Ralph Ramsey

Ralph Ramsey was a woodworker and sculptor who created the Eagle Gate adjacent to Temple Square, the original entrance to Brigham Young’s estate. Ramsey also sculpted the beehive that was placed at the pinnacle of Young’s home the Beehive House. He carved the facade for the Tabernacle organ[1]. He also carved pieces for the Jennings mansion and the Devereaux house in Salt Lake City. He created the hall tree that was placed in the Church president’s office (now property of the Daughters of the Utah Pioneers).

Ramsey was born in Leddlesfell, England, in 1824. He studied carving in Newcastle-on-Tyne in northern England. He converted to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and emigrated from England to Utah, arriving with the first handcart company in 1856. He settled first in the Salt Lake Valley, then later moved first to Richfield and then to Snowflake, Arizona, where he died in 1905.