A little about Beaver:  Indigenous peoples lived in this area for thousands of years.  A number of prehistoric sites have been found in Beaver County, along with a vast variety of petroglyphs and pictographs, dating to the Archaic and Sevier Fremont periods. A prehistoric obsidian quarry site has been identified in the nearby Mineral Mountains. The historic Southern Paiute inhabited the region well before encountering the first European explorers. The 1776 Dominguez Escalante Expedition is the first known European exploration in this area.

Beaver was settled in 1856 by Mormon pioneers and is filled with historic sites including over 100 places listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The brick Beaver County Courthouse, built in 1882, is one of the area's finest Victorian buildings and now houses a local history museum. Beaver was one of a string of Mormon settlements through Utah.  By design, these settlements were located a day's ride on horseback, generally 30 miles apart.

During the 1870s, settlers tried to establish a woolen mill, a tannery, and a dairy industry. Most were engaged in stock raising.  Beaver was the first town in Utah to be electrified.  A hydroelectric generation plant was constructed on the Beaver River early in the 20th century. The plant continues to provide a large part of Beaver's power requirements today.  

In 2006, Beaver won a contest for best tasting rural water in the United States. In 2010, Beaver took top honors in the world for best tasting water. Its welcome billboards along   I-15 highlight the water quality.

And then there is rock art!

Our annual symposium is a whirl of activity. Workshops and field work (Oct 10), two days of field trips to great rock art sites (Fri Oct 11, Mon Oct 14), two days of speakers (Oct 12-13). Our business meeting which gives you an opportunity to tell us how we are doing. Banquet, auctions, watermelon social, workshops, and presentations, our own version of the Oscars, fun and frivolity.

We try to offer a variety of interesting workshops for members to enjoy and hopefully experience something new and helpful.  Here’s what we are working on for you:

• After a successful event last year, the drone class is back. See a variety of drones and learn how to use them to get those close-ups photo’s you’ve always wanted – Ryan Moreau
• Protecting rock art is a priority for URARA, so there will be more training and instruction to accomplish that goal – BLM Color Country District archaeologist Debra McCarthy
• Everyone had great fun painting with ochre last year, so by popular demand it’s back – Elizebath Hora, Utah State Preservation Office archaeologist
• Photography skills for rock art imagery, the magic that brings your photos to life  – Robert Crifasi
• Working with clay, and learning how pots and figurines are made – Tina Tan
• Instruction and updates on the URARA site information app – Troy Scotter
• How to make the paints that created the imagery – Nina Bowen
• Learn how to draw for documentation of sites.  The artist within you would love this class - TBD

Unfortunately, COVID continues to be a bother. In order to help protect the health and safety of all members participating in events sponsored by URARA, the following policy applies: Participants are  strongly urged to be vaccinated with a full course of COVID shots and boosters.

Stay tuned to this page as we update it with more information about the symposium.