You're standing on a residential lot built up in 1963, in the Draperville subdivision of Draper, Utah.
Last reviewed 8 November 2026 · A two-minute read · 1870–1977
The short answer
A house of about 1,800 square feet went up in 1963 on a quarter-acre lot at 12200 South, Draper, Utah, in the Draperville subdivision, on ground surveyed long before as part of Section 29 in the old federal township survey south of Salt Lake City.
Draper Park School — 2012 · slc.history · CC BY-SA 3.0
1963 to now
A Draperville house sits near two older landmarks
You're standing on East 12200 South in Draper, Utah, on a residential lot in the Draperville subdivision. The house here went up in 1963, a modest place of about 1,800 square feet on a quarter acre of ground. It sits on land that was surveyed long before, as part of Section 29 in a township south of Salt Lake City, under the old federal land survey that carved Utah into square-mile sections for settlers.
A short walk away stands the Draper Park School, built in 1912 in a Classical Revival style and later expanded. Closer still, about a quarter mile off, is the Joseph E. And Mina W. Mickelsen House, one of the older homes left in this part of Draper.
1958 to 2010
Draper's name is tied to five firing squad executions
Draper's name carries weight beyond its quiet streets. A few miles from this lot stood the Utah State Prison, and the town's name became attached to a string of executions carried out there over five decades.
In 1958, Barton Kay Kirkham was executed at Draper. In 1977, Gary Gilmore was executed there too, in a case that drew national attention after he refused to appeal his death sentence. In 1988, Arthur Gary Bishop was executed at the Utah State Prison. In 1996, John Albert Taylor was executed at Draper. In 1999, Joseph Mitchell Parsons was executed there as well. In 2010, Ronnie Lee Gardner became the last of them, executed by firing squad at Draper.
The prison sits apart from the Draperville houses, but the name on the mailing address and the name on those death records are the same.
1963
A private buyer took title to the finished house
The lot sits in a section of ground surveyed under the old federal township system, long before any subdivision carried a name. The deed history behind that plat is not detailed in what survives, but the result is. A private buyer took title to the finished house, and the record says nothing more about who has held it since.
2012 to 2021
Fire, earthquake and wind struck the county repeatedly
Salt Lake County has weathered a run of disasters in recent years, recorded plainly in federal declarations. In 2012, the Rose Crest Fire burned through the county. In 2020, an earthquake and its aftershocks shook Salt Lake County, destroying two houses in Utah that year. In 2021, straight-line winds tore through the region, and the Parleys Canyon Fire burned not far from here.
None struck this exact lot, but they mark the county's weather and its risks in the years around when this house would have been an established, decades-old home.
1963 to now
The house has kept its footprint since 1963
The house at 12200 South has stood through all of it, a plain residential building on a quarter acre, unchanged in its basic footprint since 1963. The Draperville subdivision around it filled in with similar homes of the same era, part of Draper's growth southward from Salt Lake City through the twentieth century.
Deeper ground, 500
Salt Lake City's older cathedrals predate this subdivision by decades
This is the older ground of Salt Lake City. It belongs to the city, and the corner at this point comes later. Mark's Episcopal Cathedral]] in 1874, B'nai Israel Temple in 1890, the Roman Catholic Cathedral of the Madeleine in 1909 and the Greek Orthodox Holy Trinity Cathedral in 1923. Volleyball Association convention in 2005 drew 39,500 attendees.
The house still stands on its quarter-acre lot in Draperville, much as it was built in 1963.
Sourced records, high and medium confidence. Era background is marked as such.
Deep time
Section 29, Township 3 South, Range 1 East
Sand and gravel deposits from the regressive phase of ancient Lake Bonneville lie beneath this location, deposited between roughly 2.6 million and 12,000 years ago.
Era background — not a record of this tile · Macrostrat
Modern
782 East Pioneer Road, Draper
The Joseph E. and Mina W. Mickelsen House was built at East Pioneer Road in Draper and listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The Draper Poultrymen and Egg Producers' Plant, located at East Pioneer Road, was important in Draper's agricultural history and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Draper was established as a city in 1849 in Salt Lake County, in the territory that would become Utah. The town grew from early Mormon settlement in the valley.
Era background — not a record of this tile · FamilySearch
1160 East Pioneer Road, Draper
Perry Fitzgerald built a house in 1870 at East Pioneer Road in Draper as a home for his third polygamous wife Agnes, who had 13 children. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The Draper Park School was built in 1912 as a Classical Revival style building at 900 East, about a third of a mile north of this address. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The S.J. Mickelsen Hardware Store and Lumber Yard was established in 1912 at 12580-South Fort Street in Draper and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2004.
Gary Gilmore was executed by firing squad in 1977 at Utah State Prison in Draper, about a mile south of your location. His case drew international attention as the first execution after a decade-long moratorium in the United States.
An earthquake and its aftershocks were declared a federal disaster in Salt Lake County in 2020.
Era background — not a record of this tile · FEMA Disaster Declarations
Salt Lake County
The Parley's Canyon Fire was declared a disaster in Salt Lake County in 2021 under FEMA relief.
Era background — not a record of this tile · FEMA Disaster Declarations
Questions about this place
Answered in one sentence, then in full above
What was here before the house at 12200 South was built?
The lot lay within Section 29, ground surveyed under the old federal township system that carved Utah into square-mile sections for settlers, before the Draperville subdivision or any house existed on it.
When was the house at 12200 South built?
It was built in 1963, a roughly 1,800 square foot house on a quarter-acre lot in the Draperville subdivision.
What happened at the Utah State Prison in Draper?
Five men were executed there between 1958 and 2010: Barton Kay Kirkham in 1958, Gary Gilmore in 1977, Arthur Gary Bishop in 1988, John Albert Taylor in 1996, Joseph Mitchell Parsons in 1999, and Ronnie Lee Gardner in 2010, the last by firing squad.
Why is Gary Gilmore's execution significant?
Gary Gilmore was executed by firing squad in 1977 at the Utah State Prison in Draper, the first execution in the United States after a decade-long moratorium, and his case drew international attention.
What historic buildings are near 12200 South?
The Draper Park School, built in 1912 in Classical Revival style, stands about a third of a mile north, and the Joseph E. and Mina W. Mickelsen House, an older Draper home, stands about a quarter mile away.
What disasters affected the area around this house?
Salt Lake County saw the Rose Crest Fire in 2012, an earthquake and aftershocks in 2020 that destroyed two houses in Utah, and straight-line winds along with the Parleys Canyon Fire in 2021, though none struck this particular lot.
