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The
original Utah state flag was adopted by the new
state legislature in 1896. This flag consisted
of a solid white depiction of the
Utah State Seal on a light blue background.
This flag remained in service until the state
legislature revised the statutes in 1913.
In 1903,
the Utah State Society Daughters of the
Revolution presented a state flag to Governor
Heber M. Wells, . The silk flag, embroidered by
Agnes Teudt Fernelius, displayed the Utah State
Seal. Each member of the USSDR had donated one
dollar to pay for the flag.
In
October of 1903, it was determined that an error
had been made in the State Seal depicted on the
flag and it was also determined that the flag
that had been presented and accepted by the
Governor was not an official state flag but
rather would serve as the Governor's regimental
flag. An official state flag would have to
comply with an act of the state legislature and
thereby be approved by the state legislature.
The USSDR
took their flag to artist H.L.A. Culmer and
asked him to make corrections to the state seal.
A new flag was born of this effort and presented
to the Governor. The Governor replied that ""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, the Sons and Daughters of Utah Pioneers
commissioned a flag to be presented to the
battleship Utah. This flag displayed the Utah
State Seal centered on a blue background and
circled by a thin gold line. This flag became
the official Utah State Flag as we know it today
when it was approved by the legislature and
Governor William Spry signed the the House Joint
Resolution in 1913.
If you
want more information on the State Flags of the
United States, you might want to check
How Proudly They Wave: Flags of the Fifty States by Rita D. Haban. This book is
geared toward kids... and for adults like me who
want to know about the history and design
significance of the flags of all fifty states
but can't find this information in an expensive
encyclopedia. |