Category Archives: Historic Preservation

Utah DAR Monuments & Markers Series Part XII: Escalante Flagpole and Monument

A thirty-foot flagpole and striking red rock monument were dedicated on Friday, November 10, 2016 at Escalante, Utah in remembrance of Utah DAR member Winnie Washburn.
That day would have been Winnie Washburn’s 99th birthday. Winnie Washburn was a member of the Bald Eagle Chapter, National Society Daughters of the American Revolution and Past Utah State Chaplain.
The dedication ceremony was presented by State Regent Brenda Reeder.  Honorary State Regent Pat Fullerton and Harriet Priska, daughter of Winnie Washburn, assisted with the dedication.
The Flagpole and Monument are overseen by the Bald Eagle Chapter in Cedar City, Utah.

Utah DAR Monuments & Markers Series Part X: Miller Park Plaque

The plaque details the importance of Red Butte Creek in the establishment of Fort Douglas and recognizes Minnie Miller for her generous contribution of land.
The land where the Miller Bird Refuge and Nature Park sits was given as a wildlife refuge in 1935 by Minnie Viele Miller in honor of her late husband, Lee Charles Miller.
Mrs. Miller was the Utah State Regent, National Society Daughters of the American Revolution from 1915-1920 and an original member of the Spirit of Liberty Chapter, Utah’s first chapter.

Red Butte Creek was a source of potable water for local use. During the 1869 grasshopper invasion, the stream was used to facilitate the destruction of the insects.

The plaque was placed in 1997 during the Centennial Year of the Daughters of the American Revolution in Utah. On Flag Day in 1998, the plaque dedication was overseen by State Regent Sue Anderson Ball.

The Plaque is overseen by the Uintah Chapter in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Utah DAR Monuments & Markers Series Part IX: Mountain Dell Plaque

On February 22, 1982, several members of the Utah State Society Daughters of the American Revolution met to see the bronze plaque commemorating the 250th anniversary of the birth of General George Washington in 1732.
The plaque was dedicated by Mrs. James “Joyce” Gordon, Uintah Chapter, NSDAR.  
The plaque is located in the Mountain Dell State Park and Golf Course next to the Washington (upper) Pavilion in Parley’s Canyon, about 15 miles east of Salt Lake City, Utah. The plaque is embedded in concrete at ground level.
Two months later, on Arbor Day, April 30, 1982 members of the Utah State Society Daughters of the American Revolution dedicated a beautiful six-foot Colorado Blue Spruce tree planted by the plaque in the Washington Park in the Mountain Dell State Park and Golf Course.
Utah State Regent Mrs. Grant Walter Schaumburg attended. Mrs. Gordon gave a short dedicatory speech and special tribute to General Washington. The Plaque is overseen by the Princess Timpanogos Chapter in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Utah DAR Monuments & Markers Series Part VIII: Real Daughter Marker

As part of Salt Lake City’s Memorial Day observance, the Spirit of Liberty Chapter, NSDAR, dedicated the grave of Mrs. Elijah Sells (Harriet Jacques Wetmore Sells) on May 10, 1936.
The re-dedication of Mrs. Sells Grave Marker and Headstone took place on May 10, 2018 under the direction of USSDAR State Regent Brenda Reeder.
Harriet Jacques Wetmore Sells was a Real Daughter. A Real Daughter is a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution who is also a daughter of a Patriot who fought or assisted the American Revolution.

Her father was Bela Wetmore, a soldier in the Revolutionary War, who served as a sixteen-year-old volunteer. He was a Private in the Third Massachusetts Regiment that served until the end of the war in 1783.

Harriet Jacques Wetmore Sells had a very eventful life.  She had a vivid recollection of the Mexican War. As a young woman, Mrs. Sells attended Ford’s Theater in Washington when President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated.
She married Elijah B. Sells, the former Iowa Secretary of State from 1857-1863 and Superintendent of Indian Affairs in Indian Territory, on May 24, 1875, at Salt Lake City. 
Mrs. Sells was known for her energy, ability, high ideals, loyalty, and love. She was the Organizing Regent of the Spirit of Liberty Chapter, Utah’s original DAR Chapter. At the age of 79, Mrs. Sells was one of forty remaining first-generation Daughters of a Patriot of the American Revolution.
Mrs. Sells had a deep interest in the Daughters of the American Revolution. The Marker is overseen by the Princess Timpanogos Chapter in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Utah DAR Monuments & Markers Series Part VII: Fur Trappers and Traders

Fur trappers and traders were often the first explorers to a region.

