Below you'll find a list of all posts that have been categorized as “History Main Blog”
By Greg Walz, Research Center Manager How might one analyze older photographs of Utah — downtown Salt Lake City in particular — to gain some knowledge about little moments in life as they were lived in another era? Is it even possible to ascertain such a thing with any detail …
Savanna Agardy, Utah SHPO Compliance Archaeologist World heritage is defined as cultural or natural heritage that has outstanding universal value. Universal value in heritage essentially means that world heritage belongs to everyone, as it is international in nature and citizens of the world have a right to learn from and …
By Shavauna Munster & Holly George When considering the history of illness, signpost pandemics such as the Justinianic plague, black death, and Spanish influenza often come to mind. However, intermittent waves of disease can only be expected in a species of 7.5 billion. The cultural response to bouts of infectious …
Welcome to May, and welcome to Archaeology and Historic Preservation Month! This year we’re hosting online events perfect for history-lovers of all stripes! Is archaeology your passion? Or maybe historic preservation makes your heart aflutter? Then we’ve got a great virtual line up for you! May Brown Bag Speaker Series …
By Christopher W. Merritt, Ph.D., State Historic Preservation Officer With trembles strong enough to shake “the dignity out of all judicial procedures,” [i] at Salt Lake City’s courts, the 6.6 magnitude earthquake rattled homes, businesses, and nerves from Boise, Idaho to Richfield, Utah and Rock Springs, Wyoming to Elko, Nevada. …
By Sabrina Sanders, Artifacts Collections Manager The collections held by the Utah Division of State History are as diverse as the stories of a State at the crossroads of the West. We have photographs, maps, manuscripts, architectural drawings, books, and artifacts. The objects are placed into these categories, or sub-collections, …
By Haden Griggs The This Is the Place monument in Salt Lake City commemorates and evokes the struggle nineteenth-century Latter-day Saints faced in settling a land new to them. Although specifically a reference to Utah’s first permanent Euro American settlers, the sentiment expressed by the monument’s title aptly represents …
By Christine Cooper-Rompato My forthcoming article in Utah Historical Quarterly, “Utah in the Green Book,” explores the history of hotels where African Americans could spend the night in Utah during the period of segregation. Many hotels across the U.S. were “white only” until the 1960s, and in 1936, Victor Hugo …
By Dr. Wendy Rex-Atzet, State Coordinator, Utah History Day Each year during the legislative session, the Division of State History hosts Utah History Day on the Hill at the State Capitol. At this event, History Day students fill the Capitol Rotunda with displays of their exhibits, documentaries, websites, performances and …
Holly George This week alone, I ordered stuff from China, searched the app of a certain giant retailer several times, happily opened a new package, and listened to a podcast about the growing difficulties of delivery workers. Mostly fun, but definitely not simple. Behind each of these actions exists a …
On Friday, January 24 over 80 people from 44 organizations participated in person or on a webinar in Utah Public Archaeology Network’s (UtahPAN’s) inaugural meeting! Everyone brought incredible energy and ideas to the meeting, and there was widespread agreement that the problem is dire, but reversible. This is the year …
By Dr. Wendy Rex-Atzet, State Coordinator, Utah History Day Brighton High School senior Jacob Simmons has stories to tell. Since middle school he has honed his skills as a historian and documentary filmmaker through Utah’s National History Day (NHD) program. For his NHD projects, Jacob investigates critical moments in history …