SHPO Blog
Studying Jeremy Ranch: Summit County Partners with SHPO’s Archaeology Grant
Stretching across 8,588 acres in western Summit County, the 910 Cattle Ranch is one of the largest contiguous properties held…
Chris McFarland
TIMPANOGOS CAVE HISTORIC DISTRICT ADBI, UTAH COUNTY, FEDERAL NOMINATION
The Timpanogos Cave Historic District is significant under Criterion A at the local level in the area of Exploration/Settlement and…
coryjensen
MARILYN DRIVE HISTORIC DISTRICT, OGDEN, WEBER COUNTY
The Marilyn Drive Historic District, located on the east bench of Ogden, Weber County, Utah, includes 309 buildings, of which…
coryjensen
CHAPEL BY THE WAYSIDE UTAH STATE PENITENTIARY, DRAPER, SALT LAKE CO.
The Chapel by the Wayside at the former Utah State Penitentiary site located at the Point of the Mountain in…
coryjensen
SCENIC DRIVE & CAPITOL GORGE HISTORIC DISTRICT, CAPITOL REEF NM, WAYNE CO. FEDERAL NOMINATION
Scenic Drive and Capitol Gorge Historic District is significant under Criterion A in the area ofSettlement for its associations with…
coryjensen
Meet the Grantees: 2025 Revive & Reside Grant Recipients
Utah Main Street (UMS) is excited to announce that over $315,000 in funding has been awarded to seven historic buildings…
Chris McFarland
Archaeological Ordinances: Protecting Your Local Archaeology
Archaeology is the study of past peoples through the things they left behind: tools, buildings, and even trash! These people…
Madalyn Johnson
Steward Spotlight: Rebecca Wallace
Let’s get to know Rebecca Wallace, a passionate and dedicated volunteer with the Utah Cultural Site Stewardship Program. She’s been…
Kate Schmidt
Sharing Utah’s Cultural Heritage: A Collaboration between the Archaeological Conservancy and SHPO’s Archaeology Grant
The Archaeological Conservancy has long been dedicated to preserving significant archaeological sites for research, education, and community engagement. With a…
Karlee Stauffer
Preserving Utah’s Industrial Past: The Stockton Kilns Protection Project
The Stockton Kilns—also known as the Waterman Coking Ovens—stand as a reminder of the state’s 19th-century industrial history. Built around…
Karlee Stauffer
Spatial Patterns in Rock Imagery: Shield Iconography in Eastern Utah
By Madalyn Johnson, Public Archaeology Intern Rock imagery (more commonly referred to as rock art) is likely one of the…
Madalyn Johnson
Steward Spotlight: Meet Greg Mason!
Introducing Greg Mason – a site steward who joined the Utah Cultural Site Stewardship program in 2023. Originally from Dayton,…
Kate Schmidt
Danger Cave Tour
Take a look at this fantastic Archaeology and Historic Preservation Month event and get ready for May 2025. Every year…
Madalyn Johnson
Cub Creek Petroglyphs Tour
Take a look at this fantastic Archaeology and Historic Preservation Month event and get ready for May 2025. Every year…
Madalyn Johnson
Fort Douglas Walking Tour
Take a look at this fantastic Archaeology and Historic Preservation Month event and get ready for May 2025. Every year…
Madalyn Johnson
Protecting Nine Mile Canyon’s Rich Archaeological Legacy with SHPO’s Archaeology Grant
On a private location within Utah’s renowned Nine Mile Canyon, lies a rich and unique archaeological landscape. Known for its…
Karlee Stauffer
Fort Douglas and the Olympics
With the International Olympic Committee’s exciting recent announcement that Salt Lake City will host the 2034 Olympic and Paralympic Winter…
Elizabeth Hora
Community Stewardship Awards
Take a look at this fantastic Archaeology and Historic Preservation Month event and get ready for May 2025. Every year…
Elizabeth Hora
Exploring Utah’s Past through SHPO’s Archaeology Grant
A recent archaeological survey funded by SHPO’s Archaeology Grant has uncovered new insights into southern Utah’s history. This project marks…
Karlee Stauffer
Preserving History at McConkie Ranch: An Archaeology Grant Initiative
Nestled in the serene landscapes of Vernal, Utah, McConkie Ranch is home to one of North America’s most significant collections…
Karlee Stauffer
UTAH MAIN STREET PROGRAM RECEIVES IMPORTANT HISTORIC PRESERVATION GRANT FROM NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
Utah Main Street, a program of the Utah State Historic Preservation Office, announces they have received funding from the National…
Faith Bitz
UCSS Steward Spotlight: Meet Matt Petersen!
