Horace H. Voss, Mayor of Franklin Avenue

Horacious “Horace” H. Voss (1863-1906) was one the political and civic leaders of SLC’s historically Black neighborhood of Franklin Ave, now known as Edison St. 

I refer to him as the unofficial mayor of Franklin Ave. The neighborhood had several prominent leaders who were all active in civics, newspapers, religious organizations, and politics, but Voss was unique in a couple specific aspects: he was the first person of color to serve as a Legislative Officer and owned real estate.

Horace H. Voss. I refer to him as the unofficial mayor of Franklin Ave, Salt Lake City.

Originally from Tennessee, Voss spent a few years in Kansas City, Missouri, before arriving in SLC in 1891.

He quickly became involved with Salt Lake’s small, but active, Black community. He was one of the vocal leaders of the Black Republicans, helped organize the annual Emancipation Day celebrations, was a trustee of Salt Lake's Trinity African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church, and was a member of several Black fraternal lodges. 

Notably, Voss was the first person of color to serve as a Legislative Officer in Utah. In 1903 he was appointed to serve as Doorkeeper, a position granted to him by the Utah Republican Party for “delivering the Black Vote.”  This type of appointment was something that the Black community fought for, especially since the position commonly offered was that of dog catcher, a thankless and difficult City position.

Although Edison Street recorded 100% Black residents in the early 1900s, Voss, and his wife Lizzie, were the only Black people to own property in this neighborhood. He owned houses at 254 and 254 ½ S. Edison Street. (Of note there were other Black property owners in Millcreek and on the outskirts of SLC).

Voss was killed on Edison Street in 1906.  A day after stopping an attack on an elderly man, the assailant lured Voss into a boarding house and shot him in an act of revenge for interfering the day prior. His murder was national news with many newspapers tracking each development of the trial of his killer.

His funeral was held at the First Methodist Church on the corner of 200 East and 200 South as it was larger than the AME Church. Both Black and White people attended his funeral, the 24th Infantry Band from Fort Douglas played, and it featured choir performances and speeches. Horace Voss’s mother arrived at the funeral from Tennessee as it was underway. He is buried at Mount Olivet Cemetery.

Historic Utah Capitol Building Lion Now on Redwood Road

Have you ever noticed this Lion in front of Ron Case Roofing at 440 S Redwood Road SLC? It is one of the original 4 lions that were installed at the Utah State Capitol in 1917 and restored by Ralphael Plescia (founder of the famed Christian School at 1324 State St) in 1976.

Lion in front of Ron Case Roofing at 440 S Redwood Road SLC (June 2023).

Lion in front of Ron Case Roofing at 440 S Redwood Road SLC (June 2023).

Lion in front of Ron Case Roofing at 440 S Redwood Road SLC (June 2023).

 
The 4 original lions were removed from the capitol in 1999 and were deemed too deteriorated for repair (but see below). The lions were sold at a surplus auction and Lagoon purchased 3 of them for about $16K while SLC business owner Ron Case outbid Lagoon on the 4th (and largest) with his bid of about $8K.

The 4 lions were sculpted in 1917 by Gavin Jack who had convinced Richard Kletting, architect of the State Capitol Building, that lions should flank the entrances to the Utah Capitol Building. He was awarded an $800 (about $20K in 2024 money) contract to carve and cast the lions in concrete, which were placed on the east and west entrances of the building.

Original lions by Gavin Jack at State Capitol Building, ca 1920s. Image from USHS.

Original lions by Gavin Jack at State Capitol Building. Image from USHS.

Gavin Jack grew up in Manti and had both art and engineering experience. In the 1880s he traveled to NYC and studied at the Cooper Institute and the Art Students League working with Augustus Saint-Gaudens. He also studied art and lived in Dresden and Paris for several years. And he worked with concrete during the construction of the Panama Canal.

Gavin Jack. Original creator of the Utah Capitol lions. Image from familysearch.

 
Jack was rather popular in his day earning many commissions, painting portraits of prominent citizens, painting for the theater stage, painting a mural in the old Manti North Ward LDS Chapel (now demolished), and did sculpture work at the Columbia Exposition World’s Fair. His wife Sarah was a concert pianist who had also worked in France and Germany.

