The killing of Salt Lake City Police Detective Greenville “Green” B. Hamby and the Fate of the Skin of his Assailant

This is the story of the killing of Salt Lake City Police Detective Greenville “Green” B. Hamby (and the fate of the skin of his assailant). 

This plaque memorializes SLC Detective Police Greenville B. Hamby who was killed in the line of duty in 1921.

On the evening of February 8, 1921, after an attempt to rob the J.C. Penny store at 231 S. State, the suspect Tom Gleason (alias Tom “Blackie” Burns) fled to the nearby Nord Hotel at 59 ½ E. 200 South where Detective Green Hamby found him. 

When Detective Hamby opened the hotel room door, Gleason shot and killed the detective; in turn, Gleason was killed by Police Chief Clifford Patten.

No one claimed Gleason’s body and it was sent to the University of Utah medical school where a portion of his skin was removed and presented to the SLC Police. The police kept the skin in the evidence room, at least until 1935 at which time a local newspaper described it as a "portion of a hide of a man suspended to the wall."

During the follow-up investigation, the suspect Tom Gleason was identified by a special agent of the American Express Company as Joseph Alsheimer, an escaped convict of Madison Wisconsin.

A memorial plaque dedicated to the service of Detective Green B. Hamby was installed at the Gallivan Center in 2013.

Sources: Ogden Standard Examiner 1921-02-08 and 10. Salt Lake Telegram 1935-01-05.

William Hawk Cabin

The William Hawk Cabin located at 458 North 300 West Salt Lake City has recently been restored. It is one of the oldest surviving pioneer structures in SLC and is a local historic landmark site and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

This one-room Pennsylvania-style log cabin is constructed from Douglas fir, white fir, and quaking aspen. Dendrochronology results of the cabin reveal the log cutting dates cluster at 1846 and 1851-1852; the 1846 cluster may reflect wood salvaged from road building efforts by the Donner-Reed Party. The cabin seems to have been constructed by 1852, and then later remodeled about 1860.

The cabin is currently used as an art studio by the owner.

James Jensen Granary

Jensen Granary at 626 S 400 East, Nov 2018.
Cat for scale.

The James Jensen Granary at 626 S 400 East is listed on the local Salt Lake City Historical Register, built ca. 1875. 

 Originally located on a 5-acre farm, James Jensen and his two wives occupied this plot until he and his first wife moved to the Old Brigham Young farm in Forest Dale leaving his second wife to live in this house in the SLC Second Ward.

Robert Gardner Home in Millcreek

Robert Gardner, Jr built this adobe home for his family in the winter of 1848 with a foundation of river stones that he carried from the nearby creek and set with hand-mixed cement. 

Gardner built this home next to his sawmill along Mill Creek. The sawmill is now gone but the home remains. Located at 1475 E. Murphy's Lane in Millcreek, it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and has recently undergone a $1.5M renovation by the Gardner family. Interpretive signs are placed out front for visitors to learn more about the home. 

 Visit www.robertgardnerhome.com for more information.

Officers Circle at Fort Douglas National Historic Landmark

Officers Circle at Fort Douglas National Historic Landmark on the University of Utah Campus.

These sandstone duplexes were built during the 1874–1876 construction phase to house officers of the Fourteenth Infantry and their families, hence the name of the street, Officers Circle. Like the other buildings built at this time, these were constructed using local sandstone from Red Butte Canyon.

All were originally T-shaped with a two-story main block and a one-story wing for the kitchen. In the 1880s, a second floor was added to the rear wing using the same red sandstone. A one-story red brick addition was added to the rear of each building in 1928.

Great Western Match Factory, 615 S 300 East

First match factory in Utah. Frank Yeager pictured here worked
in the match factory. Courtesy Olive Burt. From UDSH.

Mr. Frank Yeager (1868-1950) standing in front of the adobe structure that housed the Great Western Match Factory, where he worked as a youth. 

 The Great Western Match Factory was the second match factory in Utah and was located at 615 South 300 East in downtown Salt Lake City, where the present-day Central City Recreation Center is situated. (The first match factory was a home manufacturing endeavor by Alexander Neibaur in 1851). 

The Great Western Match Factory was established about 1875 by Swen W. Anderson (although it wasn't named the Great Western Match Factory until 1881) and was closed around 1910. The adobe building stood until sometime after 1950 at which point it was described as vacant and dilapidated. The match factory burned a few times in its history, the most noteworthy on July 17, 1882, when it was a complete loss. It was soon rebuilt and stocked with new machinery. 

 The match factory used local Quaking Aspen for the boxes, Red Pine for the match sticks, and Sulphur from Cove Creek for the distinctive red cap tip.

Sources: Utah History Blazer Aug 1996; Deseret News 1883-06-20, SL Democrat 1885-06-19, SL Telegram 1950-12-14

Ancestral Puebloan Artifacts were Displayed at the 1893 World's Fair

Prehistoric Ancestral Puebloan bowl and
mug were on display at the LDS Church
History Museum, January 2016.

This prehistoric Ancestral Puebloan bowl and mug were on display in the Utah Pavilion at the Columbian Exposition (aka, the 1893 World’s Fair) in Chicago 1893. 

The booklet behind the pottery describes the exhibits of the Utah Pavilion. At the time, these two items were a part of the collections of the Deseret Museum of Salt Lake City.

The Deseret Museum was Utah’s first museum which opened in December 1869. The Utah Territorial Legislature declined to support the museum, so it was largely a private institution run at an economic loss of its founders and curators. It originally included a live animal menagerie and focused on taxidermized animals, geologic specimens, and archaeological materials.

The Deseret Museum originally occupied an adobe house located near the present-day site of Hotel Utah. The museum moved to several larger locations throughout downtown Salt Lake City until 1918 when the museum closed.

Following its closing, the collections of the Deseret Museum were divided among several museums and institutions of Utah including Brigham Young University, University of Utah, Daughters of Utah Pioneers, and the LDS Church History Museum.

The two Ancestral Puebloan artifacts shown here are in the collections of the LDS Church History Museum (as of Jan 2016).

Source of text: Eubanks, Lila Carpenter. "The Deseret Museum." Utah Historical Quarterly 50, no. 4 (Fall 1982): 361-76.