James Bridger discovered the Great Salt Lake in 1824 and trapped the streams of this region for many years.

Etienne Provost guided many expeditions into Utah valleys and established trading posts along the shores of the Great Salt Lake and Utah Lake.

Jedediah S. Smith made several significant journeys through Utah and publicized South Pass in Wyoming over which thousands of immigrants would later travel.

The dedication of the monument took place on the 100th Anniversary of the arrival of these honored men to the Utah Territory in August 1826.

The explorations of the fur trappers and traders began in Cache Valley and extended to the Salt Lake Valley which was rich in fur-bearing animals.

This monument was originally placed in front of the old St. Marks Hospital in Salt Lake City, Utah. Warm Springs Park in Salt Lake City, Utah is the current monument location. The Monument is overseen by the Sego Lily Chapter in Bountiful, Utah.

Utah DAR Monuments & Markers Series Part VI: Modern Irrigation Plaque

In July 1847, Utah’s pioneers arrived in the arid west from the east where rainfall supplied enough moisture for crops. One of their initial tasks was to divert water from the Salt Lake Valley streams for irrigation use. Irrigation systems were the key to cultivating crops and surviving in the desert land.

Dedicated on July 31, 1931 by the Utah State Conference Daughters of the American Revolution, the tablet was placed within the half-acre of ground first plowed as identified by pioneer William Carter who held the plow.

The tablet was affixed to a pillar and dedicated 84 years after the event in the lobby of the old Knutsford Hotel. At the time, the facility was known as the Auerbach Building and was occupied by Sears Roebuck Co. department store.

When the building was raised to make way for the Centre Theatre, the tablet was placed on the left wall inside the entrance of the theatre and rededicated on January 5, 1938.

The tablet, now in the form of a monument, is now located in front of the theatre. The Monument is overseen by the Pony Express Chapter in Lehi, Utah.

Utah DAR Monuments & Markers Series Part V: Peter Skene Ogden Monument

Peter Skene Ogden was a Canadian trapper, fur trader, and explorer of the American West. He entered the Weber Valley of Utah in 1825. The city of Ogden, Utah is named after him.

The Golden Spike Chapter, National Society Daughters of the American Revolution with a desire to honor Ogden, erected a monument to commemorate the 100th Anniversary of his arrival in the valley.

The monument was erected in 1924 with a dedication ceremony on June 14, 1926.

Mrs. Florence Root-Day Bristol was the Golden Spike Chapter Regent at the time of the dedication.

The plaque portion of the monument was updated and replaced as part of the Utah State Society Daughters of the American Revolution Regent’s Projects during the 2020-2022 Asay Administration.

The Monument is overseen by the Golden Spike Chapter, Ogden, Utah.

Utah DAR Monuments & Markers Series Part IV: Pony Express Marker

The Salt Lake Tribune Building, 143 South Main Street in Salt Lake City, Utah was formally the site of a home station for Pony Express riders. 
The long two-story structure included a veranda in front and a large livestock yard in the rear. The station was known to be one of the better facilities along the Overland Trail for food and lodging. Horace Greenly and Mark Twain were among the guests. 

In 1924, the plaque was dedicated by the Spirit of Liberty Chapter, National Society Daughters of the American Revolution in tribute to the personnel of “That Gallant Enterprise.”
The plaque was designed by Utah artist Mrs. Rhea Taylor Skelton. The plaque was wrought by the Capitol Brass Foundry.
The site of the plaque was selected under the direction of the Spirit of Liberty Chapter Regent Mrs. Glenn R. Bothwell with Mrs. Elizabeth Chrisman and James Peacock.
The Pony Express Marker is overseen by the Pony Express Chapter in Lehi, Utah and the Sego Lily Chapter in Bountiful, Utah.

Utah DAR Monuments & Markers Series Part III: Escalante Monument

This monument was dedicated on January 20, 1922 and placed by Spirit of Liberty Chapter in the northeast corner of Spanish Fork City Park to commemorate the Dominguez y Escalante Expedition of 1776 in which members searched for a route from Santa Fe, New Mexico, to the Spanish settlement in Monterey, California.

Spanish Priest-explorer, Father Silvestre Velez de Escalante arrived in Utah Valley on September 23, 1776 with his party.

Rededicated August 1, 1975, as part of a bicentennial project with the City of Spanish Fork.  The Monument is overseen by the Wasatch Range Chapter in Provo, Utah.