In 1969 the State decided to remove the lions due to wear, but also probably because famed sculptor and founder of the University of Utah Fine Arts Dept, Dr. Avard Fairbanks, criticized Gavin Jack as “an obscure sculptor and have no value as art…there is no need to save them.” He further insisted that Gavin Jack was just someone who tried to do something with art; and, he mistakenly said that Jack had no formal training. Many members of the public, and famed local artist Mabel Frazer, pushed back on this opinion and defended the lions and Gavin Jack. Ultimately, the state quietly dropped the whole proposal and there wasn’t any money appropriated for any of it.

Plescia restored the lions in 1976. The Utah Legislature had appropriated $50K to restore the lions but Plescia convinced officials to hire him to do the job at a cost not to exceed $3K. Plescia’s restoration used a latex and cement mixture to restore missing parts a fill in the cracks. After studying other lion sculptures and visiting the lions at the zoo, Plescia decided to depart from the original lion design to achieve a more natural-looking animal. At the time that Plescia took on the lion project, he was 5 years into his Christian School project, which he called “the Museum” and was intended to be a restaurant with liquor and entertainment.

Raphael Plescia with a restored lion in 1976.  Image from SpacesArchive.

 

Raphael Plescia with a restored lion in 1985. From The Salt Lake Tribune Oct 4 1985.

The issue with the deterioration of the lions was renewed in 1999 when restoration work began on the Utah State Capitol Building and the lions were removed because of work being done on the steps. In 2007, 4 new lions were commissioned from British master carver Nick Fairplay who sculpted them out of Italian marble; they were installed at the State Capitol in 2008.

When the old lions went up for public auction in 2009, Capitol Preservation Board executive director David Hart was quoted in a KSL article as saying that at auction the lions might get “maybe a buck” and “they are of no value to us.”

But of course, between the Lagoon and Ron Case purchases, the sale of the 4 lions equated to about $24K, which is about $500K in 1917 dollars… so the state made a 99% net profit when accounting for inflation.

SLC business owner Ron Case outbid Lagoon on the 4th (and largest) lion. In a 2016 interview on Fox13’s Uniquely Utah series, Ron Case said he didn’t want the lion to leave SLC and that Salt Lake’s Westside was worthy of a “lion size portion of pride.”

The Lagoon Lions have been restored and are proudly on display in front of Cannibal. Ron Case gave an interview to Fox13 in 2016 in which he stated he does not intend to restore the lion as it is art and history just as it is. 

You can see the Ron Case lion on the west side of 440 S Redwood Road SLC. 

You can see the Lagoon lions near the Cannibal roller coaster.

Restored lions at Lagoon. Image from familysearch.

Restored lions at Lagoon. Image from familysearch.

Sources:

• Lagoon buys 3 Utah State Capitol lion statues, KSL.com, Oct 9 2009
• Uniquely Utah: The fate of the Capitol’s final lion, Fox 13, July 24 2016
• Hobbyist is a fix-it man, Deseret News July 10 1976
• State Will Dispose of Old Pair of Lions, Deseret News April 22 1969
• State Capitol Sculptor Painted in Orangeville, Emery County Progress Feb 6 1975
• The return of Gavin Jack: Paintings will grace library, The Manti Messenger Sept 4 1986
• Capitol Guardians to Retire, 52 Years Erode Their Value, Salt Lake Tribune April 22 1916

Salt Lake City in 1962

As usual, while looking for information on something specific I find something else interesting!

Check out these photos from 1962 of SLC. They are a part of the Edmund L. Mitchell collection at the Boston Public Library (link below).

A few of these images are relevant to changes recently announced, and others are just neat to look at.

Beehive House 1962. The LDS Church has recently announced that it plans to renovate the Beehive House, Lion House, and Joseph Smith Memorial Building (old Hotel Utah) in 2023. Per the Church News website, plans are to address structural deficiencies and preservation of aging finishes. As these buildings are local historic landmarks, the SLC Historic Landmark Commission will provide oversite.

Boy Scouts logo in flowers and grass 1962. The LDS Church announced plans to demolish the Boy Scouts building at 525 Foothill Dr. No specific plans for what will replace the building.

