Old Mill Adventure. Wow. This is a must read post. Walking around the Cottonwood Paper “Old Mill” is a must-do adventure (unless you are afraid of getting caught and receiving a $500 fine).
Taken from Wikipedia.org:
The Cottonwood Paper Mill is an abandoned stone structure located at the mouth of Big Cottonwood Canyon in the Salt Lake Valley. It was built in 1883 by the Deseret News under the direction of Henry Grow.
The mill provided jobs and paper for nearly ten years. In 1892, the Cottonwood Paper Mill was sold to Granite Paper Mills Company. On April 1, 1893, a fire broke out inside. Between its large stockpile of paper and the fact that many who heard the alarm thought it to be an April Fool’s joke, the mill was destroyed, leaving only a stone skeleton.
The structure was partially rebuilt in 1927 for use as an open-air dance hall, known as the Old Mill Club, and remained so until the 1940s. It was also used in the 1970s and 1980s as a haunted house and a craft boutique. It was declared a historic site by the Daughters of the Utah Pioneersin 1966, and was condemned by the city of Cottonwood Heights in 2005. The owners indicated in a 2006 newspaper interview that there are currently no future development plans for the structure.
The Cottonwood Paper Mill is also known as Granite Paper Mill, Deseret Paper Mill, Old Mill (a title shared by several newer buildings in the vicinity) and Haunted Old Mill.
The Haunted Old Mill is surrounded by a fence, keeping visitors out. Sometimes the gate to the parking lot south of the Mill is open, in which you can enter (but don’t park inside). Otherwise, park on the street and sneak in. On the south side of the Mill there are a few openings in the fence in which you can crawl through to enter the enclosed Mill. From here, you can explore. I’ve heard stories of being able to sneak inside through an open window, but I wouldn’t try it. There are always people watching the Paper Mill, so be stealthy and quiet. There is a $500 fine for trespassing if you are caught.
View a map of the Old Mill.
Utah Adventures 
Dang I’ve heard some of my friends talk about this! They got inside somehow – with a ladder or something? I’ve never seen it, but my friends said it was crazy scary. I’ve have to check it out sometime. Although that big of a fine isn’t very cool…. Haha
Ya, fines aren’t cool at all. But I’ve heard the same thing about there being a ladder or people bringing their own ladder! I’d love to hear about this. I’m amazed that people can get away with that with this being so close to the road and neighborhoods.
I have been to the Mill with some friends in the day time quite a few times, it is pretty scary even in the day. We had eerie feelings the entier time. And I swear on my life we saw a Squirril Beast!
the location is right in the middle of a busy neighborhood (people walking their dogs, cars going to and fro) and so forth. there’s a hole in the fence adjacent to the street, however this mill is secure. entirely secure. no way in, unless you bring a ladder that suspends twenty-five feet in the air. and even then, you’re in prime viewing for pedestrians i’m always trying to find ways into locations to get a spook, but this is one place, i gave up on
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Have you considered including a few social bookmarking buttons to these blogs. At the very least for facebook.
What is the address to this place?
Jacob, can you suggest any other places that are accessible?
c.c. i’d suggest the indian schools in brigham, or the old utah county jail in provo. if you need directions, just email me jacobrhcpfanatic@gmail.com
i say the ones of us, that are still into exploring get in contact maybe via facebook? my name is jacob pointon located in sandy, utah. my friends and i every weekend, go out and explore haunted areas.
Me and my friends got in last night, it was creepy a lot of places are blocked by plywood because it was a haunted house. The tiniest noises would scare the hell out of us.
I got in there about 10 yrs ago when I was a teenager. There was a window around back that was open. This place is haunted. I know this for a fact. I have Evp and photos.
I would love to see the photos and Evps!
How do you all know it’s haunted for sure
As for myself, when the haunted house attraction was being done under the direction of the tri charity group. I was there with a psychic, who said there were several entities that she could pick up on there. Take it for what you will.
please email me all the picture you have in attempting to make a movie and I would love the photos so I don’t have to pay to rent it out and then not need to use any of the rooms
I think it’s funny this place is considered creepy. It wasn’t very long ago that this place hosted many events like the Greek Festival. There were three on tap bars and large dance floor. It also has many broken headstones in the back of the building under shrubs.
We sneak in here all the time it’s where I had my first kiss 😁 there are some pretty crazy glow paint drawings in the concrete. For a while you could get inside partially but it got locked off. It’s way cool!!
I checked it out last night it was crazy as Hell, I could feel so many presences there and we saw black figments moving. We couldn’t find a way into the mill though.
Me and a friend did an investigation of this place back in 1988–we got evp’s and multiple photos of disembodied spirits. The scariest thing was when we tried to leave. We tried to go through the same door where we entered, but when we tried to push it open, it wouldn’t budge. After trying to force our way through, we doubled back and came out on the opposite side to see a huge mattress had somehow been placed up against the back of the door. It took me and my friend nearly ten minutes to move this old mattress, so for someone to have done this without a sound being made seemed unlikely. I think this was a message for us to stay out!
My husband is a published author and is working on a book about the mill. If you have interior photos and EVPs, email him subject line: “Old Mill experience/photos” at stevesymes@gmail.com
From the age of about 13 until I was 18 or 19 I used to work at the Old Mill every year when it was being used as a haunted attraction sponcered by the Utah Heart Socitiy. I can tell u all from personal experance that that beautiful building is defiantly haunted. I experanced things in that place I still can not explains. I created a connection with that place that I still have to day. When I see pictures I feel an old familiar pull wanting me to come “home”. I’ve always felt at home at the Old Mill and could talk to things no one eles could hear or see. Believe me or not it really doesn’t matter to me. But i stumbled across this sight and wanted to share some of what I know to be truth….the Old Mill is trully haunted. I’m what some people call “sensitive” to thing that can not be explained. Please don’t call me a crazy lady. But that big beautiful building has a whole bunch of stuff living in it. I could tell u stories from all my years of experance inside that building. But weather or not u would believe me is another story now isn’t?
Hey another old mill child. Like you I worked there, first with March of dimes, then tri city charity which included the utah heart ❤️. And like you I feel a very deep attachment to the old place. And like you. The stories I came away with.
If I were to ever be so lucky as to win the powerball, There would be nothing I would love more than to buy that place, and completly restore it.
I am a ghost hunter …I go by Rem, Me and my friends had a group that went to the old mill several times …at least 4 trips i know of for sure. each time we have gotten EVP and or photographic evidance from this place …and have learned some very interesting facts …suc has the name on a headstone and the name on the plaque of the building partially coincide but with differing last names. the most interesting bit of information was the solid black aperition maybe 6′ to 6’8″ in height and looked to be maybe around 200 pounds in looks . me and my “partner” were in the courtyard we had a ggroup on the mountian side and lookouts in the car down below… ALL three of our groups witnessed this apperition at the same time. to this day we do not know what it was or why it was there. though i do still question why a paper mill needs a lookout tower. “rem”
they have recently made this place active again. it is no longer abandoned
You can call Cottonwood and set up a time to view the place.
How? Would really love to go again. But then, even just watching videos of how poorly the old place has been treated. And neglected breaks my heart 💔
Little help. Been having a disagreement with person saying. No one ever died there. Like that matters to entities attached to the place. But I have first hand knowledge of the caretaker who committed suicide there. Only, I have no clue wherr or how to find documentation. Anyone have anything? This would have been the last year they had haunted house there. It’s really sad. I knew the guy, not well but we were there at the same time. He never struck me as a guy who would shoot himself. Sad, and strange