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John Christopher Cutler
Learn about the political career and mysterious suicide of Utah's second governor, John Christopher Cutler. In 1846, John Christopher Cutler was born in Sheffield, England to a merchant family. After converting to Mormonism, the Cutlers picked up…
Salt Lake’s Catholic Diocese
In 1891, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Salt Lake City was formed from the old Vicariate of Utah and Eastern Nevada. Over 8,000 members, fifteen churches, and fourteen priests belonged to the new diocese.
Catholics appeared early on Utah’s religious…
Christmas in Early Utah
Christmas in early Utah was a festive event, filled with parties, gifts, and games. There’s a lot of debate these days about the place Christmas should occupy in American culture. Some, including Utahns, argue that we need to put Christ back into…
The Strawberry Valley Project
A federal project diverted water promised to the Ute Tribe into southern Utah County. This water grab harmed Ute claims to land in the Uintah Basin. In 1905 the federal government authorized the Strawberry Valley Project. Designed to divert water…
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…
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…
Mormon Foodways
Each culture has its own specific food traditions, and here in Utah we have funeral potatoes!The ways people prepare and consume food are some of the most culture-specific practices to be found within communities. Here in Utah, we have a heritage of…
The First State Arts Agency in the Country
Utah was the first state in the nation to establish state arts support!
In 1965, Congress established the National Endowment for the Arts to support arts organizations and artists throughout the nation. Part of its mandate was to give funds to any…
Remembering Calvin Rampton
A reflection on the life and long political career of Calvin Rampton, Utah's longest serving governor. Rampton was born in Bountiful, attended Davis High School, and then graduated from the University of Utah with bachelors and law degrees. Soon he…