Chronological History of Utah

9,000 BC to about 5,500 BC Paleoindian - Clovis, Folsom, Great Basin Stemmed, Foothill-Mountain and various late Paleoindian styles. Big and small game hunters, collectors, foragers.

About 5,500 BC to about 1000 BC Archaic - Foragers and collectors, Increased use of plants; diversity of site and tool types; desert and marsh adaptations; use of pit houses; use of caves like Danger Cave, Cowboy Cave, Hogup Cave, grinding stones and seed processing. Split-twig figurines. Small family bands of hunters and gathers, very complex social and religious organization. Well adapted to live in harsh environment. Gate Cliff Series Projectile Points, Elko Series Projectile Points, Pinto, Northern Side Notched Points.

About 1000 BC to about 1300 AD Formative Late Prehistoric - Anasazi, Fremont Pit house Villages, Cliff Dwellings, Elaborate Architecture variety of ceramic styles, Farming: corn, beans, and squash.

About 1300 AD to Present - Proto-Historic and Historic Tribes


Ute


Food: Gathered plants and seeds, fished. Hunted deer, buffalo and antelope

Shelter: Teepee made from buffalo hides and tall poles; could carry like a tent

Clothing: Wore long dresses, skirts, trousers, and moccasins made from buffalo hides.

Way of Life: Groups of 200 divided into smaller family groups. Women made clothes from animal skins. Men spent most of their time hunting.


Paiute


Food: Gathered seeds, plants, and roots. Farmed corn, squash, beans, sunflowers, wheat, and melons. Fished, hunted small animals.

Shelter: Wicki-up in the winter and nothing in the summer.

Clothing: Wore little clothing.

Way of Life: Family groups of 15-30

Woven baskets used for storage, carrying water, hats, trays, and bowls.


Goshute (Gosiute)


Food: Dug for roots, gathered berries, seeds from grasses and pine trees. Used a bunch of different plants. Caught birds, crickets, mice, rabbits, insects, and lizards.

Shelter: Wicki-ups in the summer, caves and rock shelters in the winter.

Clothing: Wore little clothing and had rabbit-skin blankets.

Way of Life: Small family groups. Spent most of their time gathering food.


Shoshone (Shoshoni)


Food: Gathered roots, seeds, and pinyon nuts. Fished, hunted small animals. Raised corn, squash, and beans.

Shelter: Pit houses, Wicki-ups

Clothing: Animal skins for clothes and blankets.

Way of Life: Small family bands. Made baskets and some pottery.


Navajo (Dine?)


Food: Planted corn, beans, and squash. Hunted rabbits, prairie dogs, deer, and antelope.

Shelter: Hogans

Clothing: Animal skins and wool.

Way of Life: Close family group organized around the mother or grandmother. Weaved, farmed, silversmithed, and raised sheep and goats.


18th century


1776 - Fathers Silvestre Velez de Escalante and Francisco Atanasio Dominguez seek a new route from New Mexico to California and explore Utah.


19th century


1821 - Mexico wins independence from Spain and claims Utah.

1824 - General William H. Ashley sends trappers to northern Utah and Jim Bridger discovers the Great Salt Lake.

1826 - Jedediah Smith leads the first overland expedition to California.

1832 - Antoine Robidoux builds a trading post in the Uintah Basin.

1841 - Capt. John Bartleson leads first wagon train of settlers across Utah to California.

1843 - John C. Fremont and Kit Carson explore the Great Basin.

1844-45 - Miles Goodyear builds Fort Buenaventura.

1847 - First party of Mormon pioneers arrive in the Salt Lake Valley.

1848 - U.S. wins Mexican War and the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo is signed which cedes Utah to the United States.

1849 - Constitutional convention proposes the State of Deseret which encompasses the entire Great Basin.

1850 - U.S. Senate passes a bill providing for the organization of Utah Territory (rejecting the name Deseret and shrinking its borders).

University of Deseret (later University of Utah) is chartered).

