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history
The Utah state flag, as we know it today, was made the official flag of Utah when Gov. William Spry signed House Joint Resolution 1 in 1913 (Utah Code 63-13-5).
The original state flag was presented to Gov. Heber M. Wells in 1903 by the Utah State Society Daughters of the Revolution. According to the organization's minutes, Governor Wells asked the group to make the first state flag. The flag was made of Utah silk and embroidered by Agnes Teudt Fernelius. Each member of the USSDR contributed one dollar to help pay for it.
On October 16, 1903, it was reported at their meeting "that a mistake had been made in drawing the seal of our state on the flag which had been presented to the Governor of Utah in May last. The matter was then discussed at length after which a print of the state seal was examined to see where corrections should be made." It was found that "the flag made by Our Society which had been presented to and accepted by the Governor and his staff was in reality on the Governor's regimental flag. A state flag would in compliance with an act of the State legislature have to be made under direction of or by approval of said legislature."
They then took the flag to H.L.A. Culmer, an artist, "and had him correctly draw according to the proper perspective as nearly as possible to design of the State Seal on the before mentioned flag after which it had been taken to M.I. to be embroidered and further that it would be completed for inspection at the March meeting."
The governor wrote to them, "It will be my pleasure to display this flag upon every important occasion where the Governor's flag may be required, both at the World's Fair in St. Louis in celebration of the Louisiana Purchase and elsewhere during my incumbency."
This flag was used until 1913. In 1912 a second flag was commissioned by the Sons and Daughters of Utah Pioneers to be presented to the battleship Utah. It was made by and eastern man. When it arrived it was found to have a gold circle around the design. Through the efforts of Wells Cannon the new flag was adopted by the Utah State Legislature. According to the Utah Code (63-13-5):
The state flag of Utah shall be a flag of blue field, fringed, with gold borders, with the following device worked in natural colours on the centre of the blue field: The centre a shield: above the shield and thereon an American eagle with outstretched wings; the top of the shield pierced with six arrows arranged crosswise; upon the shield under the arrows the word "industry," and below the word "Industry" on the centre of the shield, a beehive; on each side of the beehive, growing sego lilies; below the beehive and near the bottom of the shield, the word "Utah," and below the word "Utah" and on the bottom of the shield, the figures "1847"; with the appearance of being back of the shield there shall be two American flags on flagstaffs placed crosswise with the flags so draped that they will project beyond each side of the shield, the heads of the flagstaffs appearing in front of the eagle's wings and the bottom of each staff appearing over the face of the draped flag below the shield and flags and upon the blue field, the figures "1896"; around the entire design, a narrow circle of gold.
The original state flag was presented to Gov. Heber M. Wells in 1903 by the Utah State Society Daughters of the Revolution. According to the organization's minutes, Governor Wells asked the group to make the first state flag. The flag was made of Utah silk and embroidered by Agnes Teudt Fernelius. Each member of the USSDR contributed one dollar to help pay for it.
On October 16, 1903, it was reported at their meeting "that a mistake had been made in drawing the seal of our state on the flag which had been presented to the Governor of Utah in May last. The matter was then discussed at length after which a print of the state seal was examined to see where corrections should be made." It was found that "the flag made by Our Society which had been presented to and accepted by the Governor and his staff was in reality on the Governor's regimental flag. A state flag would in compliance with an act of the State legislature have to be made under direction of or by approval of said legislature."
They then took the flag to H.L.A. Culmer, an artist, "and had him correctly draw according to the proper perspective as nearly as possible to design of the State Seal on the before mentioned flag after which it had been taken to M.I. to be embroidered and further that it would be completed for inspection at the March meeting."
The governor wrote to them, "It will be my pleasure to display this flag upon every important occasion where the Governor's flag may be required, both at the World's Fair in St. Louis in celebration of the Louisiana Purchase and elsewhere during my incumbency."
