State Flags I Have Known: A Rundown and Ranking

 

Do you know what your state flag looks like?

Until a few years ago I did not, and honestly it took me a bit longer than that to figure out that each state had an official flag.  The first time that I remember state flags being on my radar was this picture, which I snapped in Sandusky, Ohio back when I took The Goodtime I Island Hopping Cruise on Lake Erie.  This is a port of entry between the US and Canada, so the US and Canada flags made sense, but I wondered what the other two flags were.  The white flag is for the city of Sandusky, and the flag on the right is the Ohio state flag.  

I make a point of visiting State Capitols when I can, and a few of the other state flags have features that have made me ponder.  The idea for a post about state flags started brewing in my brain, and then this morning I clicked over to the Washington Post and was stunned to see this top story: Texas schools nix lesson over Virginia state flag’s exposed breast.

Say what?  To save you the trouble of clicking on the gift link, the first sentence reads: "School officials in one part of the Lone Star State are no fans of the lone nipple on the Virginia state flag".  Yes friends, Virginia's state flag depicts the goddess Virtus, and 100 hundred years ago someone thought that the lady looked like a dude so they lowered her neckline to clarify things.  Since I have not yet been to Virginia's Capitol, I don't think it is fair for me to show the picture yet, but you can see it here.  In any case, if state flags are making the news, it's time for me to start writing about them.

So far in my travels I have not seen anything as interesting as a nipple on a state flag, but a few other details have caught my eye.  Rather than wait 10 years until my State Capitol Quest is complete, let's take a look at the state flags for the eight US Capitol buildings that I have visited so far.  In order visited: Ohio, Indiana, Minnesota, Wisconsin, West Virginia, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, and Maryland.  Let's take a look and then we'll rate these flags.

Note: I used my personal photos when possible, and screenshots from Wikipedia to fill in the blanks.  All facts are from what I remember being told on my state Capitol tours with assists from the same Wikipedia page.  Now that state flags are firmly on my radar my goal going forward will be to use only personal photos.

Ohio

The circle is meant to be an O, and there are 17 stars in total because Ohio was the 17th state.  The four stars at the right of the triangle are meant to symbolize the states that were added after the OG 13.  There is an official folding protocol for the flag which has, you guessed it, 17 steps.

Indiana

Indiana's state flag has 19 stars, so if anyone asks you what the 19th state was, you can answer with confidence.

Minnesota

Oh hey new kid on the block!  Minnesota's current state flag was adopted on May 11, 2024.  This picture was taken on June 5, 2024.  The eight sided star is from a design in the state Capitol and represents the north star.

The only thing is that to me this looks like a blue and white flag, but pictures widely available on the internets show that the bottom half of the flag is light blue.  I don't know if my camera was confused or if this is a prototype flag that was on display the day I was there.  I can only show you what my camera saw.  The flag on the right is the 1893 state flag.

Wisconsin

I spent quite a bit of time in Wisconsin in 2024, yet somehow I only have one picture of the flag.

 

Here is a better look:

The badger is the official state animal and is prominently represented in the state Capitol artwork so of course it made the flag.  It's a bit hard to tell, but the critter under the "forward" banner is a badger.

West Virginia

Aw friends, we have a spectacular fail in the photo department.  I took one billion pictures when I went to West Virginia and exactly zero of them are of the flag.

Virginia's flag's claim to fame is that it is the only flag with a nipple, and West Virginia's flag's claim to fame is that it is it only flag to depict a pair of crossed rifles (hard to see, they are in the center with the red Cap of Liberty in front of them).

Kentucky

Now we're talking!  Kentucky is the Flag With a Message.  It is also a Flag That I Failed to Get a Decent Picture Of When I Was There, but it was very prominently displayed all over Frankfort.

 

Pennsylvania

I utterly failed to notice Pennsylvania's flag when I was there last weekend. Now mind you, I kinda like it, but the word on the street is that folks feel that PA's flag looks like too many other state flags.  There is a movement to go the Minnesota route and replace it with a simpler design featuring the state's Keystone symbol.  Stay tuned.

Maryland

For some reason I feel better about using this picture that I took at the Capitol last week than using a screenshot from Wikipedia.  The image is from the Baron of Baltimore's Coat of Arms (aka the founder of the colony of Maryland).

Maryland was very much a divided state in the Civil War, and at that time the images on the coat of arms were split and claimed by the opposing sides.  The Unionists were Team Blue and Gold, and the Confederates were Team Red and White.  After the war the two images reunited again.

Let's Rate 'Em!!!

The judging criteria is:

• Does the flag have a nipple?
• Was the flag noticeable when I visited?
• Is there something about the flag that makes me say "whoa"?
• Do I like the flag?

Ohio - no, no, no, and yes

Indiana - no, yes, no, yes

Minnesota - no, no, no, yes

Wisconsin - no, no, yes, yes

West Virginia - no, no, no, no

Kentucky - no, yes, yes, yes

Pennsylvania - no, no, no, yes

Maryland - no, yes, yes, yes 

The official Birchwood Rankings Are:

1. Indiana - even though it only scored 2/4, and I didn't have much to say about it, IMO the design pops the most.
   
2. Kentucky - winner of Best Message Award
3. Maryland
4. Wisconsin - winner of the Best Badger on a State Flag award, and potentially the only state with a badger award but I have 42 more flags to review before I can make that call.
5. Ohio
   
6. Pennsylvania
7. Minnesota
   
8. West Virginia
   

What is your favorite and least favorite of these flags?  Did you know about Virginia's Nipplegate?

Until next time!  Give me another year or so to visit another group of states and we'll do another round up of those flags.