Text and imagery associated with beehives are ubiquitous across Salt Lake City, Utah. This symbol is especially prevalent throughout the Salt Lake Basin where early Utah pioneer originally settled, but beehives are prominent throughout what is officially known as “The Beehive State.” This icon has a significance and meaning connected to the past and future of the entire region.
Connected to a Symbol of Cooperation and Community
For many centuries, beekeepers used carefully designed domed baskets called skeps to house colonies of bees. Modern hive boxes made the beehive skep an antiquated means of housing bees, but by that time they had already become a symbol recognized across Utah.
When Brigham Young and his followers that became The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) came to the Salt Lake Valley in July of 1847, he picked the name “Deseret” for their new home and the beehive as its emblem. This decision would symbolize the cooperative work that he believed would be required to make the desert bloom. Utah’s early settlers saw the beehive as an ideal metaphor for their productiveness and hard work.
Over the decades, the beehive symbol lost much of the religious context of the LDS Church but the community connections with it were pervasive. When Utah was admitted to the Union in 1896, the beehive was included on the state seal. In 1959, Utah designated the beehive as the official state emblem.
Now known as “The Beehive State,” the beehive skep has become an icon that is recognized and utilized in countless ways across the city and state. This has created a noticeable impact on the culture and economy of the entire region.
A Mean of Connection and Identity
Numerous Salt Lake businesses begin their name with “beehive” while many others incorporate the beehive icon into their logo or brand. The name and imagery associated with beehives have been used in especially creative ways that appeal to different people in distinct ways.
Countless products incorporate beehive imagery into them to appeal to tourists, but others are designed to cultivate a connection with residents. This dichotomy has enabled the beehive to be used on and in everything from candles to glassware to actual beeswax.
With the state motto of “Industry” being directly connected to the beehive, this symbol of cooperation and hard work has achieved iconic status across like state like few other symbols anywhere in the world. Doing so has enabled it to be embraced in a way that has already resonated across multiple eras.
Connecting with the Legacy of a Pioneer Past
The beehive has become an icon that links people across Salt Lake City and all of Utah with the legacy of their pioneer past. However, it has also become a powerful means of identity and connection in the present that numerous shops and stores can utilize in creative ways to drive interest. Doing so has created opportunities that are being realized in the present and will continue to be cultivated into the far future.
