The History of Utah's Flags

SUMMARY: The 1913 Utah State Flag is based on an 1860 design by the Daughters of the American Revolution. The DAR design had the arms of the state seal in white on a blue field. In 1913, the seal was changed to a full-color design in a thin gold circle. The flag features a field of deep blue with the state seal at its center. The coat of arms shows a shield with a golden beehive, representing industry and hard work, with the state motto, “Industry”, above and the state name below. Surrounding the beehive are symbols of the state’s natural resources including sego lilies, the state flower, and activities. An eagle with war arrows in its talons is above the shield and U.S. Flags are on either side. 

The date 1847, when the Mormon pioneers arrived in the Salt Lake Valley, is also inscribed on the flag. This emblematic design celebrates Utah’s history and values of industry and community.

The Beehive Flag is the official flag of the U.S. State of Utah. It is a horizontal tricolor with irregular bands of blue, white, and red. The middle white band contains a blue hexagon outlined in gold. Within the hexagon lies a gold-colored beehive, and below it sits a five-pointed white star. 

The previous flag was redesignated the "Historic State Flag" and retains co-official status in the state. It continues to fly year-round at the Utah Capitol, as well as on special occasions statewide. It can be flown at any time by private citizens. 

Symbolism

At the top, a blue stripe symbolizes Utah's vast skies and lakes and fundamental principles such as faith, knowledge, and freedom. The white stripe is divided into five peaks, representing the snowy peaks of Utah's mountains, evoking peace and honoring the state's eight Tribal nations. Below, a red-rock canyon stripe signifies Southern Utah's majestic landscapes and the spirit of perseverance, nodding to the red elements on the United States flag. Outlined by a gold rim, the hexagon shape contains a beehive, symbolizing prosperity, unity, and Utah's motto 'Industry'. Below the beehive is a five-pointed star, representing hope and commemorating 1896, the year Utah attained statehood and became the 45th star on the American flag, representing the state's allegiance to the nation.

Pre-statehood

Mormon pioneers flag

2002 reconstruction

Alternative reconstruction

As allegedly designed by council in 1848, this flag was the first flag designed to unify the Saints as they celebrated their first pioneer day. This flag was lost in the 1850s but later recreated by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 2002 and has flown on Ensign Peak since. Contemporary reports describe similar flags being flown in 1877 at the funeral of Brigham Young and in 1880 at the Golden Jubilee of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. There is currently no historic documentation available to support this flag.

Flag of the State of Deseret

One of the earlier flags of Deseret, reconstructed

A cavalry guidon of the Utah-era version of the Nauvoo Legion

According to most descriptions, the flag of the State of Deseret was similar to the flag of the State of Utah, but as it was not standardized, multiple other secular and religious alternatives were also used. 

Utah Territory

Flag of the Utah Territory

1913 design

Flag of Utah (1913–1922)

Flag of Utah (1922–2011)

Flag of Utah (2011–2024)

Flag of Utah, enhanced variant (2011–2024)

In 1912, the Sons and Daughters of Utah Pioneers ordered a custom made copy of the newly adopted flag to be presented to the recently commissioned battleship USS Utah. When the flag arrived, the group discovered that the shield on the flag was in full color instead of white, and the manufacturer had added a gold ring around the shield. Rather than have the flag remade, Annie Wells Cannon introduced HJR 1 and the Utah legislature changed the law to allow the manufacturer's changes to become part of the official flag. Prior to being received by the ship on June 25, 1913, the new flag was displayed at the state capitol in January 1913, then in the ZCMI windows on Main Street and at a ball held in honor of the flag.

During the 59th state legislative session in 2011, a Concurrent Resolution (HCR002) was adopted requiring flag makers to fix a mistake found on all then-current Utah state flags. The mistake originated in 1922 when a flag maker misplaced the year 1847, by stitching it just above the year 1896, instead of in its correct position on the shield. It is believed every flag made since 1922 used this flag as a model, and the mistake persisted for 89 years. Later that same 2011 session, House Bill #490 passed the legislature, making March 9 an annual Utah State Flag day. 

1927 redesign attempt 

Proposed flag of Utah (1927)

In 1927, then-Governor George Dern, during his address to the Utah State Legislature, requested the state adopt a much simpler flag that could be made quickly and cheaply and could fly alongside the American flag. Nothing was done, however, until in 1930 when flag enthusiast Lilliebell Falck, from Ogden, approached him with a few simplified designs. Her favorite was a white beehive with 28 lines to represent Utah's counties. However, with growing opposition to the design by the Sons and Daughters of Utah Pioneers, the design was eventually scrapped later that year.  

Salt Lake Tribune design contest (2002)

In 2002, The Salt Lake Tribune, along with the North American Vexillological Association, solicited designs for a new state flag. Over 1,000 designs were collected, with the top 35 selected for judging. However, no flags from this contest were adopted by the state.