Matt Petersen is one of the Utah Cultural Site Stewardship program’s amazing volunteers! UCSS staff were lucky enough to get…
Kate Schmidt
Welcoming Marcos Van Dalen to UCSS and Utah’s Buffalo Soldier Heritage Trail Project!
We have a new member of the UCSS crew joining us on an amazing project! We would love to introduce…
Kate Schmidt
Preserving Objects, Preserving Stories: The Story of Boulder Mountain’s Historic Military Vehicle
by Kate Schmidt, UCSS Outreach Administrator Historic objects can hold unique and powerful stories. An example of this is a…
Kate Schmidt
Utah Cultural Site Stewards receive Regional National Parks Service Volunteerism Award
Earlier this spring, Dinosaur National Monument contacted Utah Cultural Site Stewards that monitor cultural resources within the monument to let…
Lexi Little
Welcome Kate to UCSS!
The Utah Cultural Site Stewardship (UCSS) Program is so excited to welcome Kate Schmidt as the new UCSS Program Outreach…
Lexi Little
What Else is Under Your Feet?
Because the story of people in Utah is over 13,000 years old we will always find archaeology under our feet!…
Elizabeth Hora
Potter’s Quarry
Suzanne Eskenazi, SWCA Environmental Consultants What do we have here? In the summer of 2020, archaeologists were surveying in Utah…
hyarow
Lost In The Long Ago
By Laurie Bryant My double-brick Craftsman style house was built about 1924, on Salt Lake City’s east bench. The first…
hyarow
A Trashy Summit County Backyard
Chris Merritt, SHPO When you line out your summer landscaping projects for the backyard, encountering a glimpse into the industrial…
hyarow
Another Stone in the Wall, Park City’s Ontario Shop
Deb Miller, Records Manager, SHPO If you have visited Park City to ski, participate in the epic-ness of the Sundance…
hyarow
The Citizens Military Training Camp: Tents under new University of Utah Housing
Charles Shepherd, Historical Architect/Campus Planner, University of Utah The need for housing is as common a story at the University…
hyarow
An Accident Causing Fountain Hit Once Again
Chris Merritt, Utah State Historic Preservation Officer Delving into Utah’s urban landscape, it is not uncommon whatsoever for new transportation…
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UCSS Preservation Engaged Panel Recap
Earlier this month, the State Historic Preservation Office and Preservation Utah hosted the Preservation Engaged conference in Provo. As always,…
Lexi Little
Discovered Pioneer Burials in Coalville
by Jon Baxter, Bighorn Archaeological Consultants Under our feet there are more than wooden stave pipes and mysterious bridges, sometimes…
hyarow
April Steward Spotlight
Meet Kane County Steward, Katie Wallace. Katie is a Kanab local who made her way to Utah from the Bay…
Lexi Little
Brown Bag Lecture Series 2025
Join us each Wednesday at noon (Mountain Time) in May for journey into Utah’s history! Each year, the Utah SHPO…
Elizabeth Hora
Welcome to 2024’s Archaeology and Historic Preservation Month!
