Utah Trivia & Tidbits

Looking for Utah trivia? Try our list Utah little know facts, tidbits and trivia.

The Royal Hotel in Ogden (pop. 77,226) was built in 1914 to provide housing to blue-collar railroad workers as well as travelers. But in 1935, the three-story hotel was purchased by an immigrant from Spain and began catering to Basques working in the local sheep industry. A similarly sized building built directly behind the hotel was used for the game of jai-alai, a traditional Basque ball game. Today, the historic hotel is an apartment building, with the jai-alai building serving as parking for tenants.

first appeared: 10/18/2009

The Cleveland-Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry near Price (pop. 8,402) is one of the world's foremost dinosaur fossil sources. More than 12,000 individual bones and at least one dinosaur egg have come from the prolific fossil bed. Visitors to the quarry can see a complete Allosaur skeletal reconstruction and a Stegosaur wall mount, as well as actual bones in the ground as paleontologists continue to explore the site that was declared a National Natural Landmark in 1966.

first appeared: 10/4/2009

The unincorporated community of Dutch John in Daggett County (pop. 921) began as a government town in the late 1950s as a housing area for workers constructing nearby Flaming Gorge Dam and Reservoir. Entirely surrounded by the Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area, the town now is home to federal, state and local government employees as well as other residents. Dutch John was privatized in 1998, allowing private ownership of homes and property.

first appeared: 9/20/2009

The earliest Europeans to visit Utah were Spanish explorers. Juan Maria Antonio Rivera led the way in 1765, followed in 1776 by an exploration led by Franciscan friars Francisco Dominguez and Silvestre Velez de Escalante. Half a century passed before the second wave of adventurers and fortune seekers arrived in search of beaver. Mountain men such as Jim Bridger, Etienne Provost, Miles Goodyear and Jedediah Smith explored the area, trapped and traded for furs, mingled with the Indians, and gave dozens of names to the area's geographical features.

first appeared: 9/6/2009

In 1985, Sen. Edwin Jacob "Jake" Garn became the first elected official to fly in space while holding office. Garn, born in 1932 in Richfield (pop. 6,847), served in the U.S. Navy as a pilot, was a member of the Utah Air National Guard, served three terms in the U.S. Senate, and flew as a payload specialist on the shuttle Discovery April 12-19, 1985.

first appeared: 8/23/2009

Many people see Bryce Canyon from the rim, but the national park also offers more than 50 miles of hiking trails, as well as horse and mule paths. Trail lengths range from less than a mile for day hikes to 20 miles for overnight backcountry trips. The catch: Most hikes begin at the top of the canyon, which means the return trip is uphill.

first appeared: 8/9/2009

Grosvenor Arch, a stone formation in Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument south of Cannonville (pop. 148), is a graceful double arch that soars 152 feet into the air. Documented in the 1940s during a National Geographic Society Expedition, the arch was named for the society's famous editor and president, Gilbert Grosvenor (1875-1966).

first appeared: 7/26/2009

—In the late 1800s, John Wesley Wolfe, a disabled Civil War veteran, and his son built a homestead in what is now Arches National Park. A weathered log cabin, root cellar and corral remain as evidence of the primitive ranch they operated for more than a decade. The area near the Wolfe cabin became a national monument in 1929 and was made a national park in 1971.

first appeared: 7/12/2009

—Hard hit by the Great Depression, Utah made good use of the Civilian Conservation Corps, established in 1933 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The state had 116 CCC camps, each employing about 200 men. Between 1933 and 1942 (when the CCC was discontinued), workers planted trees; worked to control erosion; built dams, bridges and roads; constructed forest ranger stations; and developed or improved campsites all over the state.

first appeared: 6/28/2009

—According to legend, Dead Horse Point State Park near Moab (pop. 4,779) got its name because cowboys used a portion of the narrow neck of canyon land called the point to corral mustangs, then choose the horses they wanted. It's said that once, for some unknown reason, the horses were left corralled in the canyon on the waterless point, where they died of thirst.

