The deserts, mountains, and plateaus of the area were once the home of dozens of indigenous tribes over thousands of years. The Fremont and Ancestral Puebloans left behind cliff dwellings, rock art, and artifacts that can still be seen today. Later, tribes including the Ute, Paiute, Shoshone, Goshute, and Navajo lived throughout the area. The state itself was eventually named after the Ute people, who remain an important part of Utah’s history and culture.
Europeans first explored the region in the 1700s, but the area wasn’t settled until members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints arrived in July 1847. Led by Brigham Young, Mormon pioneers traveled west seeking a place where they could practice their religion after being chased out of Illinois and Missouri. After a difficult journey across the plains, these pioneers settled in the Salt Lake Valley and famously declared, “This is the place.” They quickly built irrigation systems, farms, and towns in what many saw as an unforgiving desert.
Utah’s path to statehood was longer and more complicated than many other western states. In the mid-1800s, Mormon leaders proposed creating a massive state called Deseret that would cover much of the modern American Southwest, but the federal government rejected the proposition.
Tensions grew between the U.S. government and Mormon leadership over issues including polygamy and political control within the territory. After years of negotiation between the Church and the United States goverment (and subsequent social changes), Utah was finally admitted to the Union as the 45th state in January 1896.
In 1869, the transcontinental railroad was completed–a monumental achievement that was marked by driving in the Golden Spike. Made of gold, it was simply symbolic, marking the famous moments at Promontory Summit.
Utah’s economy and population changed dramatically during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries because of mining. Deposits of silver, copper, gold, and later uranium drew investors, prospectors, and workers from around the world. Towns that had once been small settlements quickly transformed into busy mining communities. Immigrants from Italy, Greece, China, Japan, and many parts of Eastern Europe came to Utah seeking work in the mines, helping create a more culturally diverse population than many might expect. One of the most famous mining sites was the enormous Bingham Canyon Mine, which became one of the largest open-pit copper mines in the world and remains an important part of Utah’s economy today.
During the Cold War, Utah became an important place for the United States military and scientific research programs. The wide-open spaces and isolated desert regions made it ideal for military testing, weapons development, and aviation training.
At the same time, Utah’s dramatic scenery helped turn the state into one of Hollywood’s favorite filming locations. The towering red rock formations, deserts, canyons, and wide-open plains looked perfect for classic western films, especially during the mid-twentieth century. Directors frequently used areas around Four Corners, Moab, and Kanab as stand-ins for the mythic American frontier.
Utah is known around the world for its extraordinary scenery and outdoor recreation. The state has five national parks with arches, canyons, cliffs, and desert formations unlike almost anywhere else in the United States. While I lived in Utah, I took as much time as I could to visit these parks, enamored by the beauty and uniqueness of each. We lived only an hour away from Zion National Park, so visits were often. I loved all the beautiful hikes and was lucky enough to spend a night at the century-old Zion National Park Lodge.
Seeing Bryce Canyon National Park in person was truly mind-blowing with the unusual hoodoo formations. As many photos as I’d seen, they couldn’t possibly do it justice. Honestly, the same could be said about so many places in Utah: Capitol Reef, Goblin Valley, Moab, Bonneville Salt Flats, Wasatch Mountains and more. It remains one of my favorite states.
Quilt Block
The Beehive State is represented in the Quarter Millennial Quilt with a variation of the Salt Lake City block (from Barbara Brackman’s Encyclopedia of Pieced Patterns). It uses half-square triangles (HSTs) as well as split quarter-square triangles (sometimes called a split triangle block) in careful arrangement. While there is a suggested arrangement for these blocks, feel free to re-arrange your fabrics to get the look you want. I made it both ways (with A on all the outside and with A/B on the outside) and you can see how different it looks.
Quilt Shops
- Sewtopia in Murray
- Blue Willow Mercantile in St. George
- Corn Wagon Quilt Co in Springville
- The Quilters Crossing in American Fork
- Nuttall’s in Pleasant Grove, Murray, Riverton, and Layton
- My Girlfriend’s Quilt Shop in Logan
- The Quilted Beehive in Ogden
If you live in Utah or you visited and have some ideas on great places for me to visit, let me know in the comments below.
We drove through Utah on a trip to South Dakota from California. It is an incredibly beautiful drive. I always try to remember to look back as well as ahead because the views in all directions are amazing!