HauntBound archive · catalog record
Reported phenomena, as catalogued
Daughters of Utah Pioneers Museum on Salt Lake City's Capitol Hill
300 North Main Street, Salt Lake City, UT 84103
Research updated May 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
Free
Free admission; donations accepted.
Access
Wheelchair OK
Four-story museum with elevator access
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1950 · World's largest single-subject artifact collection (per DUP) · Operated by the Daughters of Utah Pioneers since 1901 (organization)
The Pioneer Memorial Museum sits on Capitol Hill in Salt Lake City and is operated by the International Society Daughters of Utah Pioneers, a heritage organization founded in 1901 to preserve the artifacts and oral histories of the families who entered the Salt Lake Valley before the joining of the transcontinental railroads.
The museum's collection covers the period from the earliest Latter-day Saint settlers crossing the Wasatch in 1847 through the joining of the rails at Promontory Summit on May 10, 1869. It is widely cited as the world's largest collection of artifacts focused on a single historical subject. Holdings include clothing, tools, household goods, photographs, and documents donated by descendants of pioneer families across multiple generations.
The museum building itself is a four-story neoclassical structure modeled on the original Salt Lake Theatre. The collection extends across all four floors and includes a carriage house annex with larger vehicles and equipment.
Sources
The Pioneer Memorial Museum's haunted reputation is anchored in a specific documented incident. In the early morning hours of October 10, 2007, security officers monitoring the museum's surveillance cameras observed what appeared to be the face of a woman in front of one of the interior cameras. The image, by the officers' account, lingered for approximately five minutes. When an officer was dispatched to investigate, the image was no longer present and no one was found in the area.
The Deseret News reported the incident shortly afterward. When contacted for comment, the DUP's president at the time, Bette Barton, told reporters that 'the state prefers that we do not discuss that,' a reply that has since been quoted repeatedly in Utah ghost-lore. Aside from this one well-documented surveillance incident, the museum is not the subject of an active or commercialized haunted reputation.
Visitors occasionally describe the upper-floor galleries as having an unusually quiet, watched quality, but the underlying museum experience is straightforwardly historical.
Tour four floors of artifacts from Utah's pioneer era, from the earliest Salt Lake Valley settlements through the joining of the railroads in 1869. The collection is cited as the world's largest collection of artifacts on a single subject.
Some links on this page may earn HauntBound a small commission when you book, at no extra cost to you. Our editorial picks are independent. Full disclosure
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
Free Guide
11 verified stops, rated for families, mapped in order. Free.
One email to confirm, then the guide link. Unsubscribe anytime.
Yuma, AZ
Yuma Territorial Prison operated from 1876 to 1909 on a bluff overlooking the Colorado River in Yuma, Arizona. It held 3,069 prisoners during its 33-year operation, including 29 women. The facility became a state historic park and has been voted by USA Today readers as the Best Haunted Destination in the nation.
St. Augustine, FL
The Old St. Johns County Jail at 167 San Marco Avenue in St. Augustine, Florida was commissioned by railroad magnate Henry Flagler and constructed in 1891. Designed by the same architectural firm later used for Alcatraz, the facility housed prisoners under conditions so severe — one bucket per cell as a toilet, minimal diet, and labor in Flagler's fields — that it was closed in 1953. Eight documented executions occurred on site before the county converted the building to a tourist attraction in 1954.
Salem, MA
The Jonathan Corwin House at 310 Essex Street is the only surviving structure in Salem with direct ties to the 1692 Salem witch trials. Built circa 1675 and purchased by Corwin that same year, the house served as the site of pretrial examinations for several of the accused. The property has operated as a museum since 1948 under City of Salem ownership.