first appeared: 6/14/2009

—John Moses Browning, born in 1855 in Ogden (pop. 77,226), may well be the world's most famous firearms inventor. He is credited with 128 gun patents; the first was granted in 1879. Among the most famous guns he produced were the 45-caliber pistol, the 1895 Colt Peacemaker machine gun, the Browning automatic rifle, a variety of 30- and 50-caliber machine guns used in World War II, and the Browning Automatic-5 shotgun, first made in 1902 and still produced today.

first appeared: 5/31/2009

—A friendly competition between squadrons at Hill Air Force Base, south of Ogden (pop. 77,226), resulted in the creation of a 14-foot Christmas tree made completely of donated cans of food. Decorated with other food items, toys and clothing, the tree was created by the 523rd Electronics Maintenance Group and won the "most creative" award in the base's annual competition. The more than 2,200 items used to create the tree were donated to local charities for the 2008 holidays.

first appeared: 5/17/2009

—It could be said that Utah constitutes the roof of America. The state's lowest point, at Beaver Dam Wash, is 2,350 feet above sea level, and the average elevation of the highest peaks in Utah's 29 counties is 11,222 feet, higher than the same average in any other state.

first appeared: 5/3/2009

–In 1923, the state legislature empowered the State Road Commission to patrol the highways of the state. Beginning with just two officers, the patrol expanded when its first "commander," Col. R. Whitney Groo, was assigned to organize the state's traffic police into patrols and became known as the State Road Police Patrol. In 1933, the organization was named the Utah Highway Patrol.

first appeared: 4/19/2009

—Sevier Lake in west Millard County (pop. 12,405) is dry most of the year, with water from the Sevier River being heavily diverted for irrigation. The last time the lake held water for more than a brief period was in the 1980s, when unusual snow-melt runoff and flooding in the Sevier River raised it to record levels-temporarily making it Utah's second largest lake.

first appeared: 4/5/2009

—In the late 1800s a single mother from Virgin (pop. 394) faced numerous trials, but always persevered. Alice Parker Isom was widowed at the age of 37, leaving her with eight children to raise alone. She continued to run her late husband's store, took in boarders when oil was discovered nearby, purchased a sawmill, and made sure her children were educated. Despite going into debt during the Panic of 1907, she was still working and solvent again by 1922.

first appeared: 3/22/2009

—Seeking a respite from the cold northern Utah winters, Brigham Young, the Mormon Church’s second president, often spent the winter months in the 1870s at his home in St. George (pop. 49,663). Built in 1871, with a front addition completed in 1873, the home now is a museum run by the Mormon Church.

first appeared: 3/8/2009

—Beginning in Kamas (pop. 1,274), U.S. Highway 150—also known as Mirror Lake Scenic Byway—has been called one of America’s most beautiful high mountain drives. The paved highway climbs to an elevation of 10,687 feet at Bald Mountain Pass, affording spectacular views of the Uinta Mountains, then descends past Mirror Lake and ends in Wyoming. The road is open June through mid-October.

first appeared: 2/22/2009

—Soldier Summit, a mountain pass in the Wasatch Mountains, takes its name from a group of soldiers caught in a snowstorm in July 1861. Several died in the storm and are buried at the site. Today, the town at the summit of the pass is abandoned, but still popular with tourists traveling U.S. Route 6 and passengers on the Union Pacific Railroad.

first appeared: 2/8/2009

—In 1893, the Mormon Church built Saltair Resort, an amusement park north of Magna (pop. 22,770) that was designed by architect Richard Kletting, who also designed the Utah Capitol building. The park’s initial popularity—especially for swimming in the Great Salt Lake and dancing—waned during the 20th century, particularly due to a series of fires, but it was restored and rededicated in 1993.

first appeared: 1/11/2009

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