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Helen Zeese Papanikolas
A famous historian used her girlhood memories of Carbon County to completely change the way we understand Utah’s past.She passed away in 2004, but Helen Zeese Papanikolas is still revered in Utah as an historian whose work made it impossible to…
Bushnell Military Hospital
A military hospital in Brigham City helped wounded soldiers and transformed the community during World War II.By August 1942, the United States had been involved in World War II for eight months. As British forces halted German and Italian advances…
Stout and Spirited: Utah's 19th Century Liquor Industry
The surprisingly stout and spirited history of the liquor industry in 19th century Utah!During the late 1800s, Utah had a thriving liquor industry. LDS Church President Brigham Young had no qualms about producing or selling alcohol. He built a…
Miracle of the Crickets
Most of us have heard the story about the 1848 Miracle of the Gulls. This week hear a new twist on that old tale – it’s the Miracle of the Crickets! In the summer of 1848, clouds of crickets swarmed into the Salt Lake Valley and threatened to…
Linwood: the Town that Drowned
Every summer, thousands of people flee to the cool waters of Flaming Gorge Reservoir in Utah’s northeast corner. But few of them would know about the little town of Linwood buried beneath the water’s surface.Linwood grew near the confluence of…
What's so Special about Utah's Danger Cave?
A seemingly non-descript cave in Utah’s west desert holds the key to understanding Utah’s ancient past.To the untrained eye, Danger Cave near Wendover, Utah, is utterly unremarkable. But ask any archaeologist about this dusty desert cave and…
Sex Appeal Sells: The Grand Opening of Zion National Park
In the summer months, tourists descend on Utah’s five national parks, in large part to effective advertising. Learn about the creatively-advertised grand opening of Zion National Park in 1920.In May 1920, Anna Widtsoe had just turned twenty-one.…
Erosion Control Efforts in Willard Canyon
Why would a bunch of young men from New York have spent the summer of 1933 digging ditches in Utah’s Willard Canyon?It’s the summer of 1933. You’re eighteen years old and recently signed on to the Civilian Conservation Corps, President…
Flash Floods Devastate Willard
Utah has had some memorable floods over the last hundred years. A 1923 flash flood left the northern Utah town of Willard completely under water.Mud. Sandbags. Water down State Street. You may remember the Salt Lake City floods of 1983 and maybe even…
The Scofield Relief Fund
A story of the fundraising efforts to help the victims of one of the deadliest mining disasters in American history, the 1900 explosion at Utah’s Winter Quarters Mine.The Winter Quarters Mine Disaster of May 1, 1900 brought international attention…
A Grand Old Lady - Salt Lake's Ambassador Club
The captivating and controversial past of Salt Lake City’s old Ambassador Club.An imposing structure sporting spires and turrets on Salt Lake City’s 5th East is long gone, but its ghosts include those of polygamist wives and a controversial…
Freak Smoking Ban Overturned
A massive public protest against a state smoking ban forced the Utah Legislature to overturn the law in 1923.Debates about the sale of cigarettes and smoking in public venues are hardly new to the Beehive State. In 1923, a determined crowd of Utah…
Wildhorse Canyon Obsidian Quarry
A pre-historic obsidian quarry in western Utah was used for thousands of years to manufacture razor sharp tools and weapons.Overlooking the west desert in Beaver County’s Mineral Mountains is Wildhorse Canyon, a remote, dry, scrappy place that…
Dinosaur Rush in Uinta Basin
Paleontologist Earl Douglass searched for dinosaur fossils throughout Utah’s remote Uinta Basin during what has been called the “Dinosaur Rush” of the late 1800s.During the 1870s, Utah was caught up in what some have called the "Dinosaur Rush,"…
Utah State Symbols
In 2011 Utah state lawmakers voted to designate the Browning M1911 pistol as the official state firearm. The gun would be the latest addition to a surprising collection of historic state symbols.You’ve probably heard of official Utah state symbols…
New Deal Building Efforts in Utah
As the national debate rages over the federal budget and controversial bailouts, it’s worth remembering the impact of federal spending in Utah during the Great Depression.The Great Depression of the 1930s hit Utah harder than most states. Between…
Celebrating Chinese New Year in Utah
Celebrations of the Chinese Lunar New Year have riveted Utahns since 1869.When Chinese immigrants first came to Utah to build the railroad in 1869, they brought one of their most important holidays, the Chinese Lunar New Year, a 15-day festival that…
The Glorious Gardo House (Part 2)
Salt Lake City’s Gardo House was home to Mormon polygamists on the lamb and the West’s most shining socialites.The Gardo House, a Victorian mansion in downtown Salt Lake, was once touted as the finest home between Chicago and San Francisco. Its…
The Glorious Gardo House (Part 1)
The unusual history of a remarkable mansion in downtown Salt Lake City.Downtown Salt Lake City was once home to a famously opulent Victorian mansion with an extraordinary history. Construction of the Gardo House began in 1873 on the southwest corner…
The Murder of George Demetrakopolous
The murder of Greek labor agent, George Demetrakopolous, and the hunt for his killer in 1908.In the early 20th century, a contentious relationship existed in Utah’s mining camps between Greek immigrant laborers and the agents of Greek labor padrone…