South Main Street 1962. I like this image because it shows a walkable downtown and a good view of a historic (now removed) Sanitary Drinking Fountain that was installed in the 1910s (White pillar-looking thing) and a Fire Call Box (Red pillar thing) behind the guy in the forefront.

Detail on fountain and fire call box.

View from State Capitol 1962. This image shows the rebuilding of the historic Salt Lake City Council Hall (now Utah Tourism Office), which was relocated when the Wallace F. Bennett building was constructed. Also, check out that wasted water!

View from State Capitol 1962. Cool looking bus and a nice array of cars.

Direct Link to SLC portion of the Edmund L Mitchell Collection at Boston Public Library: https://www.digitalcommonwealth.org/search?f%5Bname_facet_ssim%5D%5B%5D=Mitchell%2C+Edmund+L.%2C+1905-1981&f%5Bsubject_geographic_sim%5D%5B%5D=Salt+Lake+City

KUTV #BelongingInUtah showcases H.H. Voss (and me!)

Look how giddy I am as I talk with KUTV reporter Jamie McGriff about H.H. Voss, a political leader of the SLC Black community at the turn of the last century.

H.H. Voss was (likely) the first Black person to serve as an officer of the Utah Legislature.

He served as a Doorman in the 1903 legislature which, as a Black person, was probably the highest rank he was allowed to achieve.

Voss was the unofficial "mayor" of Franklin Ave, now known as Edison Street, a mid-block alley just east of the Gallivan Center which was the center of SLC's Black community before it was overtaken by gentrification in the early 1900s.

He was a leader of the SLC Black Republicans (remember, Republicans were the progressive party at this time) and he helped "deliver the Black votes" for Republican candidates and issues.

He was rewarded with an official position in the 1903 Utah Legislature, probably the first Black person to be an officer of the legislature. I will need to tell more of his story later.

This is a part of KUTV's #BelongingInUtah series:

Watch here: Local historian tracks down unique piece of Black history at Utah State Capitol

Representative Sandra Hollins and KUTV reporter Jamie McGriff at the Utah State Capitol Building, May 2022.  

The photographs of the 1903 Utah State Legislature. H.H. Voss's photo is in the lower left corner with the other Officers of the House. 

The 5th Utah State Legislature was in session in 1903.

H.H. Voss, an Officer of the Utah House of Representatives in the 1903 State Legislature. He was Doorman.

Utah's Division of Church and State

The "Mormon" Temple postcard, 1960

The Utah Legislature is wrapping up its 2022 session. So I’ll showcase Utah’s division of church and state with this 1960 postcard.

Gus wrote this postcard to his parents in 1960 on his way east to Colorado.  He says the Mormon Temple was really unusual.

Utah was one of the last states to fully allow Native American citizens to vote

Soon after Utah became a state, Utah passed a law in 1897 that prohibited Native Americans living on a reservation from voting with the justification that they were not residents of the state of Utah. That law continued to be enforced until the Ute Tribe challenged it in court in 1956.

Preston Allen (1913-1989) was a 41-year-old Ute rancher chosen to be the voting rights test case. As a youth, he attended the Riverside Indian Boarding School and served 4 years in the US Army during WWII, rising to the rank of SGT. In 1956 he lived in Altonah on the Uintah and Ouray Reservation and was the Vice President of the Affiliate Ute Citizens group.

Preston V. Allen, ca. 1980s

Preston V. Allen during WWII.

  
Preston asked for an absentee ballot from the Duchesne County Clerk, Porter Merrell, to vote in the 1956 election. Following the Utah Attorney General’s directive, his request was denied as he was living on a reservation.

In 1956, Allen v Merrell was heard by the Utah Supreme Court who decided that the 1897 law did not deny the right to vote on the basis of race (a clear violation of the equal protection clause).

Rather, the court decided that reservations (both miliary and Native American) were under the control of the federal government, so state and county elections were not applicable there and that Native Americans had a very limited interest or understanding of government and they should not be involved with state politics.

Most telling, however, was the court also expressed fear that Native Americans might outnumber the White voters.

