Friday 8 July 2016

West Virginia Flag And Its History

By Kelly Rodgers


West Virginia was admitted to the Union as a Free State with the agreement that current conditions of slavery would be phased out. President Lincoln approved the statehood bill for West Virginia on January 1, 1863. On April 20, 1863, West Virginia was proclaimed a State, effective 60 days, later on, June 20, 1863.

Amidst the Civil War, turmoil was all over the place and it wasn't until September that West Virginia received its official State Seal, its emblem the most conspicuous segment of the State banner. Another unmistakable segment of the State banner is West Virginia's State Flower enormous laurel, received in 1903.

The following year, 1904, St. Louis, Missouri staged an exposition, "The Louisiana Purchase Exposition," also know as the Saint Louis World's Fair. West Virginia needed to send a flag to the exposition to represent itself. A white flag with blue borders that featured the State flower on the obverse side (front) and the West Virginia coat of arms on the reverse side (back) was created.

The proportions of the state flag are the same as those of the United States flag. The background, or field, of the flag, is pure white bordered by a strip of blue on all four sides. In the center are the coat-of-arms of the State of West Virginia, including the date of admission to the union and the state motto, Montani Semper Liberi.

One further change was made in the state flag, on March 7, 1929. Because of the expense and difficulty of manufacturing a double-sided flag, the legislature voted to frame the state arms with branches of big laurel and to show the same emblem on both sides of the flag.

There is a barrage of cheap and inferior West Virginia flags being imported and sold, that do not comply with the flag statute. This is bad for a number of reasons. Imported flags are cheaply made and more importantly, the designs, materials, colors, and methods of printing do not compare well with the better quality, longer-lasting, and correctly designed flags made by American manufacturers. The Flag Company Inc specialized in flag designs offered a special edition of decals and flags to memorize the history of West Virginia flag for the future.




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