USU Library to host 25th annual Leonard J. Arrington Mormon History Lecture

Richard White, author and Stanford University historian, will present “What the Railroad Will Bring: The Promise and Reality of the Transcontinental Railroads,” Thursday, Sept. 19, at 7 p.m., as part of the Utah State University University Libraries’ Leonard J. Arrington Mormon History Lecture series. The lecture will be held at the Logan Tabernacle (50 N. Main St.) and is free and open to the public. 

From environmental turmoil to culture clash, White’s lecture will cover consequences that arose with nineteenth-century American railroads. While the transcontinental railroad is often seen as the pinnacle of modernization and progress, White argues that this wasn’t always the case. 

“White’s lecture should be very informative,” Dean of Libraries Bradford Cole, said. “We are honored to have him present the 25th annual Arrington Lecture.” 

White, who wrote “Railroaded: The Transcontinentals and the Making of Modern America,” is a recipient of the Guggenheim Fellowship, a MacArthur Fellowship and the Mellon Distinguished Achievement Award. 

This year’s Leonard J. Arrington Mormon History Lecture is sponsored by USU University  Libraries, Spike 150, Smith-Pettit Foundation, Utah Division of State History, USU Religious Studies Program and USU College of Humanities and Social Sciences. The lecture honors former Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints historian Leonard J. Arrington whose papers were donated to USU’s Special Collections and Archives.