The case was appealed to the US Supreme Court but before it was heard the Utah Legislature amended the 1897 law, making Utah the second to last state to allow on-reservation Native Americans the right to vote (North Dakota did so in 1958).

 

Unfortunately, this was not the end of voting restrictions on Utah’s Indigenous people. The Ute continued to have problems in Duchesne County. The Navajo in San Juan County also have difficulty as demonstrated by a 2018 lawsuit settlement with requires San Juan County to implement corrective action for past actions that marginalized the rights of Navajo voters.

 

Sources:

• Navajo Nation moves a step closer to extending voting rights settlement with additional requirements with San Juan County, Utah Navajo Nation Press Release: February 16, 2021
• Jim Crow, Indian Style: The Disenfranchisement of Native Americans Jeanette Wolfley University of New Mexico - School of Law 1991
• Utah and Native American voting rights by Jennifer Robinson March 28 2019 Better Days 2020 
• How the Native American Vote Continues to be Suppressed by Patty Ferguson-Bohnee Feb 9 2020 American Bar Association

The First Utah Law Signed on a Special Table - The Utah Table

Today, Jan 7 1896, the Utah State Legislature first met in a special session and passed Utah’s first law on a special mosaic table made for the occasion.

Salt Lake City and County officials invited the new Utah Governor and Legislature to use the recently completed City and County Building (Image 1-2) for the state’s business. The building continued to serve as the seat of Utah’s government for several years, until the new Utah State Capitol building was completed in 1916.

 

Salt Lake City and County Building in 1896.
From UDSH. Colorization by author.

Interior of Salt Lake City and County Building in 1896. The abundance of American flags suggests this is one of the rooms used by the first State Legislature following Utah's statehood in Jan 1896. From UDSH. Colorization by author.

Utah achieved statehood on Jan 4 1896, and the first Utah Legislature (Image 3) met in special session and passed their first bill on Jan 7 1896. (The first bill was for the convening of the state legislature in regular session).

 

First Utah State Legislature, held at the Salt Lake City and County Building, 1896. Top image is the House, bottom image is the Senate.  The women in the photos are likely staffers. Image from UDSH.

Utah Governor Heber Wells signed the first bill into law that same day, Jan 7, on a specially crafted table (Image 4-5) made specifically for this occasion by SLC resident and carpenter, John R. Wilson. Governor Wells dramatized the occasion and made special mention of both the table and the pen he used to sign Utah’s first law.

 

Author's illustration of what the Utah State Table may have looked like. 

Illustration in the Deseret Weekly May 4 1895 based on the description from its maker, John R. Wilson.

Wilson’s table became known as the Utah State Table. It was crafted from special pieces of wood donated by each of the other 44 states and the 4 territories. These historically significant pieces of wood were wedged around a Utah native hardwood circle. The table measured 3 ft square and 2 ft 6in high.

Some notable examples of wood contributions include:

• California tree planted by the Spanish monks in 1800
• Wood from the Charter Oak Tree where the Colony of Connecticut hid its charter from King Charles II in 1687 (Image 6)
• Black Mulberry where a treaty with Native Americans was made in 1631 in Maryland
• Floor joists of William Penn’s house in Pennsylvania
• Stock of an anchor stock of the USS Constitution, the oldest ship in the US Navy
• Wood from the framework that supported the Liberty Bell
• Keel of the HMS Augusta which was defeated in the Delaware River during the Revolutionary War in 1777
• Wood from a tree from the Hill Cumorah in New York (important to the LDS religion- where the Golden Plates were found by Joseph Smith)
• Wood from Brigham Young’s table and a wagon that crossed the plains to Utah



Charter Oak, 1857, oil on canvas. By Charles De Wolf Brownell.
From Connecticut Historical Society. 

Wilson did not donate this table to the State of Utah. He sought payment for it from the first legislature of 1896 in the amount of $2,500 (~$83K today), which the legislature declined to authorize. He then sought to sell it to the highest bidder by sending a descriptive pamphlet throughout the US; in response, the 1899 Utah Legislature authorized $250 (~$8.4K today) payment to Wilson for the table.

The table was used in the Governor’s offices for several years; in 1913 a secretary for Governor Spry remembers it being used in his conference room in the City and County building.