This flag was used until 1913. In 1912 a second flag was commissioned by the Sons and Daughters of Utah Pioneers to be presented to the battleship Utah. It was made by and eastern man. When it arrived it was found to have a gold circle around the design. Through the efforts of Wells Cannon the new flag was adopted by the Utah State Legislature. According to the Utah Code (63-13-5):
The state flag of Utah shall be a flag of blue field, fringed, with gold borders, with the following device worked in natural colours on the centre of the blue field: The centre a shield: above the shield and thereon an American eagle with outstretched wings; the top of the shield pierced with six arrows arranged crosswise; upon the shield under the arrows the word "industry," and below the word "Industry" on the centre of the shield, a beehive; on each side of the beehive, growing sego lilies; below the beehive and near the bottom of the shield, the word "Utah," and below the word "Utah" and on the bottom of the shield, the figures "1847"; with the appearance of being back of the shield there shall be two American flags on flagstaffs placed crosswise with the flags so draped that they will project beyond each side of the shield, the heads of the flagstaffs appearing in front of the eagle's wings and the bottom of each staff appearing over the face of the draped flag below the shield and flags and upon the blue field, the figures "1896"; around the entire design, a narrow circle of gold.
Nickname: The Beehive State.
Capital: Salt Lake City.
Constitution: The 45th State.
Statehood: January 4th 1896.
Motto: Industry
History:
Indians probably lived in the Utah region several thousand years ago. Spanish explorers who arrived in 1776 found Gosiute, Paiute, Shoshone, and Ute Indians.
Mormon pioneers led by Brigham Young settled the Utah region in 1847. They called the region Deseret, a Mormon word that means honey bee. In 1850, the U.S. Congress named the territory Utah after the Ute Indian tribe.
During the 1950's and 1960's, Utah changed from an agricultural to an industrial state.
During the early 1980's, service industries and tourism expanded.
Bird:
The California gull (Larus californicus) became the official state bird on February 14, 1955, when House Bill 51 was signed into law by Gov. J Bracken Lee (Utah Code 63-13-9). The bill was introduced by Richard C. Howe a member of the House of Representatives.
The gull was first protected under Utah law because it is an insectivorous bird (feeds on insects). It was protected along with the owl, hawk, lark, whippoorwill, thrush, swallow, snowbird, and any other insectivorous or song birds. The California gull was chosen as the state bird because it was credited with saving the pioneer's crops from complete destruction in the summer of 1848.
Chiefly found in the interior regions, the California gull breeds on inland lakes from Canada south to Mono Lake, California, Great Salt Lake, and Yellowstone Lake, Wyoming. It winters along the Pacific Coast and inland in Utah, Oregon, and California. The mature California gull measures from twenty to twenty-three inches in length and has greenish yellow feet, a medium grey mantle, and a bill with an orange spot near the tip of the lower mandible. The outer primaries are black, tipped with white, the first two with subterminal white spots.
Economy:
Agriculture: Cattle, dairy products, hay, turkeys.
Industry: Machinery, aerospace, mining, food processing, electric equipment, tourism.
Flower:
The sego lily (Calochortus nuttallii) was made the official state flower of Utah on March 18, 1911, when Senate Bill 225 was signed into law by Gov. William Spry (Utah Code 63-13-6). The bill was introduced by William N. Williams, according to Heart Throbs of the West (2:226), after a census was taken of the state's schoolchildren as to their preference for a state flower. The sego lily grows six to eight inches high on open grass and sage rangelands in the Great Basin during the summer months. This member of the mariposa family typifies the lilies, with sepals, petals and stamens in the combinations of three with ivory-coloured petals which may be tinted from yellow to pink. A horizontal bar of darker colour crosses the base of each petal within the flower cup.
The flower is important to Utah not only for its beauty but because the bulbs were eaten by the early Mormon settlers during their first winter in the valley when food was scarce. The bulb, which is walnut-sized, was also eaten by the Indians before the Mormon settlers turned to it for sustenance and serves today as food for rodents and other animals.
Motto:
"Industry" officially became the state motto on March 4, 1959, when Gov. George D. Clyde signed House Bill 35 (Utah Code 63-13-11). "Industry" is associated with the symbol of the beehive. The early pioneers had few material resources at their disposal and therefore had to rely on their won "industry" to survive. The word "industry" appears on both the state seal and the state flag.
