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The Bear River Massacre
The Bear River Massacre was an event that changed the landscape of northern Utah and the fate of the Shoshone people.In the early morning cold of January 29, 1863, between 270 and 400 Shoshone men, women, and children were killed by the U.S. Army…
Utah Journeys: Finding a Way Through
Migration and travel have shaped Utah. And Utah has shaped the way we migrate and travel. Literally. Over time, travel routes through Utah have tended to stay the same. Utah’s ruggedly beautiful landscape draws admiration and visitors, but has…
Edwin Bryant's Mule Ride
Nine men riding mules journeyed across the Great Salt Lake Desert in a single scorching August day. On August 3, 1846, Edwin Bryant woke up at 1:30 a.m. The silence around him seemed ominous. Camped this night on the Cedar Mountains at the…
Martha Sharouk’s Journey to America
The journey of Martha Sharouk – a young wife who left Lebanon and travelled to Utah to begin a new life – did not quite go as planned… In the winter of 1913, a young Lebanese woman stepped off the train at the Denver and Rio Grande station in…
Porters & Waiters Club: Worth the Trip to Ogden
Americans love their entertainment. But how far would you travel for a bit of fun? Here’s why a music club on Ogden’s 25th Street became a place worth traveling to. The rousing nightlife of cafes and clubs of the mid-twentieth century conjures…
The Gypsies are Coming!
Traveling gypsies brought excitement to small towns all over Utah in the early 1900s. To most residents of rural Utah in the early 1900s, summertime meant hauling hay, digging ditches, irrigating crops, and tending livestock. Other than the…
Adventures of an Early Hot Rodder
In the early days of motoring, traveling by automobile was all about adventure. America’s love affair with the automobile began with young men like Alva Matheson. Born in Cedar City in 1903, Alva Matheson began hankering for a car at age…
The Journey of Gobo Fango
Gobo Fango, an enslaved boy from southern Africa, journeyed to Utah in 1861. Born about 1855 near the Cape of Good Hope in what is now the Republic of South Africa, Gobo Fango was shaped by hardship. While still a small child, Gobo Fango’s…
"Tieing" Utah Together
Utah’s mountain ranges were raided and its rivers put to work in order to build the national railroad system. When the transcontinental railroad came to Utah in 1868 and 1869 – and as branch lines later spread through the territory – railroad…
Uranium Stories
Those who journeyed to Moab during the uranium mining boom that swept Utah in the 1950s and 1960s changed the tiny town forever. When the Atomic Energy Commission wanted uranium in the late 1940s, its guarantee to purchase whatever could be found…
Speaking American
Utah's pivotal 1919 Americanization Act impacted the state's vibrant immigrant population. When the thirteenth session of the Utah Legislature closed in March 1919, new legislation included a $4 million bond for new roads, a law preventing…
Modern Tourism: The Comforts of Home in Nature
Utah’s booming tourism industry grew by attracting travelers with creature comforts that rivaled the scenery. In the early twentieth century, Utah’s exceptional landscape drew Americans seeking to connect with nature and untamed wilderness. …
William Rishel’s Bike Ride
The 100-mile summer bike ride of William Rishel and Charlie Emise across the Great Salt Lake Desert almost ended in disaster.
In 1896, to promote his growing chain of national newspapers, publisher William Randolph Hearst cooked up a wildly…
Nature's Newcomers
Plants and animals that made their way to Utah unleashed unintended consequences upon arrival.
People aren’t the only ones who make journeys. When people traveled from place to place, they introduced new plants and animals into the areas they…
Salt Lake Valley Hot Springs
An area now occupied by an oil refinery, a gravel mine, and a freeway, was once Salt Lake’s premier tourist attraction.
Everyone smells it. A whiff of sulfur, as your car rounds the corner on I-15 between Salt Lake and Davis Counties.…
From Obstacle to Opportunity: Running the Mighty Green River
Historic obstacles to travel on Utah’s Green River are now considered opportunities for adventure. Fast waters, deadly rapids, high cliff walls, and an unknown course have long been obstacles that limited human activity on Utah’s Green…
The Hole-in-the-Rock: Utah's Most Treacherous Stretch of Road
Utah’s most treacherous stretch of road was hacked from the rock with a few hand tools and a bit of blasting powder. Utah’s rugged terrain often translates into treacherous roads. And the most precarious stretch of road might be the…
Chipeta: She Didn't Want to Come to Utah
Ute leader Chipeta – her search for peace meant the loss of her home and her way of life. Chipeta was the wife of Uncompahgre Ute leader Ouray and acted for years as a peacemaker between her people and the United States government. She stood…
Weathering the Road
Think about your daily travel routines. What would you do without well-maintained roads, air-conditioning, or ways to entertain the kids? Did you know that 86% of American commuters drive cars to work and spend an average 50 minutes each day on the…
Iosepa: An Unlikely Hawaiian Home
The voyage of Hawaiian Islanders to the windswept desert of Skull Valley could only have happened in Utah. Once established in Utah in 1847, the Mormon Church drew thousands of new converts who came to build a new home in “Zion.” By the…