Why does the Ohio flag look like that?
This patriotic question, as we come out of the holiday weekend, was suggested by Dispatch staffer Cole Behrens.
If you haven’t paid careful attention to flagpoles in the state, the Buckeye State’s banner is not your typical rectangle. It ends in two triangles that dip to a point in the middle.
So what’s the story? Here’s what to know.
Ohio flag history
The Ohio state flag, officially known as the Ohio burgee, was designed by John Eisenmann in 1901 and adopted in 1902, according to the state of Ohio.
That dual triangle design is known as a swallowtail, and it’s unique: no other state flag looks like it.
Eisenmann is quoted as providing this explanation for the flag’s design, according to a state report available online:
“The triangles formed by the main lines of the flag represent the hills and valleys as typified in the state Seal, and the stripes the roads and waterways. The stars, indicating the 13 original states of the Union, are grouped about the circle, which represents the Northwest Territory; and that Ohio was the seventeenth state admitted into the Union is shown by adding four more stars. The white circle with its red center not only represents the initial letter of Ohio, but is suggestive of its being the Buckeye State.”
Historians suggest that the flag’s unique shape may take its inspiration from Civil War-era battle flags that featured a “swallowtail” guidon design. The burgee itself is typically a nautical design.
Of note: the flag was first unfurled in Buffalo, New York, at the Pan-American Exposition, according to the Ohio Secretary of State’s Office. It was at this exposition that President William McKinley, an Ohio native, was assassinated.
On the subject of history…
The Fourth of July has us in a historical mood here at The Columbus Dispatch. If you haven’t yet, check out reporter Danae King’s profile of Doreen Uhas Sauer, Columbus’ unofficial history teacher.
Want to know what’s up with that? Email us.
Do you have a question you want answered? Email me at ekennedy@dispatch.com, or you can send your questions to newsroom@dispatch.com, ideally with “What Up With That?” in the subject line.
Thank you to the many of you who have already submitted questions; we’re hard at work getting answers to them, and we look forward to hearing from more of you!
Dispatch Digital Director Eleanor Kennedy can be reached at ekennedy@dispatch.com.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: What’s Up With That? Why is the Ohio flag shaped the way it is?
Reporting by Eleanor Kennedy, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
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