Native Americans have lived in what is now
Utah for several thousand years. Most archeological evidence dates the earliest
habitation to about 10,000 to 12,000 years ago. Utah is named after the Ute Indians,
and that tribe, as well as the Goshute, Navajo, Paiute, and Shoshone hunted, fished
and farmed this prolific land long before the first Europeans ventured in.
Francisco Vasquez de Coronado may have crossed
into what is now southern Utah in 1540, when he was seeking the legendary Cibola.
A group led by two Catholic priests, sometimes called the Dominguez-Escalante Expedition,
left Santa Fe in 1776, hoping to find a route to the California coast. The expedition
traveled as far north as Utah Lake and encountered the native residents. Fur trappers,
including Jim Bridger, 
explored some regions of Utah in the early 1800s. The city
of Provo was named for one such man, Etienne Provost, who visited the area in 1825.
The city of Ogden, Utah is named for a brigade leader of the Hudson's Bay Company,
Peter Skene Ogden who trapped in the Weber Valley.
The first permanent settlers in Utah were members
of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons). Joseph Smith organized
the church in Fayette, New York in 1830. Members were severely persecuted for their
beliefs, and were forced many times to relocate. In 1844, Joseph Smith was murdered.
Brigham Young, the next president of the church, led a small group into the Salt
Lake Valley in 1847. Many others soon followed.
Following Mexico's successful War of Independence
from Spain in 1821, the Utah region came under Mexican control, Regardless, Jedediah
Smith, one of the great explorers of the day, discovered routes through the rugged
mountains that allowed thousands of pioneers to travel west to California by wagon
train.
Statehood was petitioned for in 1849/50 using
the name Deseret. The proposed State of Deseret would have been quite large, encompassing
all of what is now Utah, and portions of territory of what would become Idaho, Nevada,
Wyoming, Arizona, Oregon, New Mexico and California. The name of Deseret was favored
by the LDS leader Brigham Young as a symbol of industry, and the name itself derived
from a reference in the Book of Mormon. The petition was rejected by Congress.
In 1850, the Utah Territory was created with
the Compromise of 1850, and Fillmore was designated the capital. In 1856, Salt Lake
City replaced Fillmore as the territorial capital. Indians lived peacefully with
the settlers until 1853 when Ute Chief Walker declared war. Peace resumed the following
year. Ute Chief Black Hawk also led attacks against the settlers in 1865. Many settlers
were killed and damages reached almost $1 million. By 1872, most of the Indians
were moved to reservations in eastern Utah.
The pony express began in April 1860. Riders
crossed Utah in their journey to deliver mail from Missouri to California. In Oct.
1860 the first transcontinental telegraph line was completed in Salt Lake City.
This encouraged the pony express to close two days later. The first U.S. transcontinental
railroad was completed in 1869 at Promontory.
There was one nagging problem as the Mormon's
attitude on polygamy did not sit well in America; polygamists were arrested; church
leaders went into hiding; the government seized their property, and Utah was denied
statehood until polygamy ended in 1890. Utah became the 45th state on Jan. 4, 1896.
During the early 1900s, railroad expansion
opened new markets for Utah's industries. Farmers raised increased numbers of beef
cattle and sheep. Copper production increased in Bingham Canyon with the development
of surface mining. Irrigation projects on the Strawberry River opened new areas
for growing crops. The smelting industry also increased greatly at this time as
large smelters were built in the Salt Lake Valley.
In the 1930's, America's Great Depression severely
affected Utah, and unemployment was widespread. World War II jumped-started the
economy, as war-related industries brought new jobs and prosperity.
During the late 20th century, the state grew
quickly. In the 1970s, growth was phenomenal in the suburbs. Sandy was one of the
fastest-growing cities in the country at that time. Today, many areas of Utah are
seeing phenomenal growth. Northern Davis, southern and western Salt Lake, Summit,
eastern Tooele, Utah, Wasatch, and Washington counties are all growing very quickly.
Transportation and urbanization are major issues in politics as development consumes
agricultural land and wilderness areas.
Rich in natural resources, Utah has long been
a leading producer of copper, gold, silver, lead, zinc, and molybdenum. Oil has
also become a major product. Utah shares rich oil shale deposits with Colorado and
Wyoming. Utah also has large deposits of low sulphur coal.
The state's top agricultural commodities include
cattle and calves, dairy products, hay, greenhouse and nursery products, and hogs.
Utah's traditional industries of agriculture
and mining are complemented by increased tourism and growing aerospace, biomedical,
and computer-related businesses.
Utah Famous People
- Maurice Abravanel (1903 - 1993) Music Director of the Utah Symphony.
- Danny Ainge (1959 - ) BYU Basketball star. Former NBA player/coach.
- Roseanne Barr (1952 - ) Comedian and actress of television's Roseanne; born in Salt Lake City.
- Reva Beck Bosone (1895 - 1983) Utah's first woman member of Congress, rights activist.
- John Moses Browning (1855 - 1926) Gun Maker.
- Nolan Kay Bushnell (1915 - ) Computer programmer who invented the first coin-operated video game; born in Ogden.
- Marriner Eccles (1890 - 1977) Built First Security Corp., helped end Great Depression.
- Philo Farnsworth (1906 - 1971) Inventor of the television.
- Edwin Jacob (Jake) Garn (1932 - ) Senator, Astronaut.
- Orrin Hatch (1934 - ) U.S. Senator.
- Jon Huntsman Sr. (1937 - ) Philanthropist and state's most successful entrepreneur.
- David Abbott "Ab" Jenkins (1883 - 1956) Driving his "Mormon Meteor", Jenkins set numerous world automobile speed records on Utah's Bonneville Salt Flats between 1932 and 1956.
- Karl Malone (1963 - ) Utah Jazz Basketball Star.
- J. Willard Marriott (1900 - 1985) Founder of the Marriott restaurant and hotel chain. Also founded the A&W restaurant chain.
- Dale Murphy (1956 - ) Baseball player who played for the Atlanta Braves.
- Donny Osmond (1957 - ) and Marie Osmond (1959 - ) Singers and dancers that starred in the Donny and Marie Show, brother and sister; both born in Ogden.
- Robert LeRoy Parker "Butch Cassidy" (1887-1915?) Famous outlaw that robbed banks and trains of the Old West; born in Beaver.
- Robert Redford (1937 - ) Actor and founder of the Sundance Institute.
- Wallace Stegner (1909 - 1993) Author.
- Reed Smoot (1862 - 1941) First Mormon elected to U.S. Senate.
- Brigham Young (1801 - 1877) President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) that brought the first white settlers to Utah and founded Salt Lake City; born in Whittingham, born in Vermont.
- Steve Young (1961 - ) Football quarterback who helped the San Francisco 49ers win three Super Bowl championships; born in Salt Lake City.