The Utah State Archives is pleased to announce that the 116-year-old Utah State Constitution is now available with a full-text search on its web site. The Utah State Archives is also the custodian of the record which now may be viewed alongside a typescript taken from the 1898 Revised Statutes of Utah at http://archives.utah.gov.

The “engrossed” copy of the Constitution was adopted by the Constitutional Convention following completion by the engrossing clerk, Joseph A. Smith, “without blot, erasure or interlineation, on parchment sheets, 11 x 17" on May 8, 1895. Voters in Utah approved the new Constitution in November of the same year, and final approval from President Grover Cleveland came on January 4, 1896, when Utah officially became the 45th state in the Union. A complete archival description of the original record will also be available.

“The State Constitution is an important historical record. It is the original document of citizen’s rights in Utah,” comments the State Archivist, Patricia Smith-Mansfield. “Having online access provides the public a wonderful opportunity to see the original State Constitution.”

The Utah State Digital Archives provides over half a million images of historical records online and free to the public, including death certificates from 1904-1959. With worldwide online access, patrons have the ability to do research from anywhere while the State Archives efficiently fulfills its mission “to provide quality access to public information.”