Once a Religious Cult Town in Utah, It Slowly Became a Ghost Place with a Haunting Past

Photo byEniko PolgaronUnsplash

The Home of Truth is a ghost town in San Juan County, southeastern Utah, with a unique history. This short-lived utopian religious community, founded in the 1930s by spiritualist Marie Ogden, began in 1933 with a limited population of 22.

It prospered under Marie Ogden's leadership and reached a peak population of roughly 100 people, leaving traces of its visionary experiment amid the rocky surroundings of southeastern Utah.

About the Home of Truth - history

Following the death of her husband, Marie Ogden developed an interest in the occult. She sought refuge in religion while grieving and experienced a deep spiritual awakening.

Ogden, who founded the "Truth Center" in New Jersey, said that spiritual spirits communicated with her through her typewriter. One command instructed her followers to create God's kingdom, and spiritual omens led them to Dry Valley in San Juan County, Utah, near Church Rock.

Ogden and a small handful of people believed in an oncoming catastrophe, with the lonely Dry Valley as the solitary survivor of Christ's second coming. Her ambition was to build a peaceful community that could withstand the end of the world.

The Rise and Fall of Marie Ogden's Spiritual Commun

Throughout its brief history, the town was socially and physically isolated from the surrounding population, with its occupants living a rigid, basic lifestyle.

The commune, which consisted of about 20 buildings organized into three portals, was centered on the Inner Portal, where Marie Ogden lived. She distributed God's messages via a communal newspaper, which she typed on her typewriter.

Religious residents dedicated to following Ogden's heavenly commands adopted a life bereft of personal things and followed rigorous prohibitions on alcohol, tobacco, meat, and other comforts.

Entrance to the "Inner Portal"Photo byHome of Truth, Utah/Wikipedia

The Home of Truth - abandoned

While the community had roughly 100 followers in 1935, it had shrunk to only seven diehards within two years.

The deterioration began with stories of strange rites and accelerated when a promised cancer cure failed and Ogden refused to bury the deceased woman, insisting on the resurrection.

The preserved body sparked outrage, and as more of Ogden's forecasts proved false, community members left the commune. The local authorities' investigations and the heavy media attention that followed forced the majority of the members to depart the group by the end of 1937. Home of Truth was occupied by a small group of people until 1977.

Preservation and Restoration Efforts for the Home of Truth

Following Ogden's death in 1975, the site passed into private hands; yet, relics of the Home of Truth remain. The present property owner is committed to preserving the Inner Portal and plans to renovate the facility for public use.

The vacant structures can be seen from the road, and the entrance gate to the Inner Portal, which has been ornamented for years with a sign stating "Marie's Place," is a significant feature awaiting restoration and public revelation.

Home of Truth, Utah Inner PortalPhoto byHome of Truth, Utah/Wikipedia Commons

Sources:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Home_of_Truth,_Utah
• https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/home-of-truth