CEDAR CITY — In commemoration of 100 years since the railroad first came to Cedar City, city officials and the historic preservation commission have planned a weeklong celebration of activities starting on Monday, June 19.
One of the main highlights will take place at the end of the week, at 5 p.m. Saturday, June 24, in Cedar City’s Main Street Park, where then-President Warren G. Harding had proclaimed the opening of the new railroad near that very spot almost exactly one century earlier, on June 27, 1923, a little over one month before Harding’s sudden death at age 57.
“We’re going to do a re-enactment of the speech that President Warren G. Harding gave to the citizens of Cedar City and Iron County when he returned from Zion, having been there for his day visit with his entourage of 70 people,” Cedar City Council member Scott Phillips said during the Iron County Commission’s regular meeting on Monday.
Phillips said actors will portray Harding and First Lady Florence Harding, along with other dignitaries and the Pinkerton detectives who served as bodyguards.
“Our very own (state) Sen. Evan Vickers is going to portray Gov. Charles Mabey, who was the governor of Utah at the time,” Phillips added.
During the meeting, Phillips also gave the county commissioners a limited edition wooden toy train engine made especially for the occasion by the Happy Factory.
Only 400 such trains were made, Phillips noted.
“When they’re gone, they’re gone, never been made again,” he said, adding that the toys are available for a suggested minimum donation of $25 at the city offices of Cedar City.
“The sale of these is going to help support the celebration, but also half of the proceeds go back to the Happy Factory to support what they do,” Phillips said, adding that approximately 100 trains had been sold as of Monday.
Pamphlets with printed schedules outlining the coming week’s railroad celebration activities have been distributed throughout the community. The information is also available online on Cedar City’s website.
Some of the week’s key highlights are as follows. Note that all activities are free and open to the public unless otherwise noted:
On Monday, June 19, three separate historical markers at important downtown locations related to Utah Parks Company will be unveiled in the afternoon. Then, in the evening, a special railroad history group paint night activity will take place at Iron Springs Resort (cost is $20 per person).
Tuesday, June 20 will feature a historic downtown walking tour starting at 6 p.m., with local historian and SUU professor Ryan Paul, concluding at the Cedars Hotel at 52 N. Main Street with a photo gallery exhibit and storyteller experience titled, “Memories of the U.P. (Union Pacific, Utah Parks) and You.”
Wednesday, June 21 will feature free admission to Frontier Homestead State Park, with a full slate of family-friendly activities going on throughout the day and into the evening, including a scavenger hunt, train bingo and interactive displays.
On Thursday, June 22, a “Sing Away Social” will take place from 5:30-8 p.m. at the old train depot on the corner of Main Street and 200 North. The community event will feature live entertainment, activities and prizes. Additionally, a “slow roll” community bike ride will take place from 6-8 p.m. at Park Discovery, followed by a movie in the park for families.
An invitation-only mayor’s gala event will take place the evening of Friday, June 23, at the Rainbow Sign & Design / Decorworx building, which used to be a garage that housed buses for the national parks.
On Saturday, June 24, the “Centennial Party in the Park” will feature games, food trucks, vintage automobiles and musical performances by local community band, a children’s choir and members of the Paiute Indian Tribe. The celebration runs at Main Street Park from 11 a.m. until 6 p.m., with the Pres. Harding speech re-enactment starting at 5 p.m. That will be followed by a jazz band playoff in the park from 6:30-7:30 p.m.
Also on Saturday, a free family swim night at the Cedar City Aquatic Center is scheduled from 6:30-8:30 p.m.
Additionally, some railroad-related activities and exhibitions will be taking place throughout the week. They include a free trackless train ride that will take a 20-minute loop around historic points of interest downtown. Board the train at Cedar Post Pawn Shop, 221 No. 100 West (see map at left for route and times of operation).
Southern Utah University’s library will host an exhibit titled “The Iron Horse Comes to Iron County,” which can be seen in the campus library’s special collections from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday. An Antiques and Ancestry exhibition of railroad memorabilia will also be on display at Cedar City’s Library-in-the-Park during regular library hours, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. A collection of historic railroad memorabilia will be on display at the Cedar City Visitors Center, 581 N. Main Street.
Then, after the weeklong celebration concludes, a collection of 70 historic Union Pacific photos, most of them taken by Homer Jones (1909-2012) will go on display. The exhibition runs from June 26 to Sept. 2 at the Randall Jones Theater, 50 S. 300 West, then it will move to SUU’s Sherratt Library from Sept. 6 to Oct. 6, after which it will be on display at the Cedar City Library-in-the-Park from Oct. 11 until Dec. 1.
For more information, visit the Cedar City website.
Photo Gallery
Display table at Cedar City offices highlighting upcoming railroad centennial celebration events and activities, June 13, 2023 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News Historic photo showing the cast of the 1937 movie "Forlorn River" at the train depot in downtown Cedar City, Utah | Image courtesy of Cedar City Corporation, St. George News / Cedar City News Wooden toy train made by the Happy Factory to commemorate the railroad centennial in Cedar City, Utah, June 2023 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News Compilation of historic railroad photos from Cedar City, Utah, which is celebrating 100 years of railroad service in June 2023 | Image courtesy of Cedar City Corporation, St. George News / Cedar City News Map showing location and times of operation for Centennial Express trackless train rides in Cedar City, Utah, June 19-24, 2023 | Image courtesy of Cedar City Corporation, St. George News / Cedar City News
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