Governor Dawson
Research Guides
1861, Democrat/Republican
About the Dawson Administration
John W. Dawson served a very short term as territorial governor. He was in Utah for one month before heading back East. Combative feelings existed between Governor Dawson and the Mormon population. Three men attacked and beat him in Parley's Canyon while he was leaving the territory. Law officers later killed the men.
Powell, Allan Kent, ed. Utah History Encyclopedia. Territorial Governors, by Miriam B. Murphy. Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 1994.
History of Dawson Administration
Biography of John W. Dawson
Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Records of Governor Dawson
There are no records at the Utah State Archives. You may search for related records and papers held by other repositories in Social Networks and Archival Context. Territorial records may be available in the National Archives.
Page Last Updated May 29, 2002.