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Book Notices
Historic Photos of Salt Lake City.
By Jeff Burbank. (Nashville, TN, and Paducah, KT: Turner Publishing Company, 2008. x + 205 pp. Cloth, $39.95.)
Jeff Burbank, English instructor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, has drawn from the Library of Congress, J. Willard Marriott Library, and the Utah State Historical Society dozens of historic black and white photographs of Salt Lake City including Sugar House. The book is divided into four chapters: “From Mormon Enclave to American City (1880-1905)”; “New Buildings, New Streets, New Faces (1906-1919)”; “The Depression Stalls Public Improvements (1920-1939)”; and “Suburban Growth and Presidential Visits (1940-1968).” The author has written a short two page essay for each section.
Ogden.
By John Sillito and Sarah Langsdon. (Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing, 2008.126 pp. Paper, $19.99.)
In this collaborative work by John Sillito, curator, and Sarah Langsdon, associate curator of special collections at Weber State University, the authors have selected 225 photographs accompanied by informative captions to illustrate Ogden’s diverse history. With the photographs included in nine separate chapters–the last being a collection of about twenty postcards depicting scenes from Ogden’s past–the vibrance of the city is reflected in photographs of street scenes, public buildings and private residences, commercial activities, transportation facilities, and views from nearby Ogden Canyon. Individual and group photographs include everyone from World War I soldiers and World War II German prisoners of war, baseball stars who had their beginnings in Ogden, famous writers and artists, commercial and civic leaders, to residents of Ogden’s infamous 25th Street.
Early San Juan County.
By LaVerne Tate. (Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing, 2008.126 pp. Paper, $19.99.)
Since it was organized in 1982, the San Juan County Historical Society has collected thousands of historical photographs. San Juan County native, La Verne Tate, has compiled this volume on early San Juan County from the extensive collection. San Juan County was first settled by Hole-in-the-Rock pioneers who reached the site of Bluff in April 1880. Chapter one includes photographs of the early fort and cabins at Bluff; a later chapter looks at the substantial rock homes built in Bluff during the ensuing decades. Other chapters illustrate farming and ranching, freighting and timber harvesting, the gold rush on the San Juan River during the 1890s, the extraction of oil during the first decade of the twentieth century, Native American weavers and silversmiths, trading posts, and early merchandising endeavors. Community life is depicted in photographs of churches, schools, and recreation.
Green River and the Gunnison Valley.
By Jo Anne Chandler and Annalee Thayn.(Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing, 2008. 126 pp. Paper, $21.99.)
The crossing of the Green River at this location was an important landmark on the Old Spanish Trail. Captain John W. Gunnison crossed here in 1853 while conducting a reconnaissance survey for construction of a transcontinental railroad. In 1869 John Wesley Powell floated past the site during his epic voyage down the Green and Colorado Rivers. In 1883 the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad constructed a bridge across the river in completing the railroad between Denver and Salt Lake City. Jo Anne Chandler and Annalee Thayn of the Green River Archives have collected a treasure chest of historic photographs from Green River and the surrounding area. Their book uses a thematic framework to present this fine collection. The seven chapters are devoted to individuals who came from all points of the compass to Green River, scenery and recreation, cowboys and farmers, transportation, homes and businesses, education and religion, and the John Wesley Powell River History Museum, which was constructed in 1990 and now houses the Green River Archives.