Moab Museum | BLOG
In 1921, Harry Goulding and his wife, Leone (affectionately nicknamed “Mike”), purchased 640 acres near Monument Valley. In their early years, they lived in a tent while trading with the Navajo people. By 1928, they had constructed a stone trading post, which included an upstairs apartment where they lived. Today, the building serves as a…
In 1963, the completion of Glen Canyon Dam marked a turning point in the history of the Colorado River. At its height, Lake Powell stored over 27 million acre-feet of water, but water levels sit at just below 9 million-acre feet at present. The Lake faces historic low water levels due to prolonged drought and…
Highway 191, a route deeply woven into Moab’s history, reflects a century of transformation. In 1912, a 620-foot-long, triple-span steel bridge was built over the Colorado River at a cost of $43,000, just a short distance from today’s modern bridge. Prior to the bridge a variety of ferry services brought people and goods from one…
The Radium King Mine, located in the Red Canyon Mining District, San Juan, Utah is encompassed within the current boundaries of the Bears Ears National Monument. Owned by Atlas Minerals Corp. during the time of its operation, miners extracted uraninite, pyrite, and chalcocite ores from the Chinle Formation (Shinarump Member). These miners ride ore carts…
The Newcomer’s Club was originally organized by a local woman who went to the various businesses and offered to introduce them and their products to new people arriving in the community. The Times-Independent, for example, gave a six-month free subscription as part of the Welcome Package. There were also social events such as this dance…
The UMTRA site (Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action Project), managed by the Department of Energy is a familiar site along the highway driving into or leaving town to the North. Where the pile now lies, the Atlas Mill once stood–one of the very few privately-funded uranium processing sites in America, which operated from 1956 (1962 owned…
Built in 1896 by F.B. Hammond, the Hammond and Sons Mercantile was among the first of the highly competitive general merchandise stores in the burgeoning town of Moab. Hammond was a rancher and a banker and his sons went on to become some of early Moab’s movers and shakers. At one point, the store was totally rebuilt…
Through this fall and winter, the Museum is proud to exhibit Topaz Stories: Remembering the Japanese American Incarceration in tandem with A Moab Prison Camp, lending a state-wide perspective to this dark period of American history during WWII. The Friends of Topaz collected numerous oral histories and personal reminiscences from survivors and descendants, however not all are currently…
Through this fall and winter, the Museum is proud to exhibit Topaz Stories: Remembering the Japanese American Incarceration in tandem with A Moab Prison Camp, lending a state-wide perspective to this dark period of American history during WWII. The Friends of Topaz collected numerous oral histories and personal reminiscences from survivors and descendants, however not all are currently…
Through this fall and winter, the Museum is proud to exhibit Topaz Stories: Remembering the Japanese American Incarceration in tandem with A Moab Prison Camp, lending a state-wide perspective to this dark period of American history during WWII. The Friends of Topaz collected numerous oral histories and personal reminiscences from survivors and descendants, however not all are currently…
A complete list of Moab History columns can be found in the Moab Sun News