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Sacred Healing: Traveling Midwives in Early Rural Utah
Frontier life in late-nineteenth century Utah was rough. Today, many rural Utahns still struggle with access to medical care, but once upon a time midwives traveled throughout rural Utah, providing healthcare services to those in isolated areas.
In…
Utah Downwinders: Rural Activists for a Post-Atomic World
Atomic testing in the nearby Nevada desert had devastating effects on rural Utah communities, but activists calling themselves "Downwinders" banded together to demand action from the federal government.
Between 1951 and 1992, the United States…
AIDS in Utah: The Unspoken Epidemic’s Hidden Heroes
Whether it’s cancer or autoimmune, it’s common today to see people wearing folded ribbons in solidarity against a disease. But did you know AIDS was the first disease ever to have such a ribbon?
In the 1980s and 90s, AIDS was the country's…
Change in Rose Park
One of the most racially diverse neighborhoods in the Salt Lake Valley didn’t start out that way. Find out how Rose Park changed from a subdivision restricted to white people to become the vibrant community we know today.
Rose Park, located in the…
The Origins of Rose Park
Rose Park began as an affordable, working class neighborhood. But the true costs for the subdivision would not be revealed until decades later.
In 1947, housing developer Alan Brockbank scoped out a plot of land not too far from the center of Salt…
There’s Fluoride in the Water!
Public health campaigns have long sparked fears of government overreach. In the mid-twentieth century, for example, dentists lobbied to add fluoride to Utah’s water supply to support tooth health. Learn more about the decades-long public uproar.
In…
Chlorine, Giardia, and Pickles
If you or your dog have ever gotten sick drinking untreated water, you've probably heard of giardia. Chlorine is regularly used in water treatment plants across Utah today to fight this deadly water parasite, but some of its earliest opponents…
Indoor Plumbing Eases the Domestic Burden
Most of us take for granted the luxury of having running water inside of our homes. But, indoor plumbing is a relatively new phenomenon that has made life significantly easier!
At the turn of the twentieth century, just 1% of homes in the United…
Mystery in the Marshes
The Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge protects an important -- but incredibly vulnerable -- part of northern Utah’s ecosystem. This is no accident. Learn how a mysterious illness and community activism led to its creation.
Humans and birds alike…
Water Purification Eradicates Typhoid Fever
Public health is a common good that communities have long rallied around. In the early 20th Century, the highly infectious typhoid disease brought health experts and Utah’s citizens together to demand clean water and upgraded public water…
The Honerine Drain Tunnel's Poisonous Orchards
The evil queen gave Snow White a poisonous apple that sent her into a magical deep sleep, but in Tooele County, a mining company used run-off water polluted with heavy metals to grow their toxic orchards.
In 1933, a Tooele mining company called the…
Utah's Canary in the Coal Mine
Great Salt Lake is the natural wonder that gave Utah’s capital city its name. Yet, it is cut in half, deprived of water, and shrinking before our very eyes. Learn about the water story of our beloved Great Salt Lake – and the warning it…
Utah Midwife Hannah Sorensen
Learn about Utah’s nineteenth century midwives, who were unusual in that they were actually paid for their work as medical providers. Much of the work that sustained Utah’s communities in the late nineteenth century was done by women, in the…
Utah Nurses in World War I
Three of the many nurses who traveled from Utah to Europe to serve in World War I. As World War I intensified in Europe, so did the need for medical help. The Red Cross established base hospitals and field units throughout Europe, and launched…
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…
Medical College of Utah
For two years, the small mountain community of Morgan was home to a medical college.In 1880, papers were filed incorporating the Medical College of Utah in the tiny town of Morgan. For an 80-dollar-a-term tuition bill, students would learn all the…
Smallpox in Koosharem
A smallpox epidemic once tore through a tiny Utah town in Sevier County. A lack of services and miscommunications complicate the story of small town and disease in Utah. In 1900, the village of Koosharem in found itself in the throes of a major…