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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.

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

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

One hundred and twenty-five years ago, President Grover Cleveland issued the proclamation that officially welcomed Utah into the Union as a state on January 4, 1896. Utah had been working towards this goal since 1849, when newly-arrived white settlers first petitioned Congress for statehood. They petitioned a total of seven times over those forty-five years. This year the Utah State

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

Have you ever wanted a chance to check out the Utah State Constitution? The Utah State Archives and Records Service usually keeps it in a vault for preservation, BUT our archivists will be in the Hall of Governors at the Utah State Capitol next week on Statehood Day with the constitution and other records of statehood to answer all your

The Utah State Archives is pleased to announce that the 116-year-old Utah State Constitution is now available with a full text search on its web site. The Utah State Archives is also the custodian of the record which now may be viewed along side a typescript taken from the 1898 Revised Statutes of Utah at archives.utah.gov. The “engrossed” copy of