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The Civilian Conservation Corps and Desert Reclamation
During the depths of the Great Depression, thousands of young men went to work on over one thousand water projects in Utah. Learn about some of the projects that survive to this day.
In the 1930s, there was no shortage of work to be done on Utah's…
The City of Corinne
A steamboat called City of Corinne has been called the “most imposing boat that has ever sailed the Great Salt Lake”.In 1871, the Steamboat City of Corinne was launched into the wide channel of the Bear River near the settlement that shared its…
The City Creek Witch’s Cabin
Urban legends tell of the “Witch’s Cabin” in downtown Salt Lake’s City Creek Canyon, but is it really haunted? Learn its real history.
In the upper reaches of Memory Grove, along City Creek on the edge of downtown Salt Lake City, dog walkers…
The Circleville Massacre
Tensions between white settlers and Native Americans resulted in the massacre of over a dozen Paiutes in Circleville, Utah.In 1866, one of the worst tragedies in Utah history occurred in the town of Circleville on what is now the Piute-Garfield…
The Christmas Bird Count
Throughout the holiday season, Utahns celebrate by trimming trees, drinking hot chocolate, skiing, and... bird watching? Yep, they do! Learn more about this longstanding Christmas tradition.In Utah, winter means preparing for the holiday season. But,…
The Castle Gate Mine Disaster
A mine disaster in Carbon County claimed the lives of more than 170 men in the 1920s. The tragedy had long-reaching effects on the large mining community throughout the County.In 1924, two explosions tore through the Number Two Mine at Castle Gate in…
The Case of Anne Bradley
The tumultuous love affair between former Utah senator Arthur Brown and his mistress, Anne Bradley.In the twenty-first century we consider political scandals and courtroom drama to be characteristic of modern times. But a hundred years ago, things…
The Canyonlands Controversy
Canyonlands is more than just Utah’s third national park. Its designation in 1964 occurred after a fight over who exactly public lands are meant for.
In the late 1950s, the National Park Service began assessing lands for a new national park in the…
The Box Elder Tabernacle Fire
An 1896 fire consumed the Box Elder State Tabernacle, just six years after the building had been dedicated.In 1896, LDS worshippers were just assembling for a morning meeting in the Box Elder Stake Tabernacle when the cry of “fire” rent the air.…
The Beginning of Public Libraries in Utah
Public libraries are a staple of many of Utah’s communities. Learn how public libraries got started in Utah.October is National Book Month and libraries all over Utah are celebrating with book festivals and activities to help bring readers and…
The Bee Inspector
Salt Lake City’s bee inspector is an official position that reminds us of Salt Lake County’s very real agricultural past.Few people these days know that Salt Lake County has a bee inspector. Hiring someone to watch bees in Utah’s most urban…
The Bear River Massacre
The Bear River Massacre was an event that changed the landscape of northern Utah and the fate of the Shoshone people.In the early morning cold of January 29, 1863, between 270 and 400 Shoshone men, women, and children were killed by the U.S. Army…
The Battle Over Big Cottonwood Conduit
Frequent droughts and a growing population continue to raise the stakes for water access in Utah. Learn about a drawn-out conflict over water in Salt Lake City that shows how tensions between agricultural and municipal water users are hardly new.
In…
The Bartleson Party
The first emigrant party to cross modern-day Utah on the way to the West Coast.In 1841, a small group of emigrants set out from Sapling Grove, Missouri, to begin a new life in the Far West. Scholars still disagree about how many were actually in the…
The Arsenal Hill Blast
An explosion rocked Salt Lake City in 1876, killing four people.In 1876, as Utahns were converging on Salt Lake City eager to attend the LDS Church’s general conference, a powerful blast rocked the northern part the city, shattering windows,…
The Angels of 25th Street
Mary Nakaishi and her husband Uke devoted their life’s work to helping Ogden’s poor get back on their feet and earned the reputation of Ogden’s “Angels of 25th Street".
Mary Nakaishi and her husband Uke devoted their life’s work to…
The Airport: from Woodward Field to International Hub
What began over a century ago as a field for airplane stunts has become one of the country’s top thirty busiest airports. But did you know Salt Lake City's airport has a wildlife division?
Love it or hate it – chances are, everyone who’s been…
The Adventure of Bobby Donohue
Any parent who has ever lost a youngster in a crowd can imagine Park City resident Bridget Donohue’s panic when she couldn’t find her thirteen-year-old son, Bobby. Believing he had gone to nearby Heber in the fall of 1898, Bridget must have…
The 24th Infantry Regiment
Nearly 600 enlisted African American soldiers and their families migrated to Salt Lake City in 1896. These soldiers discovered that Utahns’ attitudes towards African Americans were much like the rest of the country, and faced racial discrimination…
The 1872 Constitutional Convention
A bizarre political moment in Utah's long trek towards statehood exposes the tension between politics and religion in the Deseret. In 1872, delegates met at the Salt Lake City Hall to create a new state called Deseret out of the old Utah Territory.…