Utah's oldest building on its original foundation, connected to the legend of grave robber Jean Baptiste exiled to Antelope Island in 1862 — and to documented scratches on investigators in the ranch's wooded edge
4528 West 1700 South, Syracuse, UT 84075
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
$
Antelope Island State Park day-use fee required; see stateparks.utah.gov for current rates
Access
Wheelchair OK
Ranch grounds are flat with some unpaved paths; the wooded area near the lake requires walking on uneven terrain
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1848 · Oldest Building in Utah on Original Foundation · National Register of Historic Places · One of the Largest Sheep Ranches in US History · Jean Baptiste — Salt Lake City Grave Robber Exile (1862)
Fielding Garr arrived on Antelope Island in 1848 with nine children, sent by the LDS Church to oversee its tithing herds of cattle and sheep on the island's sheltered pastures. The adobe ranch house he built that first year remains the oldest structure in Utah still standing on its original foundation — a distinction that makes the site unusual even among Utah's extensive inventory of pioneer historic sites.
The LDS Church sold the island in 1870 to John Dooley, who transformed the operation over the following decades. Under Dooley's management, the island eventually supported 10,000 sheep and became one of the largest sheep ranches in the country. In 1893, Dooley introduced American bison to the island to diversify operations; descendants of that herd still roam Antelope Island today. Ranching continued under subsequent owners until 1981, when the state established Antelope Island State Park.
The island's most historically documented dark chapter involves Jean Baptiste, a man who drifted into Salt Lake City in the late 1850s and found work as the city's gravedigger. In January 1862, police officer Henry Heath discovered that the body of an outlaw named Moroni Clawson had been stripped of the burial clothing Heath had personally purchased for the interment. Investigation revealed that Baptiste had robbed more than 300 graves, stealing clothing and jewelry from bodies in his care. The punishment devised by territorial authorities combined physical marking — his ears were cropped and 'Robbing the Dead' was tattooed on his forehead — with exile, first to Antelope Island and then, after he apparently crossed to it, to Fremont Island five miles north. Six weeks after the banishment, brothers who visited the island found the shack dismantled, a cow slaughtered, but no Baptiste. He was never seen again.
The ranch became a state historic site within the park, and the ranch house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Sources
The Fielding Garr Ranch's haunting reputation developed gradually, built largely on the testimony of people who work or regularly visit the site rather than on organized ghost tourism. Ranch manager Carl Aldrich, in an interview with KSL in 2021, declined to use the word 'ghosts' but described a pattern of experiences he could not explain: a floral perfume appearing in his office when no one else was present, cabinet doors opening slightly despite normally requiring force to move, and — most concretely — an audio recording that captured a faint voice saying 'Looking for you.'
Chris Harmon of the Western Association for the Science of the Paranormal conducted more than a dozen investigations at the ranch between 2019 and 2021. The most physically documented incident occurred when investigator Chris Black experienced a visible scratch appearing on his forearm while walking in the wooded area between the ranch house and the lake. On a separate visit, two investigators standing in the same area were simultaneously marked with identical scratches on both shoulders — a detail that Harmon described as the most difficult to explain away.
EVP sessions during the investigations produced responses that Harmon's team interpreted as answers to questions, including the word 'Fifteen' when asked an age, and responses the team characterized as hostile: 'beware,' 'hide,' and 'hostile.' The energy has been theorized to connect to the ranch's history, though the specific source — whether Jean Baptiste, the original Garr family, or something else entirely — remains unresolved. Psychic medium Stephanie, who participated in one investigation, speculated the activity might be more recent rather than historical.
The Jean Baptiste connection in the haunting tradition is geographic: he was banished to Antelope Island and then Fremont Island in 1862 and vanished; his fate was never established. His presence haunts the island's reputation more than any specific documented activity at the ranch itself.
Notable Entities
Media Appearances
The Fielding Garr Ranch is open as a living history site within Antelope Island State Park. Visitors can tour the 1848 adobe structure — the oldest building in Utah still on its original foundation — along with ranch outbuildings and exhibits on pioneer ranching and the island's history. The wooded area between the ranch house and the lake's edge is where the most-reported paranormal activity has occurred.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
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