Flag of Maine (1901–09)

The flag of the U.S. state of Maine from 1901 to 1909 was the first official flag to be used by the state; it was later replaced by a more standard military-style flag in 1909. The flag has recently seen a revival of interest due to local Maine vexillologists advocating for its re-adoption and businesses selling reproductions of it.

State of Maine

Use	Civil and state flag
Proportion	3:5
Adopted	21 March 1901
Relinquished	23 February 1909
Design	Green tree defacing buff field with a blue mullet in the canton.

Design

There was no set standardized design for the 1901-adopted Maine state flag. Each flag maker had their interpretation of the flag as the legislative document simply states “buff charged with the emblem of the State, a pine tree proper in the center and the polar star (a mullet of five points), in blue in the upper corner.” As long as this criteria is met, the flag should be considered a Maine state flag. Some flags might have stylized pine trees or various shades of “buff” (beige).[1] The pine tree is a traditional symbol of New England and has been featured on New England flags in the past, notably the Pine Tree Flag.

A popular version of the flag uses a tree design from the Maine merchant and marine flag.

History

Photograph of a surviving period-correct flag on display at a museum

Although Maine had a semi-official militia flag from the 1820s to the 1860s,[2] an official design was first proposed at the time the State House was being enlarged.

On March 6, 1901, An act to establish a State Flag was read in the State House of Representatives and referred to the Military Affairs Committee. It was read the next day in the State Senate and also referred to Military Affairs. The first draft of this act reads as follows:

The State Flag is hereby declared to be blue, charged  with the Arms of the State in the colors and as described in the Resolves of the State of Maine from 1820 to 1828, Volume I, Chapter IV. Resolve for providing a Seal, June 9th, 1820, Description of the Device, &c., of the Seal and Arms of the State of Maine.[3]

The Military Affairs Committee read their report on this act in the House on March 15 and in the Senate on March 19; this report contained a new draft and was read by Frederick Walls of Vinalhaven (born North Searsmont, Me., 1844; died Vinalhaven, March 15, 1921, son of Jacob Walls and Eliza Thompson) with the recommendation, ought to pass. The new draft reads as follows:

The State Flag is hereby declared to be buff charged with the emblem of the State, a pine tree proper in the center and the polar star (a mullet of five points), in blue in the upper corner. The star to be equidistant from the hoist and upper border of the flag, the distance from the two borders to the center of the star equal to about one quarter the hoist. This distance and the size of the star being proportionate to the size of the flag.

This act passed both houses and on March 21, 1901 was Engrossed – Chapter 233 – State Law.[4]

A new law was later enacted on February 23, 1909, modeled on the first draft and after flags used in the Civil War, which revised the original:

§206. State flag. The flag to be known as the official flag of the State shall be of blue, of the same color as the blue field in the flag of the United States, and of the following dimensions and designs; to wit, the length or height of the staff to be 9 feet, including brass spearhead and ferrule; the fly of said flag to be 5 feet 6 inches, and to be 4 feet 4 inches on the staff; in the center of the flag there shall be embroidered in silk on both sides of the flag the coat of arms of the State, in proportionate size; the edges to be trimmed with knotted fringe of yellow silk, 2 1/2 inches wide; a cord, with tassels, to be attached to the staff at the spearhead, to be 8 feet 6 inches long and composed of white and blue silk strands. A flag made in accordance with the description given in this section shall be kept in the office of the Adjutant General as a model.[5]

Only one existing copy of the flag from the 1900s is known to exist today. It is a small silk flag made about 1908 by the A. Kimball Co. of New York, likely made for the Alaska Yukon Pacific Exposition which was held in 1909. There are three known copies of this flag, one in San Francisco, Maryland, and Maine.

