Red Rocks and Race Cars – Presented by Lisa Michele Church

Join us for the McQuarrie Memorial Museum’s Third Weekend Event, a free monthly program sharing fascinating stories and unique insights into Utah’s history.

This month’s program: Red Rocks and Race Cars

Presented by Lisa Michele Church

How did the development of roads change Utah’s communities?

Lisa Michele Church will explore the evolution of roads through Utah—from routes first built for wagons to the roads that made automobile travel possible. She will look at how roads traveled through the small towns up and down the state and how their development affected the communities they connected.

One fascinating part of Utah’s early automobile history is that residents had to build their own roads during the first twenty years of automobile use. Lisa will explore this early era of road building and what it meant for Utah communities as automobiles became part of everyday life.

Lisa Michele Church is a historian and author whose work focuses on the American West, vernacular architecture, roads, and tourism. She has published Vintage Signs of Utah and several other books and articles exploring Utah history, including the history of early roadside motels and the Arrowhead Highway.

• When: Saturday, October 17, 2026 at 10:00 AM

• Where: DUP McQuarrie Memorial Museum, 145 North 100 East, St. George, Utah

• Admission: Free – Open to the public, no registration required.

• Accessibility: Handicap accessible.

Our Third Weekend Events run from October through May, bringing together historians, storytellers, and community members for an engaging Saturday morning of history and heritage.

Grant Acknowledgement:

These events are supported by grants from the City of St. George RAP Tax, Utah Division of Arts & Museums, and Washington County RAP Tax.

For more information, contact the DUP McQuarrie Memorial Museum at (435) 628-7274.