Origin of state's name:
Taken from the name of the Ute Indians, whose name means "people of the mountains".
Seal:
The official state seal was adopted on April 3, 1896, when Gov. Heber M. Wells signed "An Act Describing and Providing for the Great Seal of the State of Utah" (see Constitution of Utah V11:20). The state seal was, according to the most accurate accounts, designed by Harry Emmett Edwards in 1896. Born in Ottawa, Canada, around 1862, he lived in Chicago for three years before moving to Utah in about 1893. In Utah he worked as a bartender for the Hogle Brothers and later became associated with the Onyx Bank. According to his sister-in-law, he had no formal art training but was a member of the National Society of Artists. He joined the Argenta Chapter of the Masonic Lodge on November 3, 1897, where he listed his occupation as "artist." He left Utah in about 1898 for the Klondike where he accumulated a fortune but lost it all in a fire in the Yukon. He died January 24, 1930, it is believed, in San Diego, California.
According to the Utah Code (1953 67-2-9 which has since been repealed),
"The great seal of the state of Utah shall be two and one-half inches in diameter, and of the following device: The centre a shield and perched thereon an American eagle with outstretching wings; the top of the shield pierced by six arrows crosswise; under the arrows the motto "Industry"; beneath the motto a beehive, on either side growing sego lilies; below the beehive the figures "1847"; and on each side of the shield an American flag; encircling all, near the outer edge of the seal, beginning at the lower left-hand portion, the words "The Great Seal of the State of Utah," with the figures "1896" at the base.
Tree:
The blue spruce (Picea pungens) was chosen by the Utah State Legislature on February 20, 1933, to be the state tree (Utah Code 63-13-7). Adoption of the blue spruce as Utah's official tree was made in record time after the bill, sponsored by the Utah Federation of Women's Clubs, had be introduced with the urgent request that it be passed before the Colorado legislature could pass a similar bill making the blue spruce that states official tree. Although the blue spruce is not plentiful in Utah, it is found in the Wasatch and Uinta mountains at elevations between 6,000 to 11,000 feet. It can be transplanted successfully and is widely used as an ornamental tree. Its foliage is generally silvery blue in colour and has the ability to withstand temperature extremes and drought.
The blue spruce is not a large tree, ranging from eighty to one hundred feet in height and one to two feet in diameter. Under optimum conditions, a blue spruce may reach a maximum of one hundred fifty feet in height and four feet in diameter. The wood is of little commercial value, as it is brittle and knotty. The chief use of blue spruce is for ornamental landscaping of homes, schools, and public buildings.
Indians probably lived in the Utah region several thousand years ago. Spanish explorers who arrived in 1776 found Gosiute, Paiute, Shoshone, and Ute Indians.
Mormon pioneers led by Brigham Young settled the Utah region in 1847. They called the region Deseret, a Mormon word that means honey bee. In 1850, the U.S. Congress named the territory Utah after the Ute Indian tribe.
During the 1950's and 1960's, Utah changed from an agricultural to an industrial state.
During the early 1980's, service industries and tourism expanded.
Bird:
The California gull (Larus californicus) became the official state bird on February 14, 1955, when House Bill 51 was signed into law by Gov. J Bracken Lee (Utah Code 63-13-9). The bill was introduced by Richard C. Howe a member of the House of Representatives.
The gull was first protected under Utah law because it is an insectivorous bird (feeds on insects). It was protected along with the owl, hawk, lark, whippoorwill, thrush, swallow, snowbird, and any other insectivorous or song birds. The California gull was chosen as the state bird because it was credited with saving the pioneer's crops from complete destruction in the summer of 1848.
Chiefly found in the interior regions, the California gull breeds on inland lakes from Canada south to Mono Lake, California, Great Salt Lake, and Yellowstone Lake, Wyoming. It winters along the Pacific Coast and inland in Utah, Oregon, and California. The mature California gull measures from twenty to twenty-three inches in length and has greenish yellow feet, a medium grey mantle, and a bill with an orange spot near the tip of the lower mandible. The outer primaries are black, tipped with white, the first two with subterminal white spots.
