The Utah Homefront During World War II

5 Locations | Curated by Aubrey Glazier, Brigham Young University

During the 1940s, thousands of Utahans left to fight in the largest war the United States had ever been involved in. While those back home didn’t see combat directly, they did what they could to support the war effort. Providing labor at manufacturing facilities, contributing salvage materials, and spreading wartime communications were all important roles of Utahans at home. This tour includes several of the significant sites where Utah’s homefront showed their support for the U.S. Military and Allied Forces, no matter how far they were from the front lines.

Between the years 1940-1944, the percentage of Utah’s workforce made up of women more than doubled—but where did all those women find employment? Many inhabitants of Sanpete county and surrounding areas worked at the Manti parachute plant, which was built exclusively for World War II and employed…
View Story Show on Map

Heading South on Interstate 15 towards Orem, UT, it’s hard to miss the massive, industrial-themed Harley-Davidson dealership, situated just across the street from where the colossal Geneva Steel Plant once stood. Much of the exterior material used to build the dealership was salvaged from the…
View Story Show on Map

Geneva Steel was a wartime steel plant built for World War II that continued operation until 2002. After more than doubling the population of Orem in the 1940s, Geneva remained an important part of Utah Valley’s silhouette for decades. It replaced agriculture with industry and farmland with…
View Story Show on Map

From painting their legs instead of wearing nylons to collecting “household fats,” the Minute Women aided in the World War II effort in Utah by creatively promoting the salvage and rationing efforts.
View Story Show on Map

Loading Stories
Map