Flag of Ohio
The flag of Ohio was adopted in 1902 and designed by John Eisemann, for the 1901 Pan-American Exposition. The large blue triangle represents Ohio's hills and valleys, and the stripes represent roads and waterways. The 5 strips also represent that Ohio is one of the 5 states that composed the Northwest Territory (Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, and Wisconsin). The seventeen stars symbolize that Ohio was the 17th state admitted to the union. The 13 stars on the left, above and below the circle are for the 13 original colonies of the United States. The white circle with its red center not only represents the first letter of the state name, but also its nickname, "the Buckeye State."[1]
Drawn by John Eisemann, architect and designer for the Ohio State Pan-American Exposition Commission,[1] it is the only American state flag that is non-rectangular, and one of only two non-rectangular official jurisdictional flags, at the state level or above, in the world (the other is the flag of Nepal). Loosely based upon the design of cavalry flags of the Civil War and Spanish-American War, the proper name for this type of flag is burgee.[1]
The flag forms the basis of the logo of the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Folding the flag
A method of folding the Flag of Ohio was created by Alex Weinstock, an Ohio Boy Scout, for his Eagle Scout service project, which was passed by the 125th Ohio General Assembly as House Bill 552, and signed into law by Governor Bob Taft on February 15, 2005.[2]
Text of 125th Ohio General Assembly House Bill #552
The general assembly hereby establishes a recommended procedure for the folding of the state flag by two people. The procedure is as follows:
With the flag unfolded, fold the flag in half lengthwise so that the points of the flag are aligned. Fold the flag in half lengthwise a second time to form a long strip with the red disc facing the ground. Next, fold the pointed end back onto itself to form a rectangle. These steps entail three folds.
Starting on the end formed by the fold of the pointed end back onto itself, fold two inches of the flag onto itself for a flag with a three-foot hoist and a five-foot fly, or another appropriate width of fold for a flag of a different size. Repeat the folds a total of fourteen times, alternating the folds in a fan-like manner.
The result is a total of seventeen folds symbolizing that Ohio was the seventeenth state admitted to the Union. Finally, neatly and snugly wrap the remaining length of flag around the fan-folds to form a compact rectangle.
References
- ^ a b c "Ohio's Flag". Ō•HI′•Ō Defined (4th edition ed.). Columbus, Ohio: Ohio Secretary of State and Ohio Public Library Information Network (OPLIN). 2006.
{{cite book}}:|edition=has extra text (help); External link in|chapterurl=|chapterurl=ignored (|chapter-url=suggested) (help) Cite error: The named reference "OHDef flag" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page). - ^ 125th General Assembly of Ohio, H.B. 552
External links
- Ohio at Flags of the World
- 125th General Assembly of Ohio, H.B. 552
- http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/entry.php?rec=1883
- Ohio Flag folding instructions in PDF form
