Ohio State Flag History

By Albert Derrick


Initially colonized by French fur traders, Ohio became a British colonial possession following the French and Indian War in 1754. At the end of the American Revolution, Britain ceded control of the territory to the newly formed United States, which incorporated it into the Northwest Territory.

With its rich soil, abundant wildlife and water, Ohio has been a desirable place to call home throughout history. Many groups came to Ohio in search of freedom or to escape religious persecution and found Ohio to be a progressive place. Add Lake Erie to the north and the Ohio River to the south, and it's no wonder the state became a center of invention and industry.

Ohio is the only one of the 50 states to use a nonrectangular flag. Its designer, John Eisenmann, may have been inspired by the swallow-tailed shape of a guidon that was carried by the U.S. cavalry. The flag was to be flown from the Ohio building at the Pan-American Exposition of 1901, a circumstance that may also have contributed to its unusual shape. Eisenmann copyrighted his design in 1901, and it became official on May 9, 1902.

The red disk at the left end suggests the seed of the buckeye, the official state tree. The white O around it corresponds to the initial letter of the state name, while the use of stars and stripes and the colors red, white, and blue clearly honor the U.S. national flag. Eisenmann associated the triangles of his design with the hills and valleys of Ohio, and the stripes symbolize the state's waterways and roads. The 17 stars in the flag recall that Ohio was the 17th state to join the Union. The shape of the flag is sometimes referred to as a burgee, which is properly a nautical term.

There is a barrage of cheap and inferior Ohio flags being imported and sold, that do not comply with the flag statute. This is bad for a number of reasons. Imported flags are cheaply made and inferior to American-made Ohio flags, but more importantly, the designs, materials, colors, and methods of printing do not compare well with the better quality, longer-lasting, and correctly designed flags made by American manufacturers. The Flag Company Inc specialized in flag designs offered a special edition of decals and flags to memorize the history of Ohio flag for the future.




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