The Deseret News starts in June.

1852 - LDS Church authorities publicly acknowledge the doctrine of plural marriage.

1853 - LDS Church begins the construction of the Salt Lake Temple.

The Walker War with the Ute Indians begins over slavery among the Indians.

1854 - Grasshopper plagues endanger crops.

1856-1860 - Handcarts are used by the pioneers traveling to Utah.

1857-1858 - Brigham Young is removed as governor by President James Buchanan who sends a 2,500-man military force to accompany the new governor Alfred Cumming to the territory, starting the Utah War.

1861 - Telegraph joins in Tooele County.

1861-1862 - Third movement for Statehood begins in December 1861.

1863 - Discovery of silver and lead in Bingham Canyon.

1865-1868 - Ute Black Hawk War last major Indian conflict in Utah.

1869 - Union Pacific and Central Pacific railroads meet on May 10 at Promontory.

First non-Mormon church building in Utah (Church of the Good Samaritan) in Corinne is constructed.

John Wesley Powell explores the Colorado River.

1871 - Dedication of First Catholic Church in Utah (St. Mary Madeleine).

1873 - Poland Act passed in Congress making it legal to prosecute Mormon for practicing polygamy.

1875 - Holy Cross Sisters open Holy Cross Hospital their first hospital in the U. S.

1879 - First telephone service established in Ogden.

1882 - Edmunds Act passed by Congress making it unlawful to cohabitate.

1887 - The Edmunds-Tucker Act is passed by Congress.

1890 - LDS Church President Wilford Woodruff issues the Manifesto ending church-sanctioned polygamy.

1891 - B'Nai Israel Temple dedicated in Salt Lake City.

1896 - Utah becomes the 45th state on January 4 and Heber M. Wells is inaugurated as the first governor.


20th century


1906 - Open pit copper mining starts in Bingham Canyon.

1909 - Discovery of Rainbow Bridge.

1911 - Strawberry Reservoir is completed.

1914 - Auto racing begins on the Bonneville Salts Flats near the Great Salt Lake.

1915 - State Capitol is completed.

1919 - Zion National Park is created.

First Salt Lake Chapter of the NAACP founded.

1928 - Bryce Canyon National Park is established.

1942-1945 - Topaz (Japanese-American Relocation Camp) operates near Delta.

1943 - Geneva steel plant begins operation in Utah County.

1952 - Six-mile Duchesne Tunnel is completed for irrigation.

1956 - Congress creates Colorado River Storage Project.

1964 - Flaming Gorge Dam on the Green River is dedicated.

Arizona's Glen Canyon Dam creates Lake Powell the nation's second largest artificial lake.

1965 - Canyonlands National Park is opened.

1985 - Jake Garn, is first U.S. Senator to fly in space.

1995 - Salt Lake City is announced as the site for the 2002 Winter Olympics.

1996 - Overcrowded highways along the Wasatch Front force the governor and Legislature to address raising taxes to pay for rebuilding of I-15 in northern Utah in time for the 2002 Winter Olympics.

Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument is created by President Clinton.

Utah celebrates its 100's birthday of Statehood. The year is filled with parades, balls, county histories and other activities to celebrate Utah's entrance into the Union.

1997 - Utah celebrates its Sesequentennial anniversary (150 year) since the Mormon pioneers entered the Salt Lake Valley. This event included a variety of local activities plus the reenactment of the pioneer wagon trail from Winter Quarters to the Salt Lake Valley.

The $1.325 billion bid is awarded to Wasatch Constructions to reconstruct 17 miles of I-15, the main corridor around Salt Lake City.

1998 - Sen. Bob Bennett, R-Utah is named chairmen of the new Senate Select Committee on the Year 2000 Technology Problem.

1999 - On August 11 a tornado ripped through downtown Salt Lake City doing over $100 million of dollars in damage.


This page was last updated Tuesday, 11-Oct-2011 09:16:27 EDT