Discovery Road – Winner of Best In State 2022 – Best Documentary

Since its debut in 2012, Discovery Road has produced over 60 episodes, taking viewers on immersive journeys down U.S. Highway 89 through six historic counties in central and southern Utah.

 

Each 30-minute episode blends history, mystery, heritage, and natural beauty into family-friendly storytelling that educates as much as it entertains.

 

Broadcast locally on KUED-TV and across the country through the National Educational Television Association, or NETA, the series has become a public media touchstone for anyone seeking a deeper connection to the region’s past. It is also used in classrooms across the state as part of Utah’s history curriculum.

Mormon Pioneers traveling to the west Covered Wagons Courtesy of Shaun Messick

The Mormon Pioneer National Heritage Area is the only National Heritage Area designated and named for a specific people, the Mormon Pioneers – as they forged to the west. Their remarkable story of dedication, fortitude, and extraordinary efforts offers one of the best features of the Mormon colonization experience in the United States. The Mormon Pioneer National Heritage Area has been identified by Congress as a factor in the expansion of the United States and contributing to the United States.

Districts

travel planner for the Mormon Pioneer National Heritage Area

Cowboys, Outlaws, and the Movies 

The unique landscape features a geological wonderland that has been the backdrop for feature films including; “Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid,” and “Jeremiah Johnson.” While traveling through the picturesque scenery, you might recognize a scene or two. Included in the heritage area is the birthplace of Utah outlaws, Butch Cassidy and Matt Warner. Matt was a lifelong friend and a gang member alongside of Butch.  Many movies were filmed in the scenic Under the Rim District of the Mormon Pioneer National Heritage Area.

Mormon Colonization 

In the later part of the 1800s the Mormon pioneers began their great relocation to the west. They trekked 1,400 miles from Illinois to the Great Salt Lake. This mass-Exodus brought about colonization in Utah, Nevada, the southwest corner of Wyoming, the southeast corner of Idaho, southeast Oregon, and a large portion of southern and eastern California.

log cabin with Mormon Pioneer Family Echo City Utah
Family Portrait of Mormon Pioneers in Echo City, Utah

Famous and Infamous Lecture Series Wins Award – Press Release 11/12/2001

Press Releases

11/12/01 08:31
CONTACT: MONTE BONA
(435) 462-2502

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

A lecture series that examined “The Famous and Infamous” of Utah’s U.S. Highway 89 and celebrated the history of the six counties along the historic route has won an award from the Utah Humanities Council.

Sponsored by the Utah Heritage Highway 89 Alliance and Sanpete County Heritage Council, the lecture series focused on people who lived in or had an impact on the cities and towns along U.S. Highway 89. The lectures, held last winter and this spring, were given by professors and educators and were presented in Sanpete, Sevier, Piute, Kane, Wayne and Garfield counties.

The talks were free and open to the public. Topics focused on historical personalities such as Utah artist Avard Fairbanks, Butch Cassidy, Hyrum BeBee, and John D. Lee. There was also a presentation on how the famous and infamous of U.S. 89 were depicted by Hollywood.

The Humanities Council recognized the series during its annual awards dinner.

The lectures were also filmed by KBYU-Channel 11 and will later be included in a documentary that will be distributed to the media during the 2002 Winter Olympic Games to promote the Heritage Highway.

 

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This program receives Federal financial assistance for identification and protection of historic properties. Under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, as amended, the U.S. Department of the Interior prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, disability or age in its federally assisted programs. If you believe you have been discriminated against in any program, activity, or facility as described above, or if you desire further information, please write to: Office for Equal Opportunity, National Park Service, 849 C Street NW, Washington, D.C. 20240.

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