US States

US and California Flag on Our Flagpole

California – The Golden State

California designated “The Golden State” as the official state nickname in 1968.

Between California’s explosive growth following the discovery of gold in 1848, the fields of golden poppies that appear each spring throughout the state, the Golden Gate Bridge, and the clear, golden coastal sunsets over the Pacific – California truly is the golden state!  Gold is also one of California’s official state colors and the state mineral.

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US and Iowa Flags on Our Flagpole

Iowa – The Hawkeye State

The flag of the state of Iowa is a vertical tricolor of blue, white, and red, reflecting the U.S. state of Iowa’s history as part of the French Louisiana Territory. The image of a bald eagle with a long ribbon reading “Our liberties we prize and our rights we will maintain”, derived from the Seal of Iowa, is centered in the middle white stripe. The word “Iowa” is placed directly below it in red, serifed majuscules.

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US and Texas Flags on Our Flagpole

Texas – The Lone Star State

Legislation authorizing this flag was introduced in the Congress of the Republic of Texas on December 28, 1838, by Senator William H. Wharton and was adopted on January 25, 1839, as the final national flag of the Republic of Texas. When Texas became the 28th U.S. state on December 29, 1845, the national flag became the state flag.
The actual designer of the flag is unknown.

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Florida - The Sunshine State 1

Florida – The Sunshine State

Between 1868 and 1900, the flag of Florida was simply the state seal on a white background. In a discrepancy, however, a later version of the state seal depicts a steamboat with a white flag that includes a red saltire, similar to Florida’s current flag. In the late 1890s, Governor Francis P. Fleming advocated that St. Andrew’s Cross be added so that it would not appear to be a white flag of truce hanging still on a flagpole. Floridians approved the addition of St. Andrew’s Cross by popular referendum in 1900. The red saltire of the Cross of Burgundy represents the cross on which St. Andrew was crucified, and the standard can be frequently seen in Florida’s historic settlements, such as St. Augustine, today.

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Michigan - Great Lakes State 2

Michigan – Great Lakes State

Flag of Michigan:
The flag of the state of Michigan depicts the state’s coat of arms on a dark blue field, as set forth by Michigan state law. The state has an official flag month from June 14 through July 14.[2]
The state coat of arms depicts a light blue shield, upon which the sun rises over a lake and peninsula, and a man with a raised hand representing peace and holding a long gun representing the fight for state and nation as a frontier state.
As supporters, the elk and moose are derived from the Hudson’s Bay Company coat of arms, and depict great animals of Michigan. The bald eagle represents the United States which formed the state of Michigan from the Northwest Territory.

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Arkansas - The Natural State 3

Arkansas – The Natural State

The flag’s elements have a complex symbolism. According to the 1987 state law defining the flag, the diamond represents Arkansas’ status as “the only diamond-bearing state in the Union. This status is no longer valid following recent discoveries in Colorado and Montana. The number, 25, of white stars around the border of the diamond represents Arkansas’ position as the 25th state to join the union. The blue star above “ARKANSAS” represents the Confederate States of America, which Arkansas joined in secession. The design of the border around the white diamond evokes the saltire found on the Confederate battle flag.

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Missouri - The Show Me State 4

Missouri – The Show Me State

The Missourian state flag was designed and stitched in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, by Marie Elizabeth Watkins Oliver, the wife of former State Senator R.B. Oliver. She began her flag project in 1908 as part of her volunteer activities with the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) when she was appointed chairperson of the DAR committee to research and design Missouri’s flag. Oliver researched state flags extensively. She wrote each state’s secretary of state for information about how their state’s flags had been designed and officially adopted. Her original design incorporated Missouri’s coat of arms and was rendered as a painted paper flag by her friend Mary Kochitzky.

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Maine - Pine Tree State 5

Maine – Pine Tree State

The flag of the state of Maine features the state coat of arms on a blue field. In the center of the shield, a moose rests under a tall pine tree. A farmer and seaman represent the traditional reliance on agriculture and the sea by the state. The North Star represents the state motto: Dirigo (“I Lead”).
There are no official colors for the coat of arms, so variations in coloration can be seen in flags from different manufacturers. The blue field, however, is specified to be the same blue as in the flag of the United States. According to the official description, the flag should have a fringe of yellow silk and should have a blue and white silk cord attached at the spearhead. These embellishments are very rarely observed.
Originally, the 1901 Maine Flag consisted of a green pine tree, Native symbol of New England and freedom, in the center, with a blue “North Star”, all on a buff-colored background.
The Maine legislature approved the current flag on February 23, 1909.

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Alabama - The Yellowhammer State 6

Alabama – The Yellowhammer State

Alabama’s current flag was adopted in 1895. The legislation introduced by Representative John W. A. Sanford Jr. stipulates that “[t]he flag of the state of Alabama shall be a crimson cross of St. Andrew on a field of white. The bars forming the cross shall be not less than six inches broad, and must extend diagonally across the flag from side to side.” Sanford’s father, John W. A. Sanford, had commanded the 60th Alabama Infantry Regiment during the U.S. Civil War and he modeled his design on the battle flag used by that regiment.[5] The design of that regimental flag was a white saltire over a blue field with a circle of white stars surrounding the crossing. It had been adopted from the flag of Hilliard’s Legion of Alabama Volunteers which was raised in 1862 and dissolved after the Battle of Chickamauga with parts of its 1st and 3rd battalions entering the 60th Alabama Infantry. The regimental flag accompanied them through the end of the war and was surrendered at Appomattox Courthouse.

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