Utah Archives, Libraries, Historical & Genealogical Societies

Archives  •  Museums  •  Libraries  •  Periodicals  •  Historical & Genealogical Societies

It is recommended to familiarize your self with any repository in Utah that you simply might drop by by getting in touch with to the appropriate archive or library before you go.

Most, if not all, Utah repositories contain published materials that show its collections as well as research policy.

Utah archives and historical associations generally have Internet web sites that provide identical information and facts. Quite a few perhaps contain downloadable resources for some or parts within their collections.

Utah Archives

  • National Archives-Rocky Mountain Region, Denver Federal Center, Building 48, West 6th Avenue and Kipling Street, Denver, Colorado 80225-0307. States covered are Colorado, Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, Wyoming; Mailing Address: P.O. Box 25307, Denver, Colorado 80225-0307; Tel: 303-236-0817, E-mail: denver.archives@nara.gov, Fax: 303-236-9297
  • Salt Lake County Archives, 2001 S. State St., Ste. 4400, Salt Lake City, UT 84190-1020; The Salt Lake County Archives was established in 1986 as a unit of the Records Management and Archives program. It preserves the historical records of Salt Lake County, provides access to researchers, and ensures that historical evidence and governmental accountability is maintained. Significant holdings include Property Appraisal Cards (1936–87) and Photographs of Historic Buildings of Salt Lake City (1936–75).
  • Southern Utah University, Sherratt Library–Special Collections, 351 W. Center St., Cedar City, UT 84720; The Special Collections is a regional history collection of the southwestern Utah area. “SUUper” Search is a full-search tool for information available in manuscript and photographic collections. Many photographs have also been digitized and are available online.
  • Utah State Archives and Records Service, 346 South Rio Grande, Salt Lake City, UT 84101; Mailing Address: P.O. Box 141021, Salt Lake City, UT 84114-1021; The Utah State Archives permanently preserves and provides access to the records of enduring value created by Utah state, county, and municipal governments. Public records and documents may be used at the Research Room. Various finding aids including online research guides, catalogs, inventories, and indexes assist researchers. There is no fee for reference service; however, photocopying and mailing costs are charged. In 1999, the state archives initiated a cooperative ongoing program to microfilm historical records in Utah’s cities and towns, school districts, and selected county and court records. This microfilm is available at the Utah State Archives and designated regional centers (Utah State University and Southern Utah University). New rolls of microfilm are added weekly. The state archives and state historical society will share a reading room after December 2004.
    • Utah, State Archives Records, 1848-2001 (familysearch.org) Images of various record types held by the Utah State Archives. Record types include civil and criminal case files, divorce records, probate case files and naturalization records for Beaver, Box Elder, Carbon, Davis, Emery, Garfield, Grand, Iron, Juab, Kane, Piute, Salt Lake, San Juan, Sanpete, Sevier, Summit, Tooele, Wasatch, and Weber counties. Coverage of record type and date range varies by county. This collection will also include cemetery records for Beaver, Charleston, Fillmore, Garland, Glenwood, Grantsville, Hyrum, Junction, Kaysville, Marysville, Midvale, Murray, Paragonah, Salt Lake City, Scipio, and Spring City. This collection is being published as images become available.
  • University of Utah, Special Collections, Marriott Library, Salt Lake City, UT 84112; The Special Collections acquires and makes available books, periodicals, oral histories, photographs, films, and original materials documenting Utah history, Mormon history, Native Americans, and the West. Its holdings are listed on the library’s online catalog at <www.lib.utah.edu/information/unis>. Significant collections include the records of local churches (e.g., Episcopal Church Archives) and Sanborn maps. These largescale maps (1867–1969) were created for fire insurance agents and depict the commercial, industrial, and residential sections of various Utah (and other western states) cities. The Sanborn Digitization Project makes some of these maps available online at <www.lib.utah.edu/digital/Sanborn/browse.html>.
  • Utah State University, Special Collections and Archives, Merrill Library, Logan, UT 84322; The Special Collections focuses on Mormon history and the Cache Valley (Utah-Idaho) region. Two notable collections include the extensive Leonard J. Arrington Collection and the Cache County Archives (1860–1939). Cache County records include probate court and property tax records. Many of these records have been microfilmed and are also available at the Utah State Archives. The Special Collections website contains a guide for genealogists and family historians.
  • LDS Church Historical Department, Church Office Building, 50 E. North Temple, Salt Lake City, UT 84150; In addition to the Church’s library, there is a large church archives department containing many records not at the FHL. Among them are diaries of early Utah settlers and an extensive collection of official church records. For a clear discussion of the department’s holdings, see Glenn N. Rowe, “The Historical Department and the LDS Church,” in David J. Whittaker, Mormon Americana: A Guide to Sources and Collections in the United States (Provo, Utah: BYU Studies, 1995).
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Utah Museums

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Utah Libraries

  • Family History Library, Genealogical Society of Utah, 35 N. West Temple, Salt Lake City, UT 84150; Every researcher should know of the Family History Library (FHL), operated under the auspices of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and situated in Salt Lake City. The collection, owned and maintained by the Genealogical Society of Utah, is of unparalleled importance in the field of family history and is one of the foremost accumulations of records, books, microfilm, microfiche, maps, manuscript, biographies, etc., in the world. For anyone doing genealogical research, a trip to Salt Lake City can be extremely productive since so much is available in one place. If this is not feasible, there are numerous Family History Centers operated by local LDS branch libraries in towns and cities all over the world.
  • Public Pioneer—Utah State Library, 250 N. 1950 W., Ste A, Salt Lake City, UT 84116-7901; Public Pioneer is a virtual library created by the Utah State Library Division in cooperation with Utah’s libraries. It is one component of the statewide Pioneer Project, which serves Utah’s public schools and academic institutions, as well as patrons of public libraries. Public Pioneer offers a portal to carefully selected Internet sites and creates an information center for Utah researchers.
  • Brigham Young University, Harold B. Lee Library, Provo, UT 84601; The university’s Special Collections houses rare and unique publications, manuscripts, and archival materials emphasizing Mormon and Western Americana. Its holdings are listed on the library’s online catalog.“Trail of Hope: Overland Diaries and Letters, 1846–1869” is a significant digital collection of the original writings of forty-nine voyagers on Mormon, California, Oregon, and Montana trails who wrote during their travels <http://overlandtrails.lib.byu.edu/>.
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Utah Periodicals

Genealogical journals offer you various sources of information, they might be overlooked by family history and genealogy researchers and genealogist in researching for family history. The majority regional and county genealogical and/or historical societies issue periodicals which have records referring to the region or locality they operate. Quite often these publications offer articles pertaining to records that aren't readily available elsewhere.

  • Utah Historical Quarterly - Utah Historical Society. Providing good historical context of Utah research, the publication
    also evaluates source material for genealogical and local history research. The society’s The Utah History Suite Edition 3 (1999), CD-ROM by Historical Views contains most issues of the Quarterly, plus all 29 centennial county histories.
  • Genealogical Journal - Utah Genealogical Association. Not restricted to articles on Utah genealogy, the publication
    is of national interest including methodology and source material from all over the world.
  • Utah Genealogical and Historical Magazine - Genealogical Society of Utah. Published between 1910 and 1940, its articles were not limited to Utah or Mormon genealogy.
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Utah Historical & Genealogical Societies

For nearly each and every Utah there's a Utah genealogical society, a Utah genealogical council, or both. Together with their own work, Utah-level groups sometimes help synchronize the efforts of local societies around the Utah. Their particular publications, newsletters and quarterlies, supplement those published through the local societies.

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