Utah State History mulls ‘full circle’ name change, new ways to tell stories at 125

By Carter Williams

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    SALT LAKE CITY (KSL) — As Utahns prepared for Pioneer Day celebrations 125 years ago, Gov. Heber Wells and representatives from all over the state gathered at a Salt Lake City hotel on July 22, 1897, to create the Utah State Historical Society.

The relatively new state was gearing up for a massive celebration to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the arrival of pioneers with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Salt Lake Valley and wanted an organization that kept track of Utah’s story.

“(It) shall have for its objects the encouragement of historical research and inquiry by the exploration and investigation of aboriginal monuments and remains, the collection of such material as may serve to illustrate the growth of Utah and the Intermountain region, the preservation in a permanent depository of manuscripts, documents, papers and tracts of value,” the Salt Lake Herald-Republican wrote, in an article published one day before the meeting.

This society still exists 125 later, though it became a branch within the Utah Division of State History after the agency was created in 1967.

Now, all these years later, the division is looking to return to its origin as it looks toward the future. Jennifer Ortiz, the division’s director, told KSL.com that her team is currently holding different focus groups as they test out the possibility of rebranding back to the Utah State Historical Society, though the final decision would have to come from state leaders.

While she expects “pushback” because of change, she believes the name better serves what the division does today. She adds most states use “historical society” over “division,” as well.

“This is a really a return to our roots, but better,” she said. “We’re now telling much more complex and nuanced stories. We have so many more resources than we did 125 years ago, and what an incredible opportunity to pay homage to the founding of the Utah State Historical Society. … I love the idea of it coming full circle, as this beautiful opportunity to rethink and reimagine who and what the Utah State Historical Society is moving (into the future).”

Finding new ways to tell Utah’s story The name change isn’t the only reason for these focus groups, however. Division officials are also crafting a comprehensive five-year strategic plan that aims to highlight future state history programs and new ways to tell Utah’s story today. It’s the first plan of its kind in at least a decade.

Ortiz’s goal sounds very much like the first meeting of the Utah State Historical Society, in that she wants programs to tell Utah’s story. But Utah’s story has expanded in the past 125 years and it’s much more than just the arrival of the pioneers.

It’s known now that humans have used Utah’s land for at least 13,000 years. There are also plenty of new resources that allow the telling of stories since then, from Native American groups to the arrival of the Latter-day Saint pioneers. Utahns have held an important role in women’s suffrage, equal rights, the railroads, mining and entertainment and so much more. All of this is on top of all the natural history the state has to offer.

“This plan is going to map out where the opportunities and where there are gaps currently in our services that we can start moving toward,” Ortiz said. “We fully realize that, as a state institution, we need to appeal to as many people and work with as many people across the state as possible. The public is our audience.”

Division officials invited KSL.com to listen in on the first of these focus groups last week, which featured many Utah historians, including representatives of organizations like Preservation Utah, the Utah Museums Association, Better Days and Sons of Utah Pioneers, as well as Darren Parry, the former chairman of the Northwest Band of the Shoshone Nation.

Those who participated agreed that history provides an important role today, especially in providing context to current issues. Jodi Graham, the executive director of the nonprofit Utah Humanities, added that history can also offer empathy and understanding that can help ease fears that people have regarding the marginalization of populations.

“Telling those stories is critically important,” she said. “And state history, specifically, is like the resource for history in the state. It is the expert, the keeper of the knowledge.”

But those who participated also said there are challenges that teachers of history face, including politics and reaching those who don’t have an interest.

“The challenge for me is … (to) fight against people who don’t want to talk about hard things,” Perry said, adding he is also concerned that Native American voices are lost because their percentage of the population has declined over time.

Another challenge, especially in the eyes of preservation groups, is the loss of historical buildings in recent years to make way for Utah’s record population growth.

The focus group ultimately collectively agreed they believe there is plenty of interest in learning about history, though it may not always be through literature. Genealogy remains popular in Utah and there have been many Utah history-themed podcasts or social media accounts that have emerged in the past decade.

It’s moving beyond thinking of history as just memorizing dates and times, Ortiz said.

“(History) is about people’s experiences and personal stories,” she said. “The work that we’re moving toward is really doubling down on the value of not just scholarship and research work in that regard, but history work redefined as a community experience and community stories (like) oral histories or storytelling traditions. They are just as important and history-based as research work, it’s just a different kind of history.”

Utah Division of State History officials plan on conducting similar community listening sessions across the state next month, as they collect feedback for future Utah history themes to feature and new ways to highlight them.

Utah history’s big future The plan ultimately will lead up to the opening of the new Museum of Utah at the Utah Capitol complex, which is expected to be completed by 2026. That means what is detailed in the plan may indicate what is put on display when it does finally open.

While most of what will be on display will likely come from the state’s vast history collection, which has never fully been on display before, Ortiz said that the division — or historical society — may coordinate with other museums in the state for items that will be on display when it’s open.

“We’re absolutely thinking about programming for the Museum of Utah,” she said. “Our staff at State History are already envisioning and imagining how this space, this building contribute to amplifying the work we’re already doing and where there are opportunities to double down on that.”

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