Historical Photo Project

On May 23 – May 24, 2014, Escalante River Watershed Partnership hosted a “History in Your Attic” (HIYA) event. Attendees at the Escalante Heritage Festival were invited to bring historic Escalante and Boulder area photographs and documents for free digital scanning.

HIYA is an initiative of the Utah Academic Library Consortium and Mountain West Digital Library to locate, digitize, and provide world-wide access to the private documentary heritage of the Intermountain region.

Of particular interest to ERWP were historic photos of the Escalante River Watershed including riparian areas, grasslands, and early settlement activities. Access to these photos permit the use of “repeat photography methods” which help document changes over time.

Other organizations supporting this scanning event included: Escalante Heritage Center, Boulder Heritage Foundation, Sons of the Utah Pioneers, Daughters of the Utah Pioneers, Southern Utah University, Brigham Young University, and Escalante Utah Stake Family Heritage Center.

Scanned primary source materials are now available on the web via the Mountain West Digital Library website.

Example: Photography documenting invasive species encroachment – Bill Wolverton