2024 design 

The current flag of Utah (2024-present)

Historic State Flag of Utah (2024–present)

Proposed flag of Utah (2019)

In 2018, State Representatives Steve Handy and Keven Stratton proposed 2 different approaches to updating the Utah flag. Representative Handy proposed creating a flag commission to receive input and designs from the public, with the ultimate goal of proposing a new flag to the legislature. Representative Stratton sponsored separate legislation to adopt a specific flag design. The Utah House of Representatives was more amenable to a proposal to involve the public with a commission, but ultimately both efforts failed in 2019. 

Representative Handy proposed another bill in 2020, this time keeping the 2011 design as a "historical flag". However the effort stalled in the House Political Subdivisions Committee on a tie vote. 

After a failed 2020 redesign effort, State Senator Daniel McCay started a bill in the Utah Senate. To prepare for the debate, the House and Senate watched a TED Talk by Roman Mars, "Why city flags may be the worst designed thing you've never noticed." In addition to the Ted Talk, the lead designer for the Utah Jazz, Ben Barnes, shared a set of prototype designs for lawmakers.

 

 

In 2021, Senator McCay sponsored a bill to create a task force to redesign the Utah state flag. The bill also designated an official flag to commemorate the 125th anniversary of Utah's statehood. The bill passed in the House and the Senate  and was signed into law by Governor Spencer Cox. 

Commemorative Flag of Utah (2021)

In 2022, the Utah State Flag Task Force accepted design submissions from the public. 5,703 designs were submitted, 2,500 of which were submitted by students.^[31] In September, 20 semifinalist designs were announced and Utahns were asked to submit their feedback.^[32] During the month-long comment period, 44,000 survey responses were given.

Flag proposed by the Utah State Flag Task Force

On November 10, 2022, the Task Force submitted a final proposal to the Utah State Legislature for adoption as the official state flag. On January 18, 2023, the Utah Senate Business and Labor Committee voted 6–1 to advance the flag to the State Senate, with McCay saying he hoped the new flag design will reach Spencer Cox's desk by March 3. 

Final chosen design

On January 30, 2023, the State Senate approved the bill 17–10, which advanced to the State House of Representatives for approval. However, the flag was slightly modified; the eight-pointed star was replaced by a five-pointed star after a Indigenous constituent expressed reservations over the former, saying it looked more like an asterisk from a distance. In consultation with tribal leaders, tribal representation shifted to the 5 mountain peaks to represent the five original tribal nations of Utah (Navajo, Shoshone, Goshute, Paiute and Ute). 

On March 2, 2023, the Utah House of Representatives approved the bill 40-35, and the State Senate passed the concurrence vote 19-9-1, sending the bill to the governor's desk for signing.

The bill was signed by Governor Cox on March 21, 2023, along with an executive order formalizing the change. The bill—and the new flag—went into effect on March 9, 2024, thus providing a one-year phase-in period to gradually transition to the new flag. The bill also designates the prior design as the official historic flag which may continue to be used by all. The executive order mandates that the historic state flag be flown above the state capitol every day of the year and once the bill goes into effect, the two flags should be flown from different flagpoles on capitol grounds. The order also petitions the legislature to amend the bill to allow the new flag to be flown below the historic state flag when they are flown together.

A public opinion poll conducted by the Hinckley Institute of Politics in March 2023 found that 48% of respondents supported the new flag, 35% opposed it, and 17% didn't know.

On May 17, 2023, the Utah State Capitol raised the new flag for the first time.

Attempts to remove the 2024 flag

Opponents of the new flag announced a campaign to initiate a 2023 ballot referendum on the adoption on the flag, hoping to retain the old flag, in spite of language in the bill that retains the historic state flag. The signature campaign failed, ultimately receiving only 21,030 verified signatures; official verification was halted after fewer than 50,000 signatures of the 134,298 required were submitted to county clerks.

Flag opponents launched a second signature campaign to put the issue on the 2024 ballot as an initiative. That campaign also failed, gathering 99,125 signatures. (The lieutenant governor's office had only validated 81,992 before the deadline, the remaining 17,133 signatures left unvalidated would not have been enough to cross the threshold of 134,298 signatures to qualify for the ballot.) On February 8, 2024, a group linked to the campaign filed a federal lawsuit against the lieutenant governor, alleging that ten separate provisions of the citizen initiative process that the legislature created were unconstitutional. The group sought injunctive relief for the alleged violations, but were denied on all counts. Subsequently, the group withdrew the lawsuit two days later.

During Utah's 2024 legislative session, Representative Phil Lyman put forward House Bill 436 in the Utah House of Representatives. The bill would have repealed the new flag, but it failed to advance out of committee. 

SOURCE: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Utah#Color_scheme

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Subcategories

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