The Flag of the United States of America in Old Fort

This corner of the Old Fort is remembered as the spot where the pioneers first raised the American flag over their new settlement in the summer of 1847 — though the ground was, at that moment, still Mexican territory, a year before the war that would make it American. The flagpole standing here was raised in 1997, on the pioneer sesquicentennial, as a tribute to the settlers who wintered on this site and went on to build Salt Lake City. It marks the founding, and the founders' quick claim to the land as their own.

What the plaque says

In the summer of 1847, this site, known then as the "Old Fort," was the first permanent Anglo-Saxon settlement in the west. It was here that the American Flag was first raised. This Sesquicentennial Flag Pole is raised as a tribute to the pioneers who lived on this site and settled the Salt Lake Valley. July 18, 1997 Pioneer Park/Fort Restoration Committee ———————————————— Shirley Maynes U.S.M.B. Auxiliary Louise C. Green I.S.D.U.P. Gaylen Maynes U.S.M.B. Elma Odegard I.S.D.U.P. VerDon Parker Neils Little Gerald Woodmanse Ruth Little Hermoine Jex Fae Nichols Norma Amodt Elizabeth Bowden Paul Hutchison Barbara Uzelac Contributors ———————————————————————— Utah Pioneer Sesquicentennial Celebration Coordinating Council Salt Lake City Public Services Salt Lake City Redevelopment Agency

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Temple Square — 0.8 mi
  The spiritual and architectural heart of Salt Lake City
• Salt Lake City — 0.8 mi
  Utah's capital and largest city — where the Wasatch Range meets the Great Salt Lake.
• Liberty Park — 1.8 mi
  Salt Lake Citys beloved 80-acre urban park since 1882
• Ensign Peak — 2.1 mi
  A short hike to the spot where Brigham Young surveyed the valley

More markers nearby

• Pioneer Square — steps away
• First Pioneer Fort in Valley PTLA #23 — steps away
• Utah's First Fort/Pioneer Women/Children (3) — steps away
• Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church — steps away