Economy:
Agriculture: Cattle, dairy products, hay, turkeys.
Industry: Machinery, aerospace, mining, food processing, electric equipment, tourism.
Flower:
The sego lily (Calochortus nuttallii) was made the official state flower of Utah on March 18, 1911, when Senate Bill 225 was signed into law by Gov. William Spry (Utah Code 63-13-6). The bill was introduced by William N. Williams, according to Heart Throbs of the West (2:226), after a census was taken of the state's schoolchildren as to their preference for a state flower. The sego lily grows six to eight inches high on open grass and sage rangelands in the Great Basin during the summer months. This member of the mariposa family typifies the lilies, with sepals, petals and stamens in the combinations of three with ivory-coloured petals which may be tinted from yellow to pink. A horizontal bar of darker colour crosses the base of each petal within the flower cup.
The flower is important to Utah not only for its beauty but because the bulbs were eaten by the early Mormon settlers during their first winter in the valley when food was scarce. The bulb, which is walnut-sized, was also eaten by the Indians before the Mormon settlers turned to it for sustenance and serves today as food for rodents and other animals.
Motto:
"Industry" officially became the state motto on March 4, 1959, when Gov. George D. Clyde signed House Bill 35 (Utah Code 63-13-11). "Industry" is associated with the symbol of the beehive. The early pioneers had few material resources at their disposal and therefore had to rely on their won "industry" to survive. The word "industry" appears on both the state seal and the state flag.
Origin of state's name:
Taken from the name of the Ute Indians, whose name means "people of the mountains".
Seal:
The official state seal was adopted on April 3, 1896, when Gov. Heber M. Wells signed "An Act Describing and Providing for the Great Seal of the State of Utah" (see Constitution of Utah V11:20). The state seal was, according to the most accurate accounts, designed by Harry Emmett Edwards in 1896. Born in Ottawa, Canada, around 1862, he lived in Chicago for three years before moving to Utah in about 1893. In Utah he worked as a bartender for the Hogle Brothers and later became associated with the Onyx Bank. According to his sister-in-law, he had no formal art training but was a member of the National Society of Artists. He joined the Argenta Chapter of the Masonic Lodge on November 3, 1897, where he listed his occupation as "artist." He left Utah in about 1898 for the Klondike where he accumulated a fortune but lost it all in a fire in the Yukon. He died January 24, 1930, it is believed, in San Diego, California.
According to the Utah Code (1953 67-2-9 which has since been repealed),
"The great seal of the state of Utah shall be two and one-half inches in diameter, and of the following device: The centre a shield and perched thereon an American eagle with outstretching wings; the top of the shield pierced by six arrows crosswise; under the arrows the motto "Industry"; beneath the motto a beehive, on either side growing sego lilies; below the beehive the figures "1847"; and on each side of the shield an American flag; encircling all, near the outer edge of the seal, beginning at the lower left-hand portion, the words "The Great Seal of the State of Utah," with the figures "1896" at the base.
Tree:
The blue spruce (Picea pungens) was chosen by the Utah State Legislature on February 20, 1933, to be the state tree (Utah Code 63-13-7). Adoption of the blue spruce as Utah's official tree was made in record time after the bill, sponsored by the Utah Federation of Women's Clubs, had be introduced with the urgent request that it be passed before the Colorado legislature could pass a similar bill making the blue spruce that states official tree. Although the blue spruce is not plentiful in Utah, it is found in the Wasatch and Uinta mountains at elevations between 6,000 to 11,000 feet. It can be transplanted successfully and is widely used as an ornamental tree. Its foliage is generally silvery blue in colour and has the ability to withstand temperature extremes and drought.
The blue spruce is not a large tree, ranging from eighty to one hundred feet in height and one to two feet in diameter. Under optimum conditions, a blue spruce may reach a maximum of one hundred fifty feet in height and four feet in diameter. The wood is of little commercial value, as it is brittle and knotty. The chief use of blue spruce is for ornamental landscaping of homes, schools, and public buildings.