History of the Colorado State Flag
In its early history, the land now known as Colorado flew under the flags of Mexico and the Republic of Texas, until the US bought the land in the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. Colorado then flew the flag of the District of Louisiana until February 28, 1861, when the Colorado Territory was created. It was then that Colorado’s present boundaries were established and have remained unchanged. AC Flag & Banner of Denver reminds us how much the history of the Colorado state flag reflects the pride and unity, of its people today.
In August of 1876 (the centennial date of the birth of the United States as a nation), Colorado became the 38th state in the union. Colorado didn’t have a flag until June 5, 1911, when it was finally adopted by an act of the state legislature. Andrew Carlisle Johnson designed the Colorado flag. AC Flag & Banner in Denver, notes the Colorado flag was designated to be used to represent the state both officially and publicly and for the people of Colorado to use. The laws of the United States flag pertained to the Colorado flag.
The website www.colorado.gov describes the Colorado flag as consisting of:
“Three alternate stripes of equal width and at right angles to the staff, the two outer stripes to be blue of the same color as in the blue field of the national flag and the middle stripe to be white, the proportion of the flag is a width of two-thirds of its length.
At a distance from the staff end of the flag of one-fifth of the total length of the flag, there is a circular red C, of the same color as the red in the national flag of the United States. The diameter of the letter is two-thirds of the width of the flag.
The inner line of the opening of the letter C is three-fourths of the width of its body or bar, and the outer line of the opening is double the length of the inner line thereof.
Completely filling the open space inside the letter C is a golden disk, attached to the flag is a cord of gold and silver, intertwined, with tassels, one of gold and one of silver.”
The colors chosen for the Colorado state flag are symbolic. The gold or yellow disk at its center represents Colorado’s sunshine, and many say Colorado’s gold from the gold rush of the 1800s. The white strip is for the snow-capped Rocky Mountains, and the blue border stripes stand for the blue skies. The red of the “C” represents the red Colorado soil.
AC Flag & Banner in Denver notes the design and history of the Colorado state flag represent the strength and determination of the people of Colorado.