In 1945, Wilson’s daughter, Matilda Bingham, sought to locate the table because she believed important papers were hidden in a secret compartment of the table and were to be opened in 1946, 50 years after the table was first made. Newspapers from 1896 describe a hidden compartment in which a copy of the Utah Constitution and other “historical documents” were to be enclosed.

At the direction of the Governor, searches were made to locate the table in 1945-1946. Both the City and County and the State Capitol buildings were searched but the Utah State Table was never relocated and is likely now lost to history.


Sources:
Deseret Weekly 1895-05-04; New York Times 1896-03-30; Salt Lake Herald 1895-12-26; Salt Lake Tribune 1896-01-08; Salt Lake Herald 1896-01-08; Times Democrat 1896-04-08; Salt Lake Tribune 1896-04-10; Salt Lake Herald 1897-02-10; Salt Lake Herald 1899-03-30; Post Register 1945-03-05; Salt Lake Telegram 1946-03-02; Deseret News 1946-03-04; Utah History to Go – Utah’s Constitution

In 1977 the MCC and SLC's Gay Community Made a Splash into Utah Politics

My idea of what the MCC's 1977
dance event may have looked like
in the Utah Capitol Rotunda.

Before the Sacred Light of Christ Church (previous post) was known by that name it was known as the Metropolitan Community Church of Salt Lake (MCC).

In 1977 the MCC made a splash into Utah politics, albeit unintentionally.

In Feb 1977 the Board of the MCC voted to hold a church dance on April 22 in the Utah Capitol Rotunda, similar to decades of past LDS Church dances held there. They followed the proper procedures and applied for a permit, which was granted by Lt Gov David Monson.

However, 2 weeks later and after “certain informants” called him, the Lt Gov rescinded the permission with Monson saying that the MCC was a “gay organization whose purpose for existence is strictly to satisfy the needs of the gay community” and later saying that he may reconsider if the MCC could “demonstrate it is not a homosexual organization.”

The Daily Utah Chronicle responded in an editorial titled “Gays are people” asking if Monson wanted them to perform a heterosexual sex act before being admitted to the dance.

The MCC soon filed suit in 3rd District Court against Monson alleging religious discrimination. On April 19 Judge Dean Condor denied the church’s request for a court order forcing the dance stating that the rental of the Capitol Rotunda was “discretionary” on the part of the State.

The MCC filed a new suit asking that the decision be reversed. Utah Deputy Attorney General, Mike Deamer, then filed a motion to obtain the membership list from the MCC so that police and sheriff departments could compare it to their lists of “known homosexuals.”

On May 17, Judge Condor turned down both of those motions- ruling against the State in that it was “unnecessary” for them to have the MCC’s membership list and ruling against the MCC in that the Lt Gov did have the legal authority to not rent the Capitol Building.

In historian Ben Williams telling of this story, he states that “the courts eventually ruled that the Lieutenant Governor had no right to rescind permission to hold a dance in the state capitol building simply because the church had homosexual members.”  (I am looking for that decision and have asked the University of Utah's Faust Law Library to help me track it down, so hopefully more on that soon.)

The fallout from the fiasco of denying the Metropolitan Community Church (MCC) the ability to hold a church dance at the Utah Capitol Rotunda continued throughout 1977.

 Hatch-Monson Dialogue headline from
The Daily Utah Chronicle June 2 1977

Lt Gov David Monson and Senator Orin Hatch were already scheduled to speak at a June 2 1977 “Dialogue” at the University of Utah where many of the U’s students asked questions about gay rights.

Hatch said that homosexuals should not be allowed to teach school and likened them to the American Nazi Party. He also said it was the fault of a “growing number of perverts” for the deterioration of the country.

Also at the Dialogue event, Monson tried to spin his dance decision to be a liability issue and said he tries not to let his personal feelings influence his public actions. However, a few years later in 1981 when Monson was attending an anti-Equal Rights Amendment rally, he boasted about his “important decision” to “refuse homosexuals permission to dance in the Capitol Rotunda.”

