With the stroke of the pen Utah Governor Spencer Cox has made it official, a stone unique to the Uinta mountains in Duchesne County is the official state stone. House Bill 188 was sponsored by Representative Christine Watkins with Senator Ron Winterton serving as the Senate sponsor. It set out to designate ‘honeycomb calcite’ as the state stone and lawmakers agreed it was an appropriate move. Afterall, Utah has a long list of official designations including common things like a state fruit (the cherry) and state insect (the honeybee), as well as uncommon from the state cooking pot (a dutch oven) to the state folk dance (the square dance). So why not a state stone? In the bill itself it reads, “Utah’s state stone is honeycomb calcite, which originates in Duchesne County, Utah.” Honeycomb calcite got its name due to its gold honey-like color that can be found looking much like a honeycomb. Though not particularly impressive when first pulled from the ground, honeycomb calcite transforms into something beautiful when cut and polished and is used in jewelry, home decor and fixtures the world over. It can even be found on the floor of the State Capitol building inlaid in a beehive on Utah’s state seal.
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