News

Featured image for “Sanpete County Records Now Online”
December 20, 2021

Sanpete County Records Now Online

A small digital collection that contained only the earliest Spring City Council minutes has now been expanded to include several maps from the same city. Records in this collection were created by various local government entities in Sanpete County and document the history of the county. Sanpete County, located in central Utah, is a largely agricultural county founded in 1850.
Featured image for “Utah’s Road to Statehood: The Finish Line”
November 10, 2021

Utah’s Road to Statehood: The Finish Line

In 1894, Congress voted to invite Utah into the Union. President Grover Cleveland signed the Enabling Act, which allowed Utah to officially form a Constitutional Convention. Utahns moved with enthusiasm as they had been waiting for the opportunity to become a state for decades. They held an election to choose the delegates and convened the convention in March of 1895.
Featured image for “Uncovering History: Dr. William D. Reeve Through The Years”
November 3, 2021

Uncovering History: Dr. William D. Reeve Through The Years

This blog post was written by Eric Schubert, a 2021 Intern at the Utah State Archives and Records Service. He is a junior at Elizabethtown College and working on his history and political science degree. In today’s day and age, various historical databases can tell us so much about the lives of those who lived before us. By picking a record
Featured image for “Browse Death Certificates Online, 1968-1969”
October 22, 2021

Browse Death Certificates Online, 1968-1969

We are pleased to announce that two more years of death certificates are now available online as digital images. The years 1968 and 1969 first became publicly accessible 50 years after the dates of death on the certificates.  The State Archives works closely with the Office of Vital Records and Statistics in the Utah Department of Health. The OVRS is
Featured image for “Reflections From the Past: Smallpox in Turn-of-the-Century Utah”
October 19, 2021

Reflections From the Past: Smallpox in Turn-of-the-Century Utah

Dr. Hubert F. Andrews had just graduated from the Chicago College of Physicians and Surgeons when he settled in Gunnison, Utah, in the summer of 1899, taking a job as a Sanpete County quarantine doctor. A year earlier in 1898, Utah’s State Board of Health directed local governments to form their own health boards to oversee the diagnosis of contagious
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October 6, 2021

Eugenics in Twentieth-Century Utah

This blog post was written by Jack Tingey, a 2021 Intern at the Utah State Archives and Records Service. Jack graduated from BYU with a BA in history and an emphasis on 19th century American history. In the spring of 1927, Esau Walton awaited forced sterilization under Utah’s eugenics laws. In May of that year, the state corrections board had ruled
Featured image for ““More Than His Share of Genius and Skill”: The Maps of Anton Nielsen”
September 15, 2021

“More Than His Share of Genius and Skill”: The Maps of Anton Nielsen

The traditional function of a map is to convey information about geography in a two-dimensional way and on a scale that is comprehensible to the user. Maps document relationships of places and geographical features to one another and allow for calculation of distances. They can show lakes, roads, rivers, towns, and even invisible jurisdictional boundaries. But the richest maps are
Featured image for ““All Were Rattled”: Butch Cassidy, The Castle Gate Robbery, and the Wild West”
August 18, 2021

“All Were Rattled”: Butch Cassidy, The Castle Gate Robbery, and the Wild West

This blog post was written by Emily Stoll, a summer 2021 Intern at the Utah State Archives and Records Service. She is a senior at Weber State University and working on her public history degree. On April 21st, 1897, the Pleasant Valley Coal Company located in Castle Gate, Utah, was robbed in broad daylight. Considered to be one of the
Featured image for “2020-2021 in the Utah State Digital Archives”
July 14, 2021

2020-2021 in the Utah State Digital Archives

An infographic visualizing the last year in the Digital Archives with information on number of items, statistics on use, and notable additions.
Featured image for “Utah’s Road to Statehood: Seven Bids for Statehood”
July 1, 2021

Utah’s Road to Statehood: Seven Bids for Statehood

The Latter-day Saints settled the Salt Lake Valley in 1847, and for the next fifty years they and following settlers fought for statehood. It took seven attempts to finally realize that goal. 1849 The Latter-day Saints settled the Salt Lake Valley in 1847. Part of the appeal of the land was that it belonged to Mexico. They felt they had