Maine Flag

The Flag of Maine was originally created and approved in the year 1909. Since then, the flag has remained completely unchanged. The flag consists of an interesting design, made up of little more than the Maine Coat of Arms placed upon a blue background. The exact colors for the Coat of Arms have never been specified; however, the blue background has officially been determined to be the same blue as on the US flag.

Interestingly enough, the state of Maine was actually and enclave of Massachusetts until the year 1820. As a result of Maine’s sudden growth in population, it became the 23rd state in on March 15th, 1820, due in part to the Missouri Compromise.

In the center of the Maine Flag sit the Maine Coat of Arms. The coat of arms is a peculiar design. On the left of the coat of arms stands a farmer, resting on a scythe. On the right sits a seaman, resting on an anchor. Above the two men sits a star (the North Star) along with the word “DIRIGO”. Dirigo (I lead), is the official state motto of Maine. Below the entire design, just as with many other state flags, sits the name of the state – “MAINE”, written in bold large letters.

At first glance, the flag of Maine doesn’t appear to have any major defining characteristics that make it stand out from other flags. Due to the plainness in design of the Maine Flag, the flag was actually voted one of the worst designs of any flag in North America by the North American Vexillogical Association in 2001. Out of 72 flags surveyed in Canada and the United States, the Maine Flag was voted 13th worst.