Further, in Oct 1977, just a few months after the enormous press coverage of the MCC’s denied dance, the MCC’s request for a loan to purchase the building at 870 W 400 South for their church and a community center was rejected by their bank, the Bank of Utah at 70 E South Temple, despite having credit-worthy cosigners and $19K (~$85K today) on hand for a down payment.

The church at 870 W 400 South was originally the Grace Methodist Church and most recently the Tongan Methodist Church which burned down in 2000 and is now demolished. The MCC rented part of this building for most of the 1970s.

Yup, 1977 was quite the year for the Utah LGBTIQ+ community and much of the activism can be attributed to MCC’s Worship Coordinator and later Reverend, Bob Waldrop.

Sources: 1977 by Ben Williams, published in Salt Lake Metro 2005-05-12; SL Trib 1977-02-19; Ogden Standard Examiner 1977-02-19; Daily Utah Chronicle 1977-02-25; SL Trib 1977-03-26; SL Trib 1977-04-23; Utah Daily Herald 1977-05-18; Daily Utah Chronicle 1977-06-02; Rocky Mountain Open Door 1977-10-01; SL Trib 1981-07-19

The church at 870 W 400 South that the MCC used during the 1970s.
Also known as the Grace Methodist and the Tongan Methodist church.
Image from UDSH.

The History of the Japanese Cherry Blossoms at the Utah State Capitol

Blooming cherry tree at Utah State Capitol, probably the Kwanzan variety. ca 1940s. From UDSH. 

The History of the Japanese Cherry Blossoms at the Utah State Capitol begins 100 years ago.

The construction of the Utah State Capitol was completed in 1916 and a special tree planting ceremony on April 15 1916 was planned to start beautifying the grounds. The first tree planted was a Norway Maple and several hundred of other trees followed, each planted by a distinguished member of the government or citizenry.

For this event in 1916, Mr. Shiro Iida, publisher of the Japanese newspaper Rocky Mountain Times in SLC, ordered several Japanese evergreens from California to be planted around the State Capitol.

The first reference that I could find to Japanese cherry trees was in March 1921 when the Japanese Association of Utah gifted the state with 4 Yoshino and 3 Fugenzo blooming cherry trees which were then planted by the state’s landscape gardener on the State Capitol grounds.

Additional cherry trees were planted in 1931, some donated by the Intermountain Japanese Association and some purchased by the State of Utah.

Throughout the 1930s cherry trees were donated to the capitol grounds by the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) of Utah, many of the trees were the Kwanzan variety with large double pink flowers.

When WWII began, the Japanese cherry trees on the State Capitol grounds were vandalized and security patrols were implemented 1943-1945.

By the mid-1950s, the cherry trees were struggling due to lack of caretaking and early frosts.

In 1958, Governor Clyde accepted 36 cherry trees from the JACL of Utah. JACL chapters in California also contributed to this gift to memorialize the Japanese who died in the Topaz Internment Camp during WWII.

During the Capitol renovation 2004-2008 the trees were removed, and several hundred Yoshino variety of cherry trees were planted around the Capitol grounds.

Sources: SL Telegram 1916-04-14; SL Trib 1921-03-19; SL Telegram 1931-04-12; SL Trib 1935-02-24; SL Trib 1958-05-05; Utah.gov

Of Note: I have seen some histories of the cherry trees at the Utah State Capitol indicate that the cherry trees were donated by the government of Japan as a symbol of friendship and reconciliation immediately following WWII. I found no primary sources to support this statement. There is an interesting history of an ordeal concerning importing of cherry trees from Japan for the establishment of the International Peace Gardens adjacent to the Jordan River in the early 1950s that I will tell in a separate post. As far as I can tell, all the cherry trees on the state capitol ground (past and present) were either purchased by the State of Utah or donated by SLC Japanese American residents, but always purchased from a domestic vendor.

The High Hat Law: First Bill Introduced by a Woman in the Utah Legislature

Eurithe K. LaBarthe (1850-1910)
Image from UDSH
Colorization by MyHeritage

Mrs. E. K. LaBarthe, as she was known by her peers in the Utah Legislature, was the first Utah woman to introduce a bill in the state legislature. On Jan 15, 1897, she introduced House Bill 13 which quickly became known in the press as the “High Hat Law.”

