News

Featured image for “New Finding Aids at the Archives: August 2022”
September 9, 2022

New Finding Aids at the Archives: August 2022

Our archivists write inventories as finding aids to describe records. Here are the newest ones created during August 2022: Inventory of Administrative records from Castle Dale (Utah), 1909-1978 Inventory of Cemetery records from Centerville (Utah), 1898- Inventory of Financial records from Centerville (Utah), 1915-1978 Inventory of General plan from Enoch (Utah), 2012- Inventory of Zoning and land use applications from
Featured image for “Mountain Meadows Massacre in the Records”
September 9, 2022

Mountain Meadows Massacre in the Records

What Happened The Mountain Meadows Massacre occurred in September 1857 in a highland valley roughly 35 miles southwest of Cedar City. The Baker-Fancher emigrant party, traveling through Utah on their way from Arkansas to California, was attacked by members of the local Iron County Militia and purportedly some local Paiute Indians. The emigrants fought back and a five day siege ensued. On the
Featured image for “Territorial Court Records from Cache County Now Online”
September 7, 2022

Territorial Court Records from Cache County Now Online

In 1852 the Utah Territorial Legislature provided that the Probate Court should have jurisdiction not only in estate and guardianship matters, but original jurisdiction in civil, criminal, and chancery cases. The Probate Court could act as an appellant court to the Justice of the Peace Courts in the County, and decisions made in the Probate Court could be appealed to
Featured image for “The People versus Frank Smiley: Investigating an 1894 Sodomy Crime in Territorial Utah”
September 6, 2022

The People versus Frank Smiley: Investigating an 1894 Sodomy Crime in Territorial Utah

This blog post was written by Randell Hoffman, a 2022 summer intern at the Utah State Archives and Records Service. They are working on their Master of Archives and Records Administration degree at the San JosĂ© State University School of Information. They focus particularly on community archives and community involvement in archival processes, as well as Utah’s LGBTQIA+ history.  Who
Featured image for “Create a Basic Retention Schedule in 5 Steps”
August 31, 2022

Create a Basic Retention Schedule in 5 Steps

Records retention is simply a practice by which an organization maintains their records for set lengths of time, and systems in which they use to either redirect, store, or dispose of those records. The records retention schedule is the policy which guides this practice, by clearly defining how long a record must be kept and the guidelines for how records
Featured image for “Happy Retirement, Susan!”
August 30, 2022

Happy Retirement, Susan!

Last month we said goodbye to Susan Mumford after 16 years of public service at the Utah State Archives. After owning an art and custom frame business for 18 years, Susan attended Emporia State University where she earned her MLIS. She then joined the State Archives where she wore many hats including records analyst, processor, volunteer coordinator, secretary of the
Featured image for “Welcome Fall 2022 Interns!”
August 29, 2022

Welcome Fall 2022 Interns!

After over two years of remote internships, we’re thrilled to welcome our Fall 2022 cohort in-person! They kicked off the semester with a tour of the Utah State Archives building, a chance to meet our staff, and time to dive into their projects with their specific advisors. Learn more about the interns: Silver Hinckley recently graduated from BYU-Idaho with her
Featured image for “Tracking the Forced Displacement and Relocation of Persons of Japanese Descent during WWII”
August 17, 2022

Tracking the Forced Displacement and Relocation of Persons of Japanese Descent during WWII

This blog post was written by Nery Alcivar-Estrella, a 2022 summer intern at the Utah State Archives and Records Service. She is working on her Master of Library and Information Science degree at the San José State University School of Information and is particularly interested in the intersection of librarianship and archival work. In this blog post, I examine records
Featured image for “2021-2022 in the Utah State Digital Archives”
August 8, 2022

2021-2022 in the Utah State Digital Archives

The Utah State Digital Archives contains collections from records of enduring value online and is free to the public! It leverages mass digitization and partnerships to meet patron needs and maintain archival context and original order. With worldwide online access, you have the ability to do research from anywhere while the Utah State Archives efficiently fulfills its mission “to provide
Featured image for “New Finding Aids at the Archives: July 2022”
August 3, 2022

New Finding Aids at the Archives: July 2022

Our archivists write inventories as finding aids to describe records. Here are the newest ones created during July 2022: Inventory of City lot filing records from Provo (Utah). Mayor, 1868-1873 Inventory of City Council meeting materials and agenda packets from Taylorsville (Utah), 1995-2022 In addition, the following were updated: Inventory of Birth certificates from Office of Vital Records and Statistics,