Lagoon, located just north of the wooden roller coaster. Fire crews thought they had extinguished the fire during an initial call earlier in the day, only to have to return hours later for a second go, when the fire rekindled. The nearby kids bumper car ride was also destroyed, besides the candy building. Damage was estimated at $300,000.

August 9, 2023: The Primordial roller coaster ride was being tested and injured a contractor who was working on the ride building’s HVAC system. The worker, "Stephen," had to be hospitalized when a coaster being tested unexpectedly came back down the track, the room's lights went out, and he could not get out of the way in time. The coaster collided with the worker’s scissor lift, that was about 20 feet high and knocked him off it. He suffered permanent disfigurement, including a head wound and fractures to his left knee and right hip. He now has to walk with a cane, as one leg is shorter than the other one. A lawsuit followed, as claims were made that although Stephen knew the coaster would be tested that morning, he was not given specific times for that testing. Lagoon officials argued that they are not liable for the accident. Lagoon claims he was given all information. The man also may

 not have been wearing a safety harness on the scissor

 lift either, or he would not have been thrown to the

 ground.

 (Source: KTVX, Ch. 4, news report on August 11,

 2025.)

 -CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR -- SHOOTINGS, ROBBERIES AT LAGOON:

-"Shooting at Lagoon. Bartender Alexander has encounter with thieves. They wanted free beer" in 1897. In just its second year at its current location, Lagoon had a shootout at its saloon. Alexander "order then to throw up their hands, but they fired six shots at him instead -- It was dark and their aim was poor -- One bullet out of the six fired at him took effect, lodging in his arm -- Will not be able to mix drinks for a few days to come" -- as quoted from the Salt Lake Tribune of June 17, 1897. The men ran away after the shooting.

-"Sixteen-year-old boy arrested for trying to wreck Lagoon Train" in 1903. Charles Fowler of Salt Lake was arrested after it was determined that he tried three times to derail the miniature train at Lagoon. He placed obstructions on the train tracks. (From the Salt Lake Herald newspaper of Aug. 26, 1903.)

-"Jimmie Johns is shot by officers." On July 15, 1916, police had to arrest 20 men with disorderly conduct at Lagoon's dance hall. John's was shot four times during the incident. (-From the Journal newspaper, Logan, Ut. of July 18, 1960.)

- Lagoon's Foreign Spy/Bomb plot incident in 1917:

Lagoon has also had some very weird happenings over the decades.

How about a foreign spy and a bomb plot?

“Dancing master proves to be spy; Man who taught dancing at The Lagoon tried to blow up pavilion on Soldiers’ Day,” was the headline in the Sept, 7, 1917 Davis County Clipper.

“The professor who had been teaching dancing at Lagoon has turned out to be a German spy,” that article stated.

The bomb didn't off, but if it did, dozens could have been killed, or injured.

It was reported that the professor disappeared, but was later captured and imprisoned in the prisoner’s camp at Fort Douglas.

The newspaper stated that rumors were also circulating that the spy had already been convicted and executed.

The article also reported that another German, who had been living with a family in Centerville, had also been arrested as a spy and sent to Fort Douglas.

-"Man arrested for beating up girl at Lagoon May 30." Blanche Price of Salt Lake City was beaten up and robbed by Roy Thomas, 19, of Salt Lake City on May 30, 1930. He attacked her in the parking lot, stole an automobile and fled to Ely, Nevada. He was arrested after he returned to Salt Lake. (-From the Weekly Reflex newspaper of June 5, 1930.)


-"Four arrested for burglary" in 1934. Four teenagers from out-of-state were arrested at Lagoon on Nov. 18, 1934, for trying to smash open penny arcade machines. The youths caused at estimated $1,000 in damages to 25 arcade machines, as well as to smashed odors, tables and cash registers. (From the Salt Lake Telegram newspaper of Nov. 20, 1934.)

-"Thugs bind guard, get Lagoon cash" in 1950. Two experienced criminals escaped with up to $5,000 after they bound and gagged a night watchman in the Lagoon office at about 4 a.m. on June 5, 1950. The masked robbers took all the cash they could find, including pennies. They were never caught. (-From the Ogden Standard-Examiner newspaper of June 5, 1950.)

