State Capitols – Salt Lake City, Utah - Outside

Utah Capitol in Salt Lake City (20 June 2014)

Constructed: 1912-15

Architect: Richard Kletting

State Admitted to Union: January 4, 1896 (45th)

State Population (2010): 2,763,885 (34th)

The Idaho-Montana-Utah Capitol Jaunt ended in Salt Lake City. It was a wonderful week in some of the most scenic areas of the country.

Utah is a special state with a history different from the others. Its founding and continuing narrative is as one of our most theocratic states. By the mid-19th century, Mormons could not co-exist within the State of Illinois and headed west. They started to settle here in 1847 and continue to celebrate ‘Pioneer Day’, July 24, when Brigham Young’s wagon train arrived and Utah history began.

Utah Capitol Dome (20 June 2014)

The dome is copper, reflecting Utah’s place

as the second-leading copper mining state.

One minor complication at the time was that the land was in Mexico. We settled that matter quickly by starting a war with the weaker nation and taking 40% of their territory after smacking them around… ‘Spoils of War’ and ‘Manifest Destiny’ you know. Among its places in the nation’s progress, Utah was the last link in the first transcontinental telegraph in 1861 and the last link in the first transcontinental railroad in 1869.

The settlers in the Salt Lake area wasted no time and thought big. Almost immediately, they petitioned Washington to grant statehood to ‘Deseret,’ a term from the Book of Mormon said to mean ‘honeybee.’ The beehive is the state symbol and “Industry” the state motto.

The Official State Symbol,

Utah Capitol, Salt Lake City (20 June 2014)

The proposed boundaries of Deseret encompassed land currently in nine western states and extended to the Pacific Ocean in southern California. President Fillmore granted them territorial status with more modest boundaries and Brigham Young became the first territorial governor.

Centrally-located Fillmore was the first capital. Named for the president who denied their premature and grandiose statehood request but granted territorial status, the town was quickly abandoned for lack of accommodations and facilities. Salt Lake City has been the center of territorial and state government since 1856.

By 1911, Utah had been a state for fifteen years and they still hadn’t found a way to construct a capitol building. The legislature finally agreed to raise a million dollars but what put them over the top was the inheritance tax from the estate of Union Pacific Railroad magnate E. H. Harriman.

Chief Massasoit by Cyrus Dallin [1959],

Utah Capitol, Salt Lake City (May 1995)

We’ve shown that many western state houses include statues of Native / Original Americans. This particular bronze depiction stands outside the east entrance to the capitol and has caused some consternation among the Utah tribes. The renowned sculptor, Cyrus Dallin might have lived most of his life in Massachusetts but he was born and raised in the Utah Territory. The figure is actually the Wampanogas chief who is said to have greeted the Pilgrims when they landed at Plymouth Rock in 1621. The artist donated the plaster original to the state and this bronze cast was made later. Navajo residents of Utah have objected, suggesting that a better example could have been made with a resident subject.

Mormon Battalion Monument by Gilbert Riswold [1927]

Utah Capitol, Salt Lake City (20 June 2014)

The Mormon Battalion Monument commemorates the 500 volunteers who joined the U.S. Army to fight in the Mexican War. The only religious unit in U.S. military history, the Mormon Battalion existed for a year during the war. Although they never engaged in any battles with Mexican forces, the unit was present across the southwest and contributed to the eventual acquisition of all that Mexican territory.

The next post will take us inside this fine state house.