Flags on Ensign Peak

Ensign Peak has long been a place for flying flags. Shortly after the coming of the Mormons in 1847, an American flag was flown from its summit, and early settlers may also have flown their special "flag of the kingdom" there. This kingdom flag was never formalized into an exact pattern, but likely had twelve blue and white stripes and one or more blue stars, and it was likely flown from Ensign Peak as part of the first Pioneer Day celebration held in 1849. In 1897, the Salt Lake Herald erected the first flagpole on Ensign Peak, and Utah leaders designated the summit as an official place to display the American and state flags. Fifty years later, volunteers carried a seven-hundred-pound pole to the top, where it was erected, but it was later damaged by vandals and removed to the Council Hall near the State Capitol. Ensign Peak also inspired pioneer poet Joel Hills Johnson to write the verses of the popular hymn "High on the Mountain Top," for which Ebenezer Beesley wrote a fitting tune, and the peak has been the subject of many other poems and stories.

Salt Lake City, Utah · United States