-"Davis nabs two juveniles on wounding of woman" in  May of 1951. Two boys, ages 12 and 13, were shooting a .22 caliber rifle about two blocks east of Lagoon. One of their wild shots struck Janice Coombs Hansen, 19, of Salt Lake City, in the left shoulder while she was standing  north of the Lagoon Swimming Pool. (-From the Salt Lake Tribune of May 22, 1951.)

-"Shots fail to stop youths after Lagoon car crash" in 1951. A Farmington Deputy Marshall fired four shots at two 16-year-old youths at Lagoon on August 9, 1951, after they raced away after striking another car in the Lagoon Parking Lot. The two teenagers had tried to enter Lagoon without paying and that began their run. Their car stalled in Farmington Canyon and they were arrested walking back to town. The same two youths had been referred to juvenile court a week earlier for public intoxication at Lagoon. (-From the Salt Lake Tribune of August 28, 1951.)

-July 15, 1959: “Lagoon worker hurt in fracas.” The Salt Lake Tribune of July 17 reported that Dale Thurston, 19, of Farmington, an amusement park worker, suffered a deep cut on his forearm during and altercation at the park. Two men from Salt Lake and a woman were arrested as part of the violent, stabbing incident.

 -"2 Salt Lakers jailed after shooting." Two Salt Lake men were involved in a shooting in front of the Lagoon dance hall, on Aug. 2, 1961. (-From the Salt Lake Tribune, Aug. 3, 1961.)

-Two young fawns were shot and killed in the Lagoon Zoo by unknown intruders, sometime during the weekend of December 17-18, 1967. (From the Ogden Standard-Examiner of Dec. 19, 1967.)

- June 15, 1991: Three teenage boys were stabbed during a fight at Lagoon. This was not gang related.

SOME LAWSUITS AGAINST LAGOON:

Here are a few examples of some past lawsuits, likely a fraction of what actually happened, since most modern lawsuits are likely settled privately:

-Summer of 1908: Lizzie W. Priestly sued Lagoon after stepped in a hole near a grandstand for a baseball game at Lagoon and suffered lasting injuries.

-March 1926: Franklin H. Mitchell tried to sue Lagoon for $10,000 (almost $134,000 in today's dollars) when he fractured his skull when a water toboggan struck him in the Lagoon Swimming pool. The jury decided the Mitchell was negligent by being in that area of the pool and the case was dismissed.

-November 1926: Bessie Wintercloud tried to sue Lagoon after a board on the dancing floor caused her to trip, causing leg injuries. This case was quickly settled outside of court.

-November 1983: A Clearfield teenager who lost an arm while working at Lagoon's Fire Dragon ride, sued the park for $11 million. The accident happened on June 10, 1983.

-Sept. 6, 2021: A Taylorsville, Utah man filed a lawsuit against Lagoon almost a year after being injured on the Wicked ride, in October of 2020. His foot was allegedly shredded on the ride after claims he was improperly secured. The man is paraplegia and initially did not feel the injury. (Source KUTV news on Sept. 6, 2021.)

SOME MALFUNCTIONS:

 Here are a few examples of malfunctions that occasionally happen on Lagoon rides, usually only causing delays and inconvenience …

  - July 24, 1999: The Skyscraper ride malfunctioned and its brakes temporarily stopped working. The ride continued about an extra 25 minutes before it was finally stopped. Some passengers loved the extra long ride with a view; others felt trapped. No injuries.

 -July 1, 2002: The Roll-o-Plane ride malfunctioned and left eight passengers stuck and stranded on the ride for 30 minutes. No one was injured.

-Oct. 14, 2002: The Samurai rode broke and left 28 riders trapped in the cold and in an upright position for one hour and 45 minutes.

-NOTE: The author, Lynn Arave, is available to speak to groups, clubs, classes or other organizations about Utah history at no charge. He can be contacted by email at: lynnarave@comcast.net