History

By: Francis L. and Roberta B. Fugate Within New Mexico we have experienced a variety of unspoiled beauty and natural wonders equaled in few other areas of similar size. But we cannot tell you about them; they have to be...

By: Marshall Trimble Join Marshal Trimble, state historian, storyteller, and native son, on the highways and back roads of Arizona, where a Grand Canyon's worth of facts and stories add up to a portrait of a state. Along the way...

By: Howard Kazanjian and Chris Enss On May 17, 1876, Elizabeth Bacon Custer kissed her husband, George, goodbye and wished him good fortune in his efforts to fulfill the Army's orders to relocate those Native Americans unwilling to move to...

By Travis Schenck, director of the Museum of Moab Grand County's story begins long before the first white settlers entered the valley. The land holds ruins, artifacts, and remnants of many ancient peoples, including Ute, Navajo, Anasazi, and others. Spanish...

By Tiffan Taylor On July 31, 1909, Pres. William Howard Taft authorized the creation of Mukuntuweap National Monument in southern Utah. Encompassing miles of rugged mountain peaks towering above the Virgin River, the national monument was renamed Zion and designated...

By Lynn Arave and Ray Boren Blessed with a magnificent landscape, Utah also abounds with secrets and peculiarities. Most are unaware that the Beehive State has its own rocky Noah's Ark or a hidden hoodoo Chinatown. Many have never seen...

By Mr. Tim Dumas The history of Bingham Canyon begins in 1848. Lead Mine served as a precipitation plant where steel was turned into copper. Dry Fork Canyon branched off Bingham Canyon, known for placer gold mining, the Copperton test mill,...

Ordinary history books often fail to address the obscure or the unexplained, leaving questions buried in annals of yesteryear. Where were Utah's mythical monsters, including Bigfoot, spotted? How did 'Schoolmarm's Bloomers' become a state symbol? What created the Lagoon Amusement...

By Marilyn Brown and Valerie Holladay Provo is one of Utah's oldest historic sites. Still a medium-sized town, it has kept its pristine antique quality, its quaint buildings, and its relaxed atmosphere, which won it the title "Most Stressless City...

By “LandSpeed” Louise Ann Noeth At Bonneville, record holders must first earn the right to present themselves on the starting line. This requires passing rigorous safety and technical checks for driver, rider, and speed machine. Gender is inconsequential. Through the...

By Lynn Arave Author Lynn Arave has compiled more than 190 photographs, including many vintage images from the Wasatch Mountain Club to showcase the Uinta Mountains, known as the “roof” of Utah, with elevations exceeding 13,000 feet above sea level....

By Don Strack Railroads and mining in Bingham Canyon have gone hand in hand since the first railroad was constructed in the canyon in late 1873. Bingham Canyon in the early years was a gold and silver mining camp, and...

For 12,000 years, people have left a rich record of their experiences in Utah’s Capitol Reef National Park. In The Capitol Reef Reader, award-winning author and photographer Stephen Trimble collects the best of this writing—160 years worth of words that capture the...

This diary of Leonard Wood, a medical officer, tells the dramatic story of the last campaign against the Apache chief Geronimo. It is the only journal kept by anyone on that expedition.   Under the command of Capt. Henry Lawton, Wood’s first...

Britton Davis's account of the controversial "Geronimo Campaign" of 1885–86 offers an important firsthand picture of the famous Chiricahua warrior and the men who finally forced his surrender. Davis knew most of the people involved in the campaign and was...

The first Directory of the Mining Industry of Utah published by the Utah Geological and Mineralogical Survey in 1965 covered the industry through the year 1964. This the second directory provides information through 1967. The following agencies were especially helpful...

By and about the greatest celebrities of the Wild West, these are the stories of their adventures told in their own words through excerpts from autobiographies, articles they wrote, newspaper interviews, private journals, personal letters, and court testimony. These glimpses...

Copublished with the Utah State Historical Society. Affiliated with the Utah Division of State History, Utah Department of Heritage & Arts.Stories of the ordinary people who helped build Salt Lake City emerge from a study of their often humble adobe...

By: Robert Silbernagel When U.S. Calvary troops rode onto the Ute Indian Reservation in northwestern Colorado on September 29, 1879, they triggered a chain of events that cost the Utes their homeland. They included a deadly battle at Milk Creek,...

By: Marvin Jacobson This booklet is full of fun and interesting factoids about Utah. Each county in this booklet has its own page, complete with a photograph and basic county information. Fun facts about the counties are also included. For...

By: Candy Moulton The vast expanses of Wyoming's seemingly empty landscapes belie the turbulent events and colorful characters that make up the state's rich past. Roadside History of Wyoming explores the people who made history and what they did to...

“Roadside History of Montana” by Don Spritzer goes well beyond cowboy stories to tell of the struggles of dryland farmers, the rowdy antics of mining-town denizens, and the heroism of smoke jumpers and park rangers. Spritzer’s love of Montana in...

“Roadside History of Colorado” by Candy Moulton takes readers on an enthralling journey through the state’s highways, uncovering the rich tapestry of Colorado’s past. The book delves into a variety of historical events and figures, from the Santa Fe Trail...