Utah Centennial 1896-1996 - A Photo Exhibit
Part 1: Celebrations of Statehood
Marriott Library
University of Utah
The following photos are taken from various collections in Marriott Library's photo archives.
When Utah became the 45th state on January 4, 1896, it was the culmination of almost half a century of effort by Utah statesmen and citizens. Accordingly, the state celebrated with parades, speeches, bells, choir performances, and other ceremonies. Many public, private, and religious buildings were decorated with bunting and flags, and many citizens showed their public spirit fervor by dressing in patriotic costumes and attending rallies and dances.
The Salt Lake LDS Temple draped with the enormous
45-star flag that had hung in the LDS Tabernacle during
Statehood Day ceremonies. This photograph was taken in
1897, when the flag was moved to the Temple for the 50th
anniversary of the coming of the Mormon pioneers.
[GEORGE REED Collection, P0184]
The LDS Tabernacle decorated for statehood
celebrations.
[GEORGE D. PYPER Collection, P0001]
The ZCMI Building, downtown Salt Lake City, decorated
for Statehood Day.
[ZCMI Collection, P0507]
The Dinwoodey Furniture building, Salt Lake City,
draped with bunting for Statehood.
[DINWOODEY FURNITURE Collection, P0273]
Vernal, Utah women dressed for a patriotic
celebration.
[THORNE PHOTO STUDIO Collection, P0272]
A Salt Lake City choir in the decorated Tabernacle.
[GEORGE D. PYPER Collection, P0001]
A 1910 Statehood Day parade.
[UTAH POSTCARDS Collection, P0591]
Utahns dressed for a parade.
[Olive Wooley Burt Collection, P0244]
The Utah Exhibit at the Nashville Exposition, 1896.
[GEORGE D. PYPER Collection, P0001]
Roy Webb, Multimedia Archivist; roy.webb@utah.edu
Part 2: Daily Life in Utah (ca. 1896)
As Utah historian Dale Morgan noted, "men live rich and quiet lives outside the boiling currents of their times." In many parts of Utah, life had to go on the same as it had on January 3, 1896, and as it would on January 5th. Children had to attend school, railroads had to run, chores had to be done, business had to be conducted. This portion of the exhibit depicts daily life in Utah around the same time as the statehood celebrations.
Officers on the porch of their quarters at Fort
Douglas (Salt Lake City), ca. 1888. Frederick Benteen
is seated in the front row on the far right.
[RICHARD W. YOUNG Collection, P0104]
The living room of the Fort Douglas quarters
shown above, 1896.
[ALBERT C. ALLEN Collection, P0345]
Salt Lake & Ogden Railroad station in
Bountiful, 1895
[SIMON BAMBERGER Collection, P0225]
Children in front of the Forest Dale School, Salt
Lake City, 1896.
[GEORGE ALBERT SMITH Collection, P0036]
Native Americans gathered on the steps of the
Salt Lake Theater.
[INDIANS Collection, P0064]
Navajos weaving on their reservation, 1896.
[INDIANS Collection, P0064]
Preston Nutter, Utah Cattleman (right) on mule,
1893.
[PRESTON NUTTER CORP. Collection, P0289]
Placer miners on the San Juan River near Mexican
Hat, Utah, 1894.
[DICK BECK Collection, P0068]
Roy Webb, Multimedia Archivist; roy.webb@utah.edu