Utah’s rich historical tapestry is woven with stories of ancient civilizations, pioneering settlers, and diverse cultures that have left their…
Elizabeth Hora
Utah Cultural Site Stewardship Regional Coordinators
As the Utah Cultural Site Stewardship (UCSS) Program has expanded with over 365 volunteers and 133 land managing partners, the…
Lexi Little
The Jordan Surplus Canal
Andrew Ugan, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Sacramento District. This blog is a part of an agreement under Section 106…
Zoey Nelson
2024 Summer Field School Announced!
The Utah SHPO’s Summer Field School is back for a second year! We are helping to train tomorrow’s archaeologists by…
Elizabeth Hora
A Rudder on a Ship: Research Designs in Archaeology
by Christopher W. Merritt, Ph.D. , Utah State Historic Preservation Officer Archaeology, like many scientific disciplines, relies on formal plans called…
Elizabeth Hora
Is My Property Eligible for the National Register?
On nearly a daily basis I receive inquiries from folks asking if their property qualifies for nomination to the National…
Zoey Nelson
What is the National Register and how do I Nominate a Building? Part II
By Cory Jensen, National Register Coordinator In a previous post I gave some background on what the National Register of…
Zoey Nelson
What is the National Register and how do I Nominate a Building? Part I
By Cory Jensen, National Register Coordinator As the National Register Coordinator at the Utah State Historic Preservation Office, this is…
Zoey Nelson
Stewardship Spotlight
Meet Sally Wither, a Vernal local, who is passionate about volunteering, education, and spending time exploring the unique trails around…
Lexi Little
Chinese Railroad Worker Archaeology in Utah: What Have We Learned?
Discover the archaeology of Chinese Railroad Workers in Utah through real artifacts interpreted by experts in the field. Join us…
Elizabeth Hora
Welcome Ryan!
The Utah SHPO team would like to introduce you to Ryan McGrath, our new Compliance Archaeologist. His responsibilities at SHPO…
Elizabeth Hora
July Steward Spotlight
Meet Garfield County stewards John and Marsha Holland. Both have been involved in site stewardship for years and we are…
Lexi Little
Welcome Justin!
The SHPO team is set to have a few new faces in Summer 2023, starting with one of the summer…
Elizabeth Hora
Stewardship Spotlight – April 2023
Meet Joan & Paul Joan West and Paul Magnanti are very dedicated Utah Site Stewards who call Moab home. Both…
Lexi Little
It’s All About That Base: The Wall Avenue Historic Trash Dump Discovery, Ogden, Utah
Christopher W. Merritt, Utah State Historic Preservation Officer Imagine your life without landfills, dumpsters, and collection services: where would all…
Elizabeth Hora
2022 Utah Cultural Site Stewardship Program Report
No excerpt…
Elizabeth Hora
The Rushing Water Beneath Our Feet
By Chris Elison & Sarah Sutherland, Central Utah Water Conservancy District Do you know where your water comes from? Whether…
Elizabeth Hora
The Mystery Bridge under 600 North
By Michael R. Polk, Aspen Ridge Consultants The intersection of 600 North and Pugsley Street in Salt Lake City today…
Elizabeth Hora
Trash Talk: The Denver & Rio Grande Western Trash Dump
One brisk day in November 2020, archaeologists discovered a moment frozen in time from 1890 – the heyday of luxury…
Elizabeth Hora
Cultural Compliance Series: Meet Nate Thomas from Bureau of Land Management
We asked Nate Thomas from the BLM-Utah a little bit about what he does and who he works for. Here’s…
sagardy
Cultural Compliance Series: Meet Elizabeth Giraud from UDOT
Elizbeth Giraud is freshly retired, but before she left UDOT for retirement, we caught up with her and asked a…
sagardy
Cultural Compliance Series: Meet Jenny Lund from LDS Church History
We asked Jenny Lund, Director of the Historic Sites Division for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a…
sagardy
Cultural Compliance Series: Meet Jonathan Till from Edge of the Cedars
We asked Jonathan Till from Edge of the Cedars a bit about what he does and who he works for.…
sagardy
Cultural Compliance Series: Meet Zac Nelson from Bureau of Reclamation
We asked Dr. Zac Nelson from the Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) a bit about what he does and who he…
sagardy
Welcome to the Cultural Compliance Blog Series!
