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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

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

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

An infographic visualizing the last year in the Digital Archives with information on number of items, statistics on use, and notable additions.

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

In the last post, we explored the political obstacles that prevented Utah from becoming a state until 1896. There was another large obstacle that made Congress wary of giving Utah statehood: polygamy. Polygamy started in April of 1841 when Joseph Smith married his first plural wife. By the time the Latter-Day Saints moved from Nauvoo, Illinois, to the Salt Lake

Written by Tony Castro, Reference Archivist at the Utah State Archives and Records Service Research Center. These days, historic railroad stations across the country seem to be for everything except purchasing tickets and boarding trains. What’s more popular these days are a variety of services such as chambers of commerce, history museums, and antique shops. In some cases, the stations

As we continue our series on Utah’s Road to Statehood, we will explore the obstacles that prevented Utah from becoming a state until 1896. In early Utah, religion and politics were so closely intertwined that Congress refused to entertain the idea of statehood until the 1890s. Council of Fifty When the Territory of Utah was created in 1850, President Millard

Birth certificates issued by the Utah Office of Vital Records and Statistics in 1911 are now indexed online! Access the Utah Birth Certificate Index to search names and view digital images for free. All birth certificates at least 100 years old are public, even if not online or indexed yet. In addition to identity and proof of citizenship, the registration

Welcome back to our series about Utah’s road to statehood. In this post we will explore some of the history of the Latter-day Saint pioneers who settled in the Salt Lake Valley in the later half of the nineteenth century. Immigration to Salt Lake Valley The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints was founded in 1830 in New York