About Utah
History
A 14-room ruin on the Navajo Reservation in Utah
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Utah's majestic mountains, lakes and deserts were first beheld
by man some 12,000 years ago. Through the millennia that followed many
cultures inhabited the land. The first settlers were the Paleoindians.
These Paleoindian big game hunters were succeeded by a number of other
early culture groups including the Desert Archaic, Anasazi, and
Fremont. White men came along much later. Their first significant
incursion came in 1776 as a party of Spanish explorers traveled much of
the length of present-day Utah.
The wide-open deserts and mountain ranges stretch out from Northern Utah
to Nevada and Eastern California. A vast territory with pristine
landscape the Spanish referred to as "La Sierra Nevada" or snow
country. Nearly fifty years would elapse before the next surge of
whites would come to Utah. These were the mountain men who came to Utah
in search of beaver and other small game. It wasn't until 1847 that the
Mormons arrived in Utah, questing for a religious sanctuary in the remote
west. Immigrating in large numbers, the Mormons laid out communities,
built homes and churches and established farms supported by an
irrigation system. Non-Mormons came too, especially after precious
metals were discovered in the 1860s, thus adding diversification to
Utah's society. By the time of statehood in 1896, the total population
approached a quarter of a million people.
Development of coal mines, railroads, and other industries beckoned the
"new immigrants" during the early decades of the twentieth century, and
Greeks, Italians, Slavs, Chinese, Japanese, Mexicans, and other ethnic
groups further enriched Utah's cultural fabric.
SUNRISE illuminates Park Avenue, Arches National Park, Utah.
-- Photos by Dan Leeth
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Though troubled by the great depression of the 1930s, Utah's economy
found new life during and after World War II. It was a combination of
mining, defense, steel and petroleum refining industries that led the
economy at mid-century. Tourism, recreation (especially skiing), light
manufacturing and the service industries have recently emerged as
economic pillars.
In 1996, approximately one hundred years after becoming a U.S. state,
Utah's population topped 2 million people. Due to the state's
larger-than-average family size and its steady rate of immigration,
robust growth projects well into the future.
Utah Today
Utah continues to experience strong economic and employment growth.
Ranked one of the best environments for business, the Salt Lake area's
concentration of biomedical, high technology, and software firms is
among the highest in the nation.
Utah is also a leader in information technology. High-tech companies
that have their home in Utah include Iomega, Novell, Correll and
WordPerfect. The announcement in 1996 that Salt Lake City would host
the 2002 Winter Olympics spurred not only the construction of new sports
venues and facilities but the development of $300 to $400 million in
fiber optic communications infrastructure upgrades.
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Photo Courtesy Utah Division of Travel Development/ Jerry Sintz, photographer
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It was in 1998 that the Scarborough Research Corp. stated that Salt Lake
City had more personal computers per household than any other city in
the United States, advancing Utah's reputation of being savvy to
technology.
Today Utah has a population of approximately 2,233,169, and ranks as
the 34th most populous state in the United States. The state name Utah
is named after the Utes, an American native tribe. With three fourths of
the land owned by federal government, Utah in recent years has been a
leader among western states in the so-called 'Sagebush Rebellion'
against federal dominance.
Nevertheless, as a modern state, Utah faces the same kinds of problems
that face other states: adequate funding for all levels education and
other public needs, environmental protection, increased opportunities
for women and minorities, preservation of the historic and cultural
heritage, continuing economic development of rural areas, conservation
of natural resources and areas of natural beauty, and urban renewal.
The solutions to these future challenges for Utah will most likely hold
a place in tomorrow's history books.
-- Darryl Hawtin, for SLAM! Sports