Let’s talk about Section 106 and U.C.A. 9-8-404 Did you know that there are cultural resource laws and regulations that…
sagardy
Why Should I Become a Utah Cultural Site Steward?
There are lots of reasons why you should become a Site Steward with the Utah Cultural Site Stewardship Program(UCSS)! Each…
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Welcome Lexi Carson!
We’re excited to announce that Lexi (she/her) is joining the SHPO team as the new Data and Events Specialist for…
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Pintura Ditch
Prepared by Lindsey M. Evenson, Jennifer Bannick, and Everett Bassett of Transcon Environmental, Inc. for Washington County Water Conservancy District.…
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Aumento Del Reconocimiento De La Comunidad Y Los Lugares Latinos De Utah
Por Christopher Merritt, oficial de Preservación Histórica del Estado de Utah División de Historia del Estado de Utah Read in…
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Don’t Squish The Cake
Cake? Mortar? Surprisingly similar! Read to find out how mortar and historic buildings can resemble a layered cake.…
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Don’t Burn Down History!
Learn about fire and how it affects cultural resources.…
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Who Is Edith Chapman? Utah’s Early LGBTQ+ History in a Salt Lake City House
Learn more about early LGBTQ+ history in Salt Lake City, featuring a historic home near Liberty Park.…
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Governor Cox Encourages Everyone To Pledge to Protect the Past
Every year beginning around Spring Break, the state kicks off the annual “archaeological vandalism” season with a bang. In 2021,…
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Understanding Ancient Life At Utah Lake: The Culture-History of the Smith Family Archaeological Preserve
It can be hard to look at thousand year old artifacts and gather a sense of what life was like…
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Visit Sites with Respect
Written by Elizabeth Hora, Public Archaeologist Let me start off by saying thank you. You opened up this page to…
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Stewardship Updates January 2022
Moving into 2022 we have several goals to help direct the course of our program this year. One – Steward Retention and…
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Stewardship Updates December 2021
We gave out some fun awards in recognition of the fantastic first year of our program. Lucky Horseshoe Award –…
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Let That Brick Breathe!
By Amber Anderson, SHPO Tax Credit Coordinator Did you know that historic masonry is meant to breathe? Whether it be…
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UCSS Forms Preview
Below you will find the forms we require to be signed when you start as an active site steward. Don’t…
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2021 Utah Cultural Site Stewardship Program Report
No excerpt…
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Ash Creek County Wagon Road
Prepared by Lindsey M. Evenson, Jennifer Bannick, and Everett Bassett of Transcon Environmental, Inc. for Washington County Water Conservancy District.…
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Happy GIS Day!
Written by Deb Miller, SHPO Records Manager What Is GIS? GIS stands for Geographic Information Systems, which is mapping software…
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National Register Multiple Property Submissions: What are they and how can they help you nominate a building?
Written by Cory Jensen At the Utah State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) I’m frequently contacted by property owners curious about…
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Lidar Site Exclusive
Public Archaeologist Elizabeth Hora shows us some really cool Lidar scans of recent excavations at Terrace on the Transcontinental Railroad,…
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Steward Spotlight July 2021 – Dennis Weder
If you have ever had the pleasure of traveling into the West Desert with Utah Cultural Site Steward Dennis Weder,…
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Teaming Up to Record Rock Imagery
Utah SHPO, URARA, and Logan Simpson Team Up to Record Rock Imagery in Central Utah Written by Tina Hart, archaeologist…
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What is historic in West Valley City and Kearns?
By Langston Guettinger, Historic Preservation Specialist/Architectural Historian at Logan Simpson Design Only in the last twenty years has popular culture…
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Week One: Let’s Learn About Utah’s Archaeology!
