Kay's Cross

Infobox_protected_area | name = Kay's Cross

---

caption =
locator_x = 62
locator_y = 67
location = Kaysville, Utah, USA
nearest_city =
lat_degrees = 41
lat_minutes = 03
lat_seconds = 02.67
lat_direction = N
long_degrees = 111
long_minutes = 55
long_seconds = 31.25
long_direction = W
coor_type = landmark_scale:1000
established = uncertain, probably 1850-1950

History

Kay's Cross was a large stone cross (roughly convert|20|ft|m high by convert|13|ft|m wide) located in northeastern Kaysville, Utah, USA. The monument is rumored to have been erected by polygamists in the 1940s, but the exact age is disputed, another common rumor is that the cross was built by early settlers of the town to mark a grave of either his wife, or entire family. Interestingly, the hollow in which the cross stood was owned in the 1940s by Charles and Ethel Kingston, founders of the infamous polygamist Kingston clan. They may have been the ones who built the cross where the patriarch of the family received his "vision" to found the church, however the religious affiliations to early polygamists in the area is disputed because Mormons, and polygamist splinter-groups from the mainstream Church do not use the cross as a symbol of their faith or their religious activities, the Apostolic United Brethren being the sole exception.

While the origins of the cross are unknown, its demise was well known and publicized. On February 25, 1992, at 10 pm, local residents heard a loud boom. This boom was the explosion of Kay's Cross, which had been packed with explosives and blown into several large pieces. The police have never made an arrest in connection with this case. Some people still believe that the explosion was not man made, others believe the police dept did it themselves because they were tired of responding to calls to the remote location.

During the 1980s, curious grade school children from nearby Samuel Morgan Elementary School would wander down into Kay's Hollow to see the cross and recount the legends surrounding its origin and current uses.

Today, even though access to the remains of the cross have been surrounded by subdivisions, the cross remains a local legend with high interest and is still visited by many teenagers and young adults.

Legends

Legends regarding Kay's Cross are abundant, ranging from "dog men" to spousal murder and satanic rituals.

References

* Lakeside Review article, 1981
* [http://www.standard.net/live Ogden Standard Examiner] article, 1992

ee also

* Kaysville, Utah

External links

* [http://www.utahgothic.com/tour/Kay's%20Cross.html Kay's Cross at Utah Gothic]
* [http://www.newwest.net/index.php/main/article/4046/ Halloween Haunts -- a blogger's memories of Kay's Cross]
* [http://www.utahghost.org/haunted_utah.html Haunted Utah]
* [http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&z=16&ll=41.05133,-111.924205&spn=0.009288,0.017338&t=h&om=1 Map of area (Google Maps)]
* [http://www.kaysvillecity.com/ Official Kaysville City website]