Nearly 70 years ago, Utah’s first state prison closed its doors and was transformed into the much-loved Sugar House Park. Construction is now underway on a new penitentiary that is 15 miles away but vastly different from its predecessors. The Utah Territorial Prison opened in 1855 with 16 cells on 80 acres selected by Brigham Young. The original facility was built of brick … [Read more...]
Utahns’ Love Affair with Cottonwood Canyon
The love affair with Cottonwood Canyon began long before the Mormon Pioneers settled Salt Lake City in 1847. Fremont Indians inhabited caves along the canyon nearly a thousand years ago. Just a short ways up Little Cottonwood Canyon, Fremont pictographs can be found, depicting hunters, who took advantage of the bountiful fauna that is still present in the canyons today. The … [Read more...]
Trappers and the Ogden Valley
Jim Bridger Spins The Yarn “One hundred Cheyenne warriors, arrows drawn, fire in their eyes, riding on the fastest mustangs you ever did see were right on my heels! I could feel the ground rumble as they chased me right into a steep canyon. I looked around at walls and Indians on every side. There I was, surrounded, boxed in ...” “What happened next, Mr. Bridger?” an eager … [Read more...]
Swedetown
Welcome to Swedetown Salt Lake City, Utah—Swedetown is several thousand miles from Stockholm, and in many ways, it is also a couple thousand miles from downtown Salt Lake. If you haven't heard of it, don't be surprised. It is truly a hidden part of Utah. It is a several block section around Hot Springs Road and 1500 N. Still can't place it? Try thinking about the oil … [Read more...]
Liberty Wells Historic District
Liberty Wells before it was Liberty Wells In 2011, two Salt Lake City neighborhoods officially merged to become the Liberty Wells Historic District, but the story of the area’s development begins in the 1800s. Imagine it’s 1875. You have journeyed to 900 S, the southern edge of the city. The urban blocks, the original Plat of the City of Zion, are 10-acre squares. … [Read more...]
Magna, Utah—the town that forgot its name
Pleasant Green, AKA Magna The pioneer history of Pleasant Green, commonly known as Magna, Utah, remains largely untold outside of dusty family histories and faded folklore. I have been remedying this situation through YouTube documentaries that will help preserve this rich history, revealing a complete picture of these lost years to younger generations. There is even a … [Read more...]
Japantown: Ruined, Remembered or Revived?
Attending the University of Utah in 1953 retired Third District Court Judge Raymond Uno spent much of his free time in downtown Salt Lake City in an area called Japantown, or “JTown”, practicing judo and socializing with friends. It was a stark contrast to the three years during World War II when his family was forced from California to what he calls a … [Read more...]
The Endangered Utah Lake June Sucker
The June sucker (JS), native only to Utah Lake, was placed on America’s Endangered Species’ List more than a decade ago when there were less than 400 remaining in the lake. Two other native fishes of the lake, Utah Lake sculpin, and a unique form of our state fish, the Utah Lake Bonneville cutthroat trout, are already extinct. To save this unique suckerfish and its extremely … [Read more...]
Power to the People: How Enterprising Mormon Pioneers Electrified Utah
When the Mormon pioneers arrived in Utah they found an inhospitable desert. A few decades later, Utah was a major transportation hub with flourishing communities and electric lights illuminating orderly streets and fruit trees. So how did these destitute refugees create a prosperous, modern society in a matter of years? You can get some insight into this phenomenon by … [Read more...]
Rafting the Yampa: A Libertarian Publisher is Exposed to the Beliefs, History and Ideology of Environmental Protectionists
“Okay,” I thought, “I’m going to be going down a river with people whose primary ideology I disagree with.” But then I reasoned, “maybe my point of view could provide an interesting story. Why should every story be about everyone being agreeable? I’ll go, I decided, be nice yet disagreeable, and completely honest.” So I went on a trip down the Yampa River with a group of … [Read more...]
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