This is a collection of readings about Utah’s cultural history curated for the 2021 UPAN pledge drive…
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UPAN Pledge 2021 Week 3 Resources
The following guides are just some of the amazing artifacts that are common to Utah! Each guide will show you…
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UPAN Pledge 2021 Week 2 Resource
This interactive map has all sorts of sites that you can visit! You can filter by historic, prehistoric, or even…
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Stewardship Updates May 2021
Updates for the stewardship program in May 2021 are highlighted by Coordinator Ian Wright.…
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A Colorful History: Black Rock’s History and Graffiti Woes
Christopher W. Merritt, Ph.D. Utah State Historic Preservation Officer It is unclear when the first human laid eyes upon the…
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Climbers and Archaeology
By Elizabeth Hora, Public Archaeologist at the Utah Division of State History Within the space of two weeks, I have…
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Meet Your New Coordinator
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Amy Barry
Late Archaic Period Rock Imagery
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Amy Barry
Steward Spotlight: Darrell and Marty Thomas
For this, our first ever Site Steward Spotlight, we will be spotlighting not one, but two dedicated Site Stewards. Marty…
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Become a Site Steward
The Utah Cultural Site Stewardship Program (UCSSP) is a network of professional archaeologists, federal and state agency staff, and most…
Amy Barry
Site Visitation and Sustainability in Southeast Utah
By Allison Aakre, Manti-La Sal National Forest, Shanna Diederichs, Woods Canyon Archaeological Consultants, and Donald C. Irwin, Manti-La Sal National…
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Tour of Utah’s National Historic Districts
Written by Cory Jensen, NRHP Coordinator and Chris Merritt, Utah SHPO Many Utahs and tourists do not know the depth…
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Power Up! The Columbus Power Plant in Little Cottonwood Canyon
Since at least the 1860s, entrepreneurs used the ample water supply found at the confluence of Little Cottonwood and Maybird…
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The Architecture of Hunkering Down in the 1950s & ‘60s
We have all experienced our own “hunkering down” during this pandemic year of 2020. Some 60 years ago, other Utahns…
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Saber Rattling in Strawberry Valley: The 1888 Encampment of the US Army in Utah
Written by Christopher W. Merritt, Ph.D., Utah State Historic Preservation Officer Over 900 soldiers from the Infantry, Cavalry, and Artillery…
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The Peculiar Historical and Archaeological Journey of Utah’s First House: The Devereaux Mansion
Written by Christopher W. Merritt, Ph.D. State Historic Preservation Officer How many times have you traveled South Temple in downtown…
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B-Limey! Historic Kilns in the Foothills
Written by Christopher W. Merritt, Ph.D., State Historic Preservation Officer You can see the knife-like scar in the foothills near…
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Outlaws and Artifacts: A Daggett County Partnership at the John Jarvie Ranch
Written by Chase Roberts Utah Division of State History and Christopher W. Merritt Utah State Historic Preservation Officer If you ask…
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What’s in a Name: Rock Imagery
You may have noticed that we at the State Historic Preservation Office, refer to “rock imagery” when discussing prehistoric/Indigenous petroglyphs,…
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Utah’s Prehistory in Artifacts
Written by Erin Haycock Editor’s note: The artifacts you are about to see have all been looted, or stolen. Looting…
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Preserving and Studying Utah’s Mining Heritage
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Archaeological Site Etiquette
If you’ve hiked, biked, rafted, or traveled anywhere in Utah, chances are you’ve found ancient ruins and artifacts, also…
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Utah’s Biggest Earthquake In History: And you don’t even probably know about it!
Christopher W. Merritt, Ph.D., State Historic Preservation Officer With trembles strong enough to shake “the dignity out of all judicial…
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Exploring the History and Archaeology of the Great Salt Lake’s Gunnison Island
by Arie Leefang, Archaeology Records Manager Among the collection of Great Salt Lake Islands, perhaps there is none more prized…