Utah’s Forgotten Immigrant Communities

8 Locations | Curated by Josie Manwill, Brigham Young University

Utah is home to people from all over the world. From those who came as refugees to those who came willfully, Utah is a melting pot of cultures that from time to time established themselves in tight-knit communities. The general public has forgotten many of these ethnic enclaves, but their existence helped to build Utah’s rich immigrant history. There are a variety of communities of different sizes, each with their own story that deserves to be told. By learning the history behind the places we live and visit, the often uncelebrated lives of individuals and minority groups can be learned, explored, and shared. This tour explores just some of Utah’s immigrant communities that were built and forgotten as Utah’s history has continued to evolve and unfold.

In 1911, 12 Jewish immigrants all under the age of 30 started a colony in Utah. Three miles west of Centerfield and 135 miles south of Salt Lake City, the Clarion Jewish Colony was built on dreams and a lack of water. Although the colony lasted a meager 5 years, the ideas on which it was built still inspire many Jews today.
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Like many other mining districts, the town of Scofield went through a boom and bust cycle that effectively created a living ghost town. Despite the town’s current state, the Finnish immigrant community in Scofield left a lasting impact. Headstones and saunas are Scofield’s two most prominent visual features that tell the story of Utah’s immigrants from Finland.
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Many Basques roamed the American West on their own. Basque hotels were built to house wintering sheep herders, Basque students, and retired herders as well as preserve Basque culture. Ogden, Utah became a hub for hotels that created a Basque community that ebbed and flowed according to each day’s tenants.
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The Thai community in Layton, Utah was started in the 1960s and 70s. The Thai community has been able to retain their cultural identity while simultaneously integrating into the community. Through this process, Layton’s Thai community is leaving a legacy that will not be forgotten.
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In a valley with fresh water and mountains that reminded them of home, Danish immigrants in Utah moved forward in establishing a new life. Within their new life, they incorporated their old culture in a way that affected its surrounding communities and still affects the little town of Mantua today.
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Over 2,000 Japanese people lived in the heart of Salt Lake for almost a century. From the community’s beginning in the late 1800s to Japanese assimilation in the late 1900s, Japanese people created a space where they could thrive despite living in a foreign land. Only a few landmarks provide visual confirmation of the Japanese community’s existence.
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In the 1860s, Plum Alley, Utah’s original Chinatown, was founded in the heart of downtown Salt Lake City. It was built near today’s Regent Street in between First and Second South. Due to anti-Chinese sentiment in America and the Chinese immigrant mentality of coming to work in America to gain a fortune then to return to China, most Chinese communities in Utah rose and fell in a single generation.…
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