Old Folks Day

This monument is topped not with a general or a prophet but with the bust of Charles R. Savage, the pioneer photographer — and it honors not his famous photographs but his kindness. In 1874 Savage, troubled by how the elderly were left behind at community gatherings, conceived "Old Folks' Day": an annual outing where Utahns over seventy were feted and entertained by the young. The first, in 1875, carried 180 of them by rail and steamer to the Great Salt Lake's shore. The tradition lasted, statewide, until 1970.

What the plaque says

IN AFFECTIONATE REMEMBRANCE OF CHARLES R SAVAGE AND IN REVERENTIAL REGARD FOR THE OLD FOLKS WHOSE HAPPINESS HE SO GREATLY PROMOTED THROUGH THE ESTABLISHMENT OF OLD FOLKS DAY IN UTAH No. 65 ERECTED JULY 23, 1936 HONOR THY FATHER AND THY MOTHER OLD FOLKS DAY WAS INAUGURATED IN SALT LAKE CITY IN 1875, BY CHARLES R. SAVAGE, ASSISTED BY EDWARD HUNTER, PRESIDING BISHOP OF THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS, AND GEORGE GODDARD, SINCE WHICH TIME ALL PERSONS SEVENTY OR MORE YEARS OF AGE HAVE BEEN HONORED AT AN ANNUAL CELEBRATION IN NEARLY EVERY COMMUNITY IN UTAH. TRAVEL, REFRESHMENT AND ENTERTAINMENT ARE FREE. THIS MONUMENT ERECTED BY PUBLIC SUBSCRIPTIONS, OLD FOLKS' COMMITTEES, CAMBRIAN SOCIETY OF SALT LAKE CITY, INC., COVERED WAGON DAYS, INC., AND UTAH PIONEER TRAILS AND LANDMARKS ASSOCIATION

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Salt Lake City — steps away
  Utah's capital and largest city — where the Wasatch Range meets the Great Salt Lake.
• Temple Square — steps away
  The spiritual and architectural heart of Salt Lake City
• Ensign Peak — 1.4 mi
  A short hike to the spot where Brigham Young surveyed the valley
• Liberty Park — 1.9 mi
  Salt Lake Citys beloved 80-acre urban park since 1882

More markers nearby

• Great Salt Lake Base and Meridian — steps away
• Desert News Building — steps away
• Zions First National Bank — steps away
• Joseph Smith — steps away