Eurithe K. LaBarthe (1850-1910) was elected to the first state legislature on Nov 3, 1896 as a representative of the 8th District of SLC. (Of note, Mrs. Sara E. Anderson from Ogden was also elected to the State Legislature and Dr. Martha Hughes Cannon was elected to the State Senate at that time.)

Prior to her election Mrs. LaBarthe was a relative newcomer to SLC arriving with her husband and child in 1892. She became well known in SLC as a clubwoman and served as president of the Ladies Literary Club in which she was instrumental in organizing the establishment of their first permanent clubhouse located at 20 S 300 East (now demolished).

Although the press, and some of her peers, scoffed at her High Hat Law, it did address a rather large social issue of the time- the wearing of large feathery hats that obstructed the view of others at the theater. 

Mrs. LaBarthe’s bill mandated that any person attending an indoor place of amusement must remove their headwear that may obstruct the view of any other person, violators could be fined from $1 to $10 ($30 to $311 in 2020 dollars). The bill passed both houses and became law upon the signature of Governor Wells.

She also introduced House Bill 50 to establish curfew for children, which was rejected as it being more suited for cities and towns to regulate. 

And she attempted to obtain the abandoned Industrial Home, a refuge for women and children fleeing polygamy, from the federal government for the State of Utah’s use in educational and charity work.

Soon after her work in the Utah Legislature she moved to Denver where she resided until her death. She died in SLC of pneumonia at the age of 65 on Nov 22 1910 while visiting her son. She is buried in Evergreen Cemetery in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

More info: “Gentle persuaders : Utah's first women legislators” by Jean Bickmore White. UHQ V38, N1 (winter 1970).

A "high hat" from the 1896 Sears Roebuck Catalog.

A "high hat" from the 1897 Sears Roebuck Catalog.

A "high hat" from the 1897 Sears Roebuck Catalog.

A "high hat" from the 1897 Sears Roebuck Catalog.

Anderson's Tower in the Avenues

Oldsmobile at Anderson's Tower 1919, From UDSH.

A medieval-looking tower once stood in the lower avenues of SLC at 6th Ave and A Street.

Anderson’s Tower, as it was named, was inspired by the Scottish heritage of its owner. In 1884, Robert R. Anderson (1848-1935), a Mormon who came to SLC in 1867 and was one of the original settlers of the Avenues area, endeavored to construct a tourist attraction in the spirit of Scottish “follies” (similar towers that Anderson had seen in Scotland as a boy).

Anderson built the round tower in 1884 out of granite remnants obtained from the quarry in Little Cottonwood Canyon used to supply the Salt Lake LDS Temple. 

The 3-story tall tower measured 54 feet high and was 25 feet in diameter and boasted a spiral stairway that led individuals past windows on each floor up to the observation deck that was equipped with a telescope.

Anderson wanted his tower to be an observatory and hoped to charge people to climb to the top. Unfortunately, most people found that the view from the base of the tower was sufficient and the tower was not profitable; the tower was occasionally known as "Anderson's Folly.”

For 32 years, Anderson owned the 2 city blocks adjacent to the tower, between 6th and 8th Avenues. Anderson refused all offers to develop the property until 1908 when he sold the development rights to Stowe and Palmer Real Estate. Stowe and Palmer convinced Anderson to reopen the tower to use it as a sales gimmick to attract people to sell their housing plots.

The day that the Tower reopened to the public nearly 3,000 people turned out to view and climb the it. Eventually, the Tower fell into disrepair again and it was demolished in November 1932.

Currently a historic monument marks where the tower stood and the base is built with granite blocks originally used in the tower.

Anderson's Tower, "A" St. and 6th Avenue,
Salt Lake City. From UDSH.

Anderson's Tower and Memory Grove Park. From UDSH.

View from inside Anderson's Tower, 1926.
Looking at Utah State Capitol. From UDSH.

View from inside Anderson's Tower, 1926. From UDSH.

Plaque at the Anderson Tower Site, 315 A Street SLC. April 2020.

View of the Anderson Tower site in April 2020. The stones along
the circular concrete edge are remnants of the original tower.