Recent usage

Another reproduction of the 1901 Flag

In both 1991 and 1997, David B. Martucci of Washington, Maine advocated for proposed legislation, brought forward by his representatives in the Maine Legislature, to revert to the 1901 flag, arguing that it was a simpler, more representative design of Maine as the "Pine Tree State" and was unlike any other current U.S. state flag. In both 1991[6] and 1997[7] the proposal failed, receiving 0 and 1 votes respectively.

Local Maine businesses have also begun advocating for the return of the 1901 Maine flag.[8] In 2008, CRW Flags in Glen Burnie, Maryland began offering an exact copy of the only known existing flag from the 1900s.[9] In 2017, the Maine Flag Company [10] began producing an appliqué version of the original Maine flag in their studio in Portland.[8] As the original flag began to gain more visibility through 2018, Maine Stitching Specialties of Skowhegan,[11] and the Bath Flag Company of Bath,[12] all in Maine, began making and marketing their respective variant of the original Maine flag. In addition, the Gettysburg Flag Works of East Greenbush, New York sells a version of the design.[13]

Some of these and other firms sell clothing, hats, stickers, patches, beverage coolers, and other items bearing the flag or its elements.[14]

Thanks to these manufacturers, the 1901 Maine flag is undergoing a surge in popularity.

A legislative bill was submitted in 2019 to change the state's official flag to one more resembling the original.[15] After an initial wave of support, the bill died in committee due to a larger outcry over changing the flag.

See also

• Symbols of the State of Maine

References

1. Buff is supposed to be the color of tanned deer hide and was the distinguishing traditional color of the Whig Party in both England and America prior to the Revolutionary War (see "West's Encyclopedia of American Law", accessed at http://www.encyclopedia.com/history/united-states-and-canada/us-history/whig-party on June 2, 2017). Along with "Continental blue", it was George Washington's signature color that he specified as the facing color for the Continental Army command staff (see George Washington Parke Custis, "Private Memoirs of Washington, by His Adopted Son, With a Memoir of the Author, by His Daughter; and Illustrative and Explanatory Notes, by Benson J. Lossing" [Philadelphia: J. W. Bradley, 1861], p. 520).
2. This flag featured the Pine Tree, a Moose and the star. See "Technology to the Rescue! Maine's First State Colors" by David B. Martucci, published in Flags From Sea to Sea, Canadian Flag Association, 2001 (http://internationalcongressesofvexillology-proceedingsandreports.yolasite.com/resources/18th-Victoria/Martucci-MainesFirstStateColours.pdf); also published in Maine History, Maine Historical Society, 2003 (https://www.mainehistory.org/publications.shtml).
3. Maine State Archives, in folder relating to the adoption of the first State Flag under date of 3/6/1901.
4. Maine (16 August 2018). "Acts and Resolves Passed by the ... Legislature of the State of Maine". Stevens & Sayward. Retrieved 16 August 2018 – via Google Books.
5. "Title 1, §206: State flag". Legislature.maine.gov. Retrieved 16 August 2018.
6. LD 1609
7. SD 530
8. "Maine's once forgotten original state flag is making a comeback". Bangor Daily News. Retrieved 2018-10-19.
9. "Maine (1901) Flags and Accessories". www.crwflags.com. Glen Burnie, Maryland: CRW Flags Store.
10. "Maine Flag Company". Maine Flag Company.
11. "Original 1901 Maine Flag". 1901originalmaineflag.com. Retrieved 2019-08-09.
12. "Bath Flag Co. – Merchant and Maker of Fine Flags and Heraldry".
13. "Original Maine Historic Flag - US National & State Flags - Historical Flags - Flags & Banners". www.gettysburgflag.com.
14. Cafe Press of Louisville, Kentucky (http://www.cafepres.com/; search for "Maine Flag 1901") offers the Flag Research Center Reconstruction design. Loyal Citizen Clothing of Portland, Maine(http://www.loyalcitizenclothing.com/) sells clothing with a variation of the existing flag elements from the era.
15. "HP0508, LD 687, item 1, An Act To Restore the Former State of Maine Flag". legislature.maine.gov.