Spent the night in Beaver, which is something I’ve always wanted to say.

In the morning, I headed over to the Daughters of the Utah Pioneers’ Museum, which takes up three floors and the basement of the old Beaver County Courthouse. When I say “morning” I really mean 11am as that’s when they open. I was hoping to finally see firsthand my fourth great grandmother’s sewing basket which according to family records and a photo I discovered recently was donated to the museum, but, no, the two women volunteers there had never heard of it. They were able to find the names of my ancestors in Monuments to Courage: A History of Beaver County, but I told them I already have that and, well, I was hoping to find new information. Nothing doing. Nice ladies. Friendly as all get-out, but no catalog of the antiquities on display. No catalog even of the photos. One woman apparently keeps all the information in her noggin but she was out today. Try back later in the week, I was told.

I did see a picture of the famous Field Social Hall on the wall near the entry and asked about it. They didn’t seem to know anything about it so I told them what little I knew. Thanks, they said, we’ve been trying to figure out what that was. Imagine!

The building is quite amazing, though, I have to say. And certainly worth a look the next time you’re in Beaver (there I go again). You can go right up behind the clock tower and see how it works. Also, there are actual jail cells in the basement, which apparently remained in use until the mid 70s. Even some cool jail-related graffiti, though one of the volunteers has helpfully erased the naughty bits. Down in the dungeon, there exists a permanent display to one of Beaver’s most infamous sons, Butch Cassidy.

I asked the helpful museum matron about Cassidy. She told me, Beaver has two sons, one famous, one infamous. The famous son, she said, was Philo T. Farnsworth, the inventor of television. A bronze statue of Philo resides on the western side of the courthouse. And, I was told, he grew up in the adjacent (relocated) log cabin.

Now here’s an interesting bit of trivia to reward your reading patience: every state has two busts (this thing is shot through with double entendre, isn’t it?) in statuary hall, Washington DC. Do you know who represents Utah? If you guessed Butch Cassidy and Philo T. Farnsworth you’re only half right. Philo is there, flanked by Utah’s first territorial governor, Brigham Young.