Have you ever cleaned out a closet or store room only to find something that wasn’t junk but something you valued?  Well, that happened here at our Museum, cleaning out a small wardrobe cabinet we found a green gingham dress that was obviously well worn and repaired often.  We had a professional textile person look at it and wow! we were surprised to find that this is a very unique and special re-discovered artifact.  We know that it was made in the 1830s and was originally blue gingham (now faded to green).  It was a working woman’s dress that has been adjusted for different life situations and repaired numerous times.  It was over 30 years old when it arrived in Southern Utah and we are so lucky that it has survived to be almost 200 years old.  Usually work dresses were repurposed to rags, quilts, children’s clothes, etc.  So glad they didn’t do that with this wonderful piece of history.