Flag of Missouri

The flag of Missouri was designed and stitched in Jackson, Missouri, by Marie Elizabeth Watkins Oliver (1885-1959), the wife of former State Senator R.B. Oliver. Her design was adopted in 1913 and remains unchanged to this day.

The flag consists of three horizontal stripes of red, white and blue. These represent valor, purity, vigilance, and justice. The colors also reflect the state's historic status as part of the French Louisiana Territory. In the center white stripe is the Seal of Missouri, circled by a blue band containing 24 stars, symbolizing Missouri's admission as the 24th U.S. state.

Design

The original flag design was painted on paper by classically-trained artist Mary Kochtitzky of Cape Girardeau, and Marie Oliver’s friend. In 1908 the flag was taken to the state capitol in Jefferson City for viewing.

Marie Oliver’s husband, Robert—A former Missouri Senator—drafted a bill to make the Oliver Flag the official flag of Missouri and sent the bill to his nephew Sen. Arthur L. Oliver, who introduced the bill in the senate on March 17, 1909. The bill passed in the senate but failed in the house. The General Assembly was considering the design of another flag created by Dr. G.H. Holcomb, known as the "Holcomb Flag".

Voting on the flag designs stalled, and then the Missouri State Capitol burned in 1911, destroying Oliver’s original paper flag. Artist Mary Kochtitzky, who had painted the first flag was out of state, so Oliver and Mrs. S.D. MacFarland worked together to duplicate Kochtitzky’s artwork on a second flag made of silk.

On January 21, 1913, the Oliver Flag Bill was introduced in the House of Representatives. The Missouri DAR and the Colonial Dames approved, supported, and urged their legislators to vote yes on the design. It passed on March 7 and was quickly signed by the Senate, which sent it to the governor. Governor Elliott Woolfolk Major signed the bill, making the Oliver flag the official flag of Missouri on March 22, 1913.