The Flag Company Inc And Kentucky Flag

By Roy Fright


Kentucky was granted statehood in 1792, becoming the first U.S. state west of the Appalachian Mountains. Frontiersman Daniel Boone was one of Kentucky's most prominent explorers and many immigrants followed the trail he blazed through the Cumberland Gap, known as the Wilderness Road.

Dr. Thomas Walker and Christopher Gist led the first surveying parties into Kentucky in 1750 and 1751, respectively, but the outbreak of British and Native American battles in the French and Indian War in 1754 delayed further exploration of the state for over a decade. Daniel Boone visited Kentucky in 1767. In 1769, with a party of hunters led by John Finley, he returned to Kentucky for a two-year exploration of the region.

In 1774, James Harrod constructed the first permanent settlement in Kentucky at Fort Harrod, the site of present-day Harrodsburg. Boonesboro was established in 1775, and many other settlements were created soon after. Kentucky prides itself on producing some of the nation's best tobacco, horses, and whiskey. Corn, soybeans, wheat, fruit, hogs, cattle, and dairy products are among the agricultural items produced. Kentucky's State Flag was authorized in 1918, but the design of the flag was not approved until 1928. The flag was designed by Jesse Cox Burgess, an art teacher in Frankfort, the state capital. The flag was adopted by the Kentucky General Assembly on March 26, 1918, and finalized the process by including a drawing in the statutes on 1928.

The flag consists of the Commonwealth's seal on a navy blue field, surrounded by the words "Commonwealth of Kentucky" above and sprigs of goldenrod, the state flower, below. The seal depicts a pioneer and a statesman embracing. Popular belief claims that the buckskin-clad man on the left is Daniel Boone, who was largely responsible for the exploration of Kentucky, and the man in the suit on the right is Henry Clay, Kentucky's most famous statesman.

The Kentucky state flag follows in the footsteps of many other flags. Kentucky began as a French colony, so it was initially represented by the flag of France. It was eventually given to the British Empire, at which point the Union Jack came into use. That flag fell out of use during the Revolutionary War, which Kentucky spent as part of Virginia.

There is a barrage of cheap and inferior Kentucky 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 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 Kentucky flag for the future.




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