Below you'll find a list of all posts that have been categorized as “History”
On March 8, 1924, explosions within a Castle Gate coal mine changed the lives of over one hundred families in Carbon County, UT. A headlamp ignited methane gas, which in turn incinerated airborne coal dust and caused an explosive chain reaction killing 172 men. There were no survivors. The disaster left 110 widows with 264 dependent children. The Red Cross …
Indigenous Americans The earliest settlers in modern Utah were, of course, the Indigenous Americans. The Ancestral Puebloans lived in the vicinity of Utah from 500-1300 AD. They were commonly known as ‘Anasazi,’ an exonym coined by the Navajos, and not preferred by the Puebloans, which means ancient enemies. The Puebloans occupied the southeastern portion of Utah, as well as portions …
Among records recently transferred to the Utah State Archives from the Ogden School District were two seemingly unremarkable 1960s-era photo albums from Pingree Elementary School. Despite the plain covers, the photos in the album revealed that Pingree Elementary was not just another school. The photographs provide a striking and human window into one of the important Black communities in Utah …
Many small towns settled in the nineteenth century in Utah had their own flour mills. Kaysville, Utah was no exception, with its first mill built in 1866, about fifteen years after the first families started building a city center that largely still exists today. Kaysville is located in Davis County, about 16 miles north of Salt Lake City. Early families …
Do you know the story of Joe Hill? Did you know that the Utah State Archives has a rich collection of records that illuminate the case of Joe Hill, the international controversy it engendered, and the worldwide response and publicity his trial and subsequent execution generated? Joseph Hillstrom (also known as Joe Hill) was born in 1879 in Gävle, Sweden …
Before we had GPS and phones with map apps, people used folded paper maps. Across the United States, transportation departments distributed free highway maps both as a public service and a way to promote tourism, including here in Utah. The Utah State Archives is pleased to announce that a collection of Official Highway Maps from the Utah Department of Transportation …
One hundred and twenty-five years ago, President Grover Cleveland issued the proclamation that officially welcomed Utah into the Union as a state on January 4, 1896. Utah had been working towards this goal since 1849, when newly-arrived white settlers first petitioned Congress for statehood. They petitioned a total of seven times over those forty-five years. This year the Utah State …
When World War I started in 1914, the U.S. started with a strict policy of neutrality. The policy was tested when German U-boats sunk the Lusitania in 1915, killing 124 Americans. The U.S. demanded that Germany stop engaging in unrestricted warfare, and Germany agreed, allowing neutral ships with non-military passengers to pass without attack. However, in 1917 Germany resumed unrestricted …
An 1851 law passed by the territorial legislature required that the state government keep a “fair and faithful record of all marks and brands” indicating ownership of livestock. These brand books recorded the mark or shape of the brand, whether the brand was located on the livestock’s body or on their ear, the name of the person applying for the …
Poll taxes, or fixed sums levied on any eligible individual, are uncommon these days. Historically, they are usually discussed in conjunction with civil rights and disenfranchisement. So it might be a bit surprising to come across a record like this, a poll tax register from Spring City. We often hear about poll taxes in the Deep South, but here in …
