Series 31172
Department of Cultural and Community Engagement. Division of Arts and Museums. Folk Arts Program Gravestone project files, 1977-1994.
10.70 cubic feet
These records are housed in the Utah State Archives' permanent storage room.
Historical Note
See history of the records' creator.
Summary of Records
Scope and Content
A detailed study of Utah gravestones, meant to show the use of the evolution of grave marking techniques from pioneer time to the present. This series contains documentation which reveals stone carving techniques and industry traditions, use of symbols and community aesthetics, and research into identification of significant stone carvers and tracing their work history and artistry. This includes film reels and photos of cemeteries and gravestones, 34 tombstone rubbings, and a plaster cast of a tombstone.
Arrangement
Generally by format.
Access Restrictions
This series is classified as Public.
Use Restrictions
These records are available for reproduction and use.
Preferred Citation
Cite the Utah State Archives and Records Service, the creating agency name, the series title, and the series number.
Custody History
This collection came into the custody of the Utah State Archives and Records Service in 2010 as part of a massive transfer of records from the Folk Arts Program. In 2023 staff from the Folk Arts Program collaborated with the State Archives to bring better intellectual and physical control over that unaccessioned collection.
Acquisition Information
These records were acquired from the creating agency through established retention schedules.
Processing Information
Archival processing of this collection was done by Elizabeth Setterberg from the Utah Division of Arts and Museums and Carlton Jemmett of the Division of Archives and Records Service between June 2023 and July 2025.
Additional processing of this series was done by Katie McGirt between March and September of 2026.
Indexing Terms
Container List
| Box | Description |
|---|---|
| 1 | 16mm film reels featuring Austin Fife at Willard Cemetery. Large format film photos of SLC Cemetery from Dave Stanley in June 1988. Super 8 gravestone project film footage. And misc. colored photo slides and black and white photo negatives. |
| 2 | Approx. 20 tombstone rubbings |
| 3 | Tombstone rubbing, Hans G Hansen |
| 4 | Tombstone rubbing, James Hendricks |
| 5 | Tombstone rubbing, no text, depiction of a tree |
| 6 | Photo collection, Austin E Fife |
| 7 | Tombstone rubbing, Hans Andrew Ipsen, Annie Josephine Davis |
| 8 | Tombstone rubbing, Osman T. Crave |
| 9 | Tombstone rubbing, Barbara Meier |
| 10 | Tombstone rubbing, W. Mitchel Eldridge |
| 11 | Tombstone rubbing, poem, no name |
| 12 | Tombstone rubbing, description of death, no name |
| 13 | Tombstone rubbing, Edward Meeks Dalton |
| 14 | Tombstone rubbing, Pete Johansen |
| 15 | Plaster cast of tombstone |
| 16 | Tombstone rubbing, C Jay Clark |
| 17 | Tombstone rubbing, Mary E. Ericksen |
| 18 | Framed tombstone rubbing of the LDS Temple in Salt Lake City |