kentucky flag

The flag of the state of Kentucky was officially authorized on March 26, 1918. The 1918 flag act, which was adopted by the Kentucky General Assembly, mandated that the Kentucky state flag have a dark blue background. The flag must include the seal of the Commonwealth of Kentucky in the center, and the seal must be encircled by the goldenrod, Kentucky’s state flower. The original dimensions of the flag were not specified.

The original Kentucky state flag was not created until 1920, when a ceremony at Camp Zachary required its use. After this ceremony, a committee was formed to improve the design of the flag, but unfortunately, the committee’s work never reached the governor.

In 1927, Jouett Cannon, the Secretary of the Kentucky Historical Society, commissioned a Frankfort art teacher, Jesse Cox, to design an official Kentucky state flag. The flag Cox designed is very similar to the current Kentucky state flag.

The Kentucky state flag’s design was officially codified in 1961–1962, when Kentucky Adjunct General, Major Taylor L. Davidson researched historical designs of previous Kentucky state flags and commissioned artist Harold Collins to produce three designs of the Kentucky state flag. After Kentucky Governor Bert Combs approved one of the designs, the Kentucky Legislature passed a more detailed bill in 1962 to codify the design of the state flag and eliminate uncertainties.

The Kentucky state flag we see today adheres to the original flag act and includes the dark blue background, seal of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, and goldenrod flowers. The seal of the Commonwealth of Kentucky depicts two friends, a frontiersman and a statesman embracing. According to popular belief, the frontiersman is Daniel Boone, who explored much of Kentucky, and the statesman is Henry Clay, Kentucky’s most famous politician; the official explanation of the seal, however, claims that the figures represent all frontiersmen and statesmen. The words “UNITED WE STAND, DIVIDED WE FALL,” encircle the men in the seal and refer to lyrics from the popular American Revolution tune, “The Liberty Song.” In addition to the goldenrod flowers, the words “COMMONWEALTH OF KENTUCKY” also encircle the seal.

The Flag of Kentucky was originally adopted in 1918 and was finalized in its present form in 1928. The flag is a relatively simple design; it is made up of little more than the seal of Kentucky placed upon a field of blue. Unbeknown to most, Kentucky is not officially classified as a state in the United States of America. Kentucky is a commonwealth, just as is Pennsylvania, Virginia and Massachusetts.

The Flag of Kentucky was originally designed by an art teacher named Jesse Cox who resided in Frakfort, Kentucky. In the center of Mr. Cox’s flag is the seal of the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Depicted in the Commonwealth’s seal are two men who appear to be shaking hands. By most accounts, the man on the left of the seal is meant to be Daniel Boone, who was most responsible for exploring Kentucky. On the right stands who is believed to be Henry Clay, Kentucky’s most famous statesman. Officially, however, the seal is meant to symbolize all frontiersmen and statesmen, rather than anyone specific. Encircling the two men on the seal are the words “United We Stand, Divided We Fall”, with “United We Stand” positioned on top and “Divided We Fall” on the bottom. These words are derived from “The Liberty Song”, which was a popular patriotic song during the American Revolution.

Around the entire seal on the Kentucky Flag sit the words “Commonwealth of Kentucky” on top, along with a peculiar design on the bottom. At first glance, the design at the bottom looks utterly meaningless, but it does indeed have a bit of symbolism attached. The design is meant to represent the Goldenrod, the state flower of the state of Kentucky. The Kentucky Flag was officially recognized as the state’s flag on March 26, 1918 by the Kentucky General Assembly.

Tag: kentucky flag

Flag of the State of Kentucky