Last updated on March 21st, 2022
Facts about Ohio flag:
1. The Ohio state flag is the only US state flag that doesn’t have a rectangular shape. The distinctive and unique ‘swallow tail’ design was based on a pennant used by the state’s cavalry in the 19th century.
2. For almost 100 years after becoming the 17th state, Ohio had no official state flag. The current flag was designed for the Pan-American exposition by a professor of engineering, John Eisenmann in 1901 and was officially used as the state’s flag the following year.
3. An official way to fold the flag was devised by an Ohio boy scout named Alex Weinstock. The folding procedure takes two people and involves 17 different folding moves. The 17 folds symbolize that Ohio was the 17th state admitted to the Union. A salute to the flag was adopted in 2002 by the state’s General Assembly, to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the flag’s founding.
4. The colors of red, white and blue on the Ohio flag represent the natural elements found in the state. Specifically, the large blue triangle represents the state’s valleys and hills, while the red and white bands symbolize rivers, canals and roads and the large letter O suggests the buckeye that gives Ohio its nickname.
5. The Ohio state flag has been criticized over the years for looking too similar to the national flags of Japan, Cuba and the Philippines. Today however, the flag is regularly displayed at college football games throughout the state, and several Ohio counties and cities have devised a similar looking swallow tail design for their flag.
