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Utah’s Green Book
In the 1940s, new roads, affordable cars, and an interest in national parks meant that more Americans were packing up their vehicles and hitting the open road. For Black travelers driving through rural areas of Utah, the Green Book was a vital…
Utah’s Military Industrial Complex
Hill Air Force Base is Utah’s sixth largest employer and military spending creates over $9 billion in economic activity for the State. Learn about the historic roots of Utah’s “Military Industrial Complex.”When US President Dwight Eisenhower…
Utah’s Potato Growing Clubs
Potato growing clubs became all the rage in the early 20th century as interest in a formal agricultural education grew.
Agricultural work is critical to rural Utah’s history. But, it wasn’t until Utah State Agricultural College -- known as USAC…
Utopian Dreams: Russian Pioneers in Park Valley
A group of Russian pioneers sought a place to build their religious colony far from cities and government interference. Where else would they come but Utah? “Invest Dimes and Reap Dollars in Park Valley, Utah!” That was the promise of the…
Vagabond Artist Everett Ruess
The wandering ways of a young artist and writer who mysteriously disappeared in 1934 into southern Utah’s rugged canyon country.Everett Ruess was twenty years old when he vanished into the canyons of southern Utah, never to be seen again. Born in…
Verla Gean Miller: Traveler, Teacher, Persian Princess
Verla Gean Miller FarmanFarmaian – beloved teacher to many Utah school children – made one decision to travel that set her on a fantastic journey that changed her life. In 1945, Verla Gean Miller made a decision to travel to the eastern…
Vernal's Parcel Post Bank
Find out why the Bank of Vernal, built in 1916, is nicknamed “The Parcel Post Bank”.The US Post Office allows its customers to mail many things besides a simple letter. But the largest object ever moved through the US mail system was a bank. Not…
VJ Day in Utah
Victory over Japan Day, the day that the Japanese government announced its surrender to the US, Utahns celebrated in the streets. Celebrations were complicated by uncertainty and fear from the Topaz Relocation Camp near Delta. On August 15, 1945, the…
Wastelanding
When you think of Utah's desert lands, do you picture a pristine wilderness or an arid waste? How we treat this landscape depends on the value that we assign to it.
Before Moab was a world famous tourist destination, it was a mining town. In the…
Water is Alive: Navajo Connections to the Colorado River
In Navajo belief systems, water is alive and a vital part of a healthy landscape. When Glen Canyon Dam blocked the flow of the Colorado River, a landscape that holds deep meaning in traditional Navajo spirituality was completely transformed.
For…
Water is for Fighting: The Goshen - Mona Water Dispute
Mark Twain famously joked that “Whiskey is for drinking, but water is for fighting over.” Find out how the struggle for water between two Utah towns led to a lawsuit that resulted in nearly an entire LDS ward being disfellowshipped.
The small…
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…
Water Right: Just Allocation of a Precious Resource
Who has a right to water? How you answer that question likely reflects your cultural concept of water ownership. It’s no surprise that ideas about how to fairly allocate this precious resource vary wildly – both today, and in the past.
It's…
Water Shapes Utah’s First Black Community: “The Hill” at Millcreek
In the late 19th century, Black settlers in the Salt Lake Valley used the waters of Millcreek Canyon to create a thriving community of their own.
Where water is, people gather. This was true for Indigenous peoples of Utah, as well as Mormon colonists…
Water Warnings from Great Basin Caves
Ancient caves in Utah’s arid West Desert may hold key information to Utah’s uncertain water future.
Formed under the waves of ancient Lake Bonneville over 10,000 years ago, Danger Cave was home to members of the Desert Archaic culture. Located in…
Water Woes in Grafton
When Mormon pioneers tried to settle along the banks of the Virgin River, raging waters kept them from getting too comfortable. Learn about the ghost town of Grafton and its losing battle with the River.
Utah has little regular rainfall, so…
We Can “Build a Dam Anywhere”: Survival of the Central Utah Project
The Central Utah Project – which is still under construction – began with plenty of optimism and ambition. But politics and the inherent difficulty of moving mountains nearly sank the project. Learn how it survived.
The Central Utah Project –…
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…
Welcome to Main Street: Helper Commercial District
Every rural Utah town has their own special Main Street. In Carbon County, Helper’s main street tells a rich historic story about change and continuity in its unique community.
In the early twentieth century, the small community of Helper was…
Welsh Immigrants Recreate Their Lives in Utah
Welsh immigrants brought with them valuable skills that laid the foundation for Utah’s early mining industry. Like other countries in Europe during the 19th Century, Wales felt the effects of the Industrial Revolution. Rapid increases in…