Browse Items (455 total)
Sort by:
Oscar Eliason, Utah's Homegrown Magician
In 1899, the Utah illusionist known as “Dante the Great” died of a gunshot wound to the abdomen in the tiny Australian town of Dubbo.Born Oscar Eliason to Swedish immigrant parents, the magician began his career at the age of twenty with a…
The Holy Trinity Church
In 1905, Utah's first Eastern Orthodox church—Holy Trinity—was dedicated. The church, which fronted 4th South, became the center of spiritual life for many eastern and southern Europeans who lived in Salt Lake City and around the Intermountain…
Cyrus Dallin and the Angel Moroni
The Angel Moroni is an iconic symbol that sits atop the LDS temple in downtown Salt Lake City. But did you know it was sculpted by a Protestant artist? In 1891, the plaster model for the statue of the Angel Moroni that sits atop the tallest spire of…
The Escalante-Dominguez Expedition
In 1776, the same year the Declaration of Independence was signed, a group of Spanish explorers entered present-day Utah Valley. Led by two Franciscan friars named Silvestre Velez de Escalante and Francisco Dominguez, the expedition was launched to…
Wendover and the Atomic Bomb
In 1945, the world's first nuclear bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, Japan, by the crew of the bomber Enola Gay. Most of us have been taught about the destruction that occurred from the atomic blast, but did you know that the tiny Utah town of Wendover…
The Flag of the Kingdom
Why didn't the Mormon pioneers fly the Stars and Stripes to celebrate their entry into the Salt Lake Valley? Every year, on the 24th of July, people line the streets of Salt Lake and other Utah communities to wave the American flag in honor of the…
How Cremation Came to Utah
In 1877, a cremation was scheduled to take place in Salt Lake City. The body to be burned was Charles F. Winslow's, a doctor from Boston, Massachusetts, who died of heart failure earlier that week on July 7th.When Winslow's friends read his will the…
Bear Lake's Monster Sized Secret
Like the famous Loch Ness in Scotland, Utah’s Bear Lake keeps a monster-sized secret in its watery depths. Located at the top of Logan Canyon on the Idaho border, Bear Lake has been at the center of “monster sighting” stories since at least…
Goshute Draft Resistance
Goshute Indians in Utah were vocal resisters of the draft during World War I. In 1917, a little less than a month after the United States entered the maelstrom of World War One, a bill passed Congress requiring all male residents of the country…
Utah Jobs Report, 1900
Learn about a variety of jobs done by Utahns at the turn of the twentieth century, and think about how jobs have changed - or not - over the last 100 years.According to the United States Census, there were 73,840 men and 10,764 women employed in Utah…
The Guano Gatherers of Gunnison Island
Wings flashing in the sunlight, raucous calls filling the air, and tons of bird excrement coating the rocks. Learn about guano gathering out on the Great Salt Lake.Making a living collecting bird droppings does not exactly sound like the ideal job. …
Convict Labor: Road-Building Backbone for Utah
Learn about Utah’s convict labor system and how prisoners actually formed the backbone of some of our early public works projects – especially road construction.The term "convict labor" usually conjures up images of men wearing black and white…
Industrialism Drives Utah Women to the Workplace
American industrialism at the turn of the 20th century brought Utah women out of their homes and into the workplace. There they faced inequality and wage disparity.The turn of the twentieth century saw dramatic changes that created new opportunities…
The Legendary “Big Bill” Haywood
“Big Bill” Haywood was a legendary Utah labor leader, whose ashes were buried in the Kremlin Wall.In February 1869, William D. Haywood was born in Salt Lake City into a working class family. He would grow up to become “Big Bill” Haywood,…
Provo Woolen Mills: Industry Comes to Utah
Learn about the Provo Woolen Mills, the first large factory built in Utah.Prior to the coming of the transcontinental railroad in 1869, Utah's economy revolved mainly around agriculture, barter, and small-scale manufacturing. With the railroad,…