Pine Glenn Cove

The site was originally developed in 1910 by Hezekiah Eastman Hatch (1855-1928), a prominent Logan, Utah businessman who built the first cabin there between 1915 and 1918. He built the cabin for his wife Georgia Thatcher Hatch, who enjoyed the cabin in her later years. After her death in 1919, their son Lorenzo Boyd Hatch took over the camp. His brother-in-law Floyd B. Odlum and he expanded the camp. They were self-made millionaires, owners and investors of many prominent businesses.[2]

They expanded the site and eventually the summer camp became a summer retreat, not only for the Hatches and Odlums, but for numerous friends and family. The Retreat and its owners hosted many famous people from Hollywood movie stars to government leaders and business heads. Guests included those with local ties as well as business associates, socialites, and other elites the Hatches and the Odlums knew through their ties to New York City and Hollywood.[2]

In the 1950s, the camp was donated to the Roman Catholic Diocese by the Hatch family. It was originally offered to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and then Utah State University, but neither of them were interested in the property.[3] It was renamed St. Ann's retreat by the Church, and it was used as a vacation spot for nuns from Sisters of the Holy Cross and the Benedictines in Salt Lake City. In the 1980s, it became a youth summer camp for the Boys' Club of Weber and Salt Lake Central City Community Center. It was sold for private ownership in the 1993.[4] Hatch's Camp was added to the National Register of Historic Places on December 27, 2006.[2]

The camp is located 8.3 miles up Logan Canyon, Cache County, Utah, 10 miles from the city of Logan. The land is on the grounds of Cache National Forest.[2]

The vacation compound includes 21 buildings and structures, including two main lodges, six smaller cabins, a playhouse, a pool house and generator house, along with a fireplace, fire pit, fountain, bridge and swimming pool. At one time, it also was home to a small theater with an adjoining ticket booth.[3] There was originally a horse stable, but it was demolished. Pine Glenn Cove is one of the largest private camps in Logan Canyon and the only one with a swimming pool.[2]

Much folklore surrounds the camp, often citing that the retreat is haunted.[5] While there is no record to support the claims, legend says nuns were sent there after becoming pregnant by monks or priests and would drown their babies in the swimming pool where you couldn't hear them cry.[6] A more specific legend included a nun who drowned her baby to keep it a secret and then committed suicide. Children's voices and an apparition of a woman dressed in black have reportedly been observed.[3] Other subjects of legend include satanic worship and hell-hounds.[4]

"Legend-tripping", which involves traveling to a supernatural location in order to determine whether the stories are true, has caused many young people to enter the camp at night.[2][4] On October 10, 1997, a group of 8 teenagers illegally entered the camp and were surprised by three armed watchmen. The watchmen herded them into the lodge, handcuffed them, and tied their necks together with ropes. The teenagers were released when police arrived. Later that night, however, a larger group of 30 teenagers, unaware of what had happened earlier, trespassed into the camp and were greeted by the same watchmen. They were all forced into the empty swimming pool, had their necks bound by ropes and their hands zip tied. The men told them that if they moved and tightened the ropes, an explosive would trigger and they would be killed. Again, police came and released the teenagers. In both instances, the men called the sheriffs themselves.[7] The police regarded the men as local heroes, which caused a large amount of backlash and initiated a debate about trespassing, the role of law enforcement, and moral values.[4] Eventually, the men were charged with six counts of aggravated assault.[8] The trespassing charges against the teens were dropped, because since the land was technically owned by the Forest Service, the teens were not trespassing.[4]

A collection of folkloric stories and first-hand accounts are available at L. Tom Perry Special Collections Library at the Harold B. Lee Library at Brigham Young University.[9]

The land is owned by the Forest Service who rents the camp to private owner Matt Nielsen. The retreat is not open to the public. Nielsen has been working to restore the camp so that it can be opened up to the public in the future. An opening date is undetermined. Due to the folklore surrounding the camp, vandalizing and trespassing have been problems and Nielsen had security cameras installed in order to prevent individuals from further damaging the work-in-progress property.[10] There is a Facebook page with pictures of trespassers asking if anyone can identify them.[6]

St. Ann's Retreat was featured as episode nine of season twelve of Travel Channel's Ghost Adventures hosted by Zak Bagans.[11]

The 2006 National Register of Historic Places listing included 11 contributing buildings and six other contributing structures.[2]

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Utah

• Collection of legends on revenants at Saint Ann's Retreat, Logan Canyon, L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University