Flag of Nevada

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Nevada
Flag of Nevada.svg
Use Civil and state flag FIAV 110000.svg FIAV normal.svg IFIS Mirror.svg
Proportion2:3
Adopted1929;96 years ago (1929)
(modifications in 1991)
DesignA solid cobalt blue field. The canton constitutes two sagebrush branches encircling a silver star with the text "Nevada" and "Battle Born".

The flag of the U.S. state of Nevada was adopted in 1929, when governor Fred B. Balzar signed into law a bill adopting the new flag. Its design consists of a solid cobalt blue field with, in the upper hoist quarter, two crossed sprays of sagebrush (the state flower) forming a half-wreath. Centered within the wreath is an upward-pointing silver star (a reference to the state's nickname, the Silver State), with the state's name arched below it in evenly spaced golden-yellow letters. Above the wreath is a golden-yellow scroll touching its tips, bearing the words "Battle Born", one of the state's mottos (in reference to Nevada becoming a state during the American Civil War). [1]

Contents

Statute

The 2024 Nevada Revised Statutes, Chapter 235, § 235.020 defines the state flag as follows:

The body of the flag must be of solid cobalt blue. On the field in the upper left quarter thereof must be two sprays of Sagebrush with the stems crossed at the bottom to form a half wreath. Within the sprays must be a five-pointed silver star with one point up. The word 'Nevada' must also be inscribed below the star and above the sprays, in a semicircular pattern with the letters spaced apart in equal increments, in the same style of letters as the words 'Battle Born.' Above the wreath, and touching the tips thereof, must be a scroll bearing the words 'Battle Born.' The scroll and the word 'Nevada' must be golden-yellow. The lettering on the scroll must be black-colored sans serif gothic capital letters. [2]

History

First flag (1905)

The first Nevada state flag from 1905 to 1915 Flag of Nevada (1905-1915).svg
FIAV historical.svg The first Nevada state flag from 1905 to 1915

The first flag of Nevada was created by Governor John Sparks and Colonel Harry Day in 1905. It was based strongly on Nevada's natural resources of gold and silver. The blue of the flag was to be the same as the blue on the flag of the United States. [3] [4]

Second flag (1915)

The second Nevada state flag from 1915 to 1929 Flag of Nevada (1915-1929).svg
FIAV historical.svg The second Nevada state flag from 1915 to 1929

The second flag of Nevada was designed by Miss Clara Crisler in 1915. The flag sought to be more representative of Nevada by adding the state seal as the center point of the flag. The flag retained the same blue field as the previous flag. The 36 stars on the flag represented how Nevada was the 36th state in the union. [3]

The flag proved popular, but the abundance of colors on the seal was too expensive to produce which led to the adoption of a new flag in 1929. [3]

Current flag (1929)

The Nevada state flag as it appeared from 1929 to 1991 Flag of Nevada (1929-1991).svg
FIAV historical.svg The Nevada state flag as it appeared from 1929 to 1991

The current flag had its origin in a design contest announced in 1926. The winning design, by Louis Shellback III, was subjected to some revision in the state legislature, where there was disagreement between the two houses over the placement of the word "Nevada" on the flag. A compromise was reached, and in 1929 Governor Fred B. Balzar signed into law a bill adopting the new flag. [3]

In 1989, however, a legislative researcher discovered that the bill as sent to and signed by the governor did not accurately reflect the 1929 legislative agreement. The flag used from 1929 until it was revised in 1991 displayed the letters of the word "Nevada" in a complete circle around the flag's single star, with the "N" of Nevada at the uppermost tip of the star indicating its "northern" position in the civil war, and with each of the other letters of the word Nevada located in the spaces between the remaining points of the star, displaying near each junction of the star's pentagonal center. Thus, "Nevada" was spelt from the "N" at the top, radiating clockwise E, V, A, D, A, in the spaces between the star's points. [3]

A law enacted in 1991 directed that the word "Nevada" appear below the star and above the sagebrush sprays, thus producing the current design. [3]

Other flags

State banner made for the Panama-Pacific International Exposition, 1912-1915 Nevada 1912 state flag.jpg
FIAV historical.svg State banner made for the Panama–Pacific International Exposition, 1912-1915

According to San Francisco Call there was a state flag made in 1912 for the Panama–Pacific International Exposition. It was given to Governor Tasker Oddie by the Charles C Moore, president of the exposition. [5] The banner was white with the word "NEVADA" on top and the state seal in the center with the date of the exposition below.

Proposed flags

See also

References

  1. ↑ "State flag". Nevada Revised Statutes; Chapter 235§20. State of Nevada. 1991. Retrieved March 14, 2010.
  2. ↑ "Nevada Revised Statutes § 235.020 — State Flag". Justia US Law. Retrieved December 4, 2025.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Nevada Trivia". The Nevada State Trivia game. Retrieved July 9, 2024.
  4. ↑ The Eureka sentinel, July 12, 1913
  5. ↑ "San Francisco Call 15 March 1912 — California Digital Newspaper Collection". cdnc.ucr.edu. Retrieved March 26, 2025.
  6. ↑ Karp Jr., John C. (July–September 2001). "Proposed Redesign Of The Nevada State Flag". NAVA News (171).
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