Can you imagine what it was like to live in Utah more than 100 years ago? Thanks to historians, some of Utah’s earliest photographs have been preserved so that we can all enjoy them. Take a look at how different life in Utah in the late 1800s was!
- Daggett County, 1870. Surveyors make camp near the Henry’s Fork of the Green River.
U.S.Geological Survey/flickr
- Unknown location, 1860. We don’t have much information on these two cute little kids, except that they managed to hold very still for this photo in 1860.
anyjazz65/flickr
- Salt Lake City, 1905. In this photo of the Salt Lake City Temple, you can see the horse-drawn carriages and street car rails
Public Domain/Wikimedia
- Big Cottonwood Canyon, 1870. Men posing with a stack of gold bullion.
Chubachus/YouTube
- Unknown location, 1880. A group of Ute tribal leaders were sent to Washington D.C. in 1880 to form a treaty: Chief Ignacio of the Southern Utes, Carl Shurz, Secretary of the Interior, Chief Ouray and his wife, Chipeta. Standing are Woretsiz and General Charles Adams.
Public Domain/Wikimedia
- Salt Lake City, 1890s. Main Street was quite a bustling thoroughfare.
Charles Roscoe Savage - Church History Library/Wikimedia
- Unknown location, late 19th century. Utah miners taking a quick break.
Public Domain/Wikimedia
- Salt Lake City, 1880s. The construction of the Salt Lake LDS Temple.
Public Domain/wikimedia
- Alta, 1895. While we know Alta as a ski resort, it was a mine first. This is the Alta Mine Mill on Gold Hill.
Public Domain/wikimedia
- Salt Lake City, 1869. There are quite a few buildings on this dirt street in downtown Salt Lake City.
Public domain/Wikipedia
- Corinne, 1868. Corinne was founded as the unofficial “Gentile capital of Utah.” It was named for the daughter of one of the founders.
William Henry Jackson - U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, Public Domain/Wikimedia
- Bluff, Between 1880 and 1910. A Navajo family poses in front of their winter hogan.
Public Domain, wikimedia
I’m glad I wasn’t living in Utah in the late 1800s – imagine life without air conditioning! Do you have any old Utah photographs in your collection? Share them with us!
U.S.Geological Survey/flickr
anyjazz65/flickr
Public Domain/Wikimedia
Chubachus/YouTube
Charles Roscoe Savage - Church History Library/Wikimedia
Public Domain/wikimedia
Public domain/Wikipedia
William Henry Jackson - U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, Public Domain/Wikimedia
Public Domain, wikimedia
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