Vermont

flag of Vermont
The Green Mountain State
Admitted March 4, 1791

Vermont has had three official iterations of its state flag. The first two closely resembled the flag of the United States, with alternating red and white stripes and blue canton.

This proved confusing, especially due to the U.S. flag changing frequently as new states were added. For the third version, they opted for the reliable design of their coat of arms on a field of blue.

This version of the flag was officially adopted June 1, 1923.

Composition

The Vermont flag features a field of blue charged with the state coat of arms, centered.

In the 2001 North American Vexillological Association (NAVA) flag survey of United States and Canada flags, the flag of Vermont was ranked 61st out of 72.

flag of Vermont

Iconography

  • two crossing pine boughs

    pine boughs

    New England

    Note: Pine boughs were worn at the battle of Plattsburgh during the War of 1812.

  • pine tree

    pine tree

    forests

  • three sheaves of wheat

    wheat

    agricultural tradition

  • cow

    cow

    dairy farming

  • a shield with mountains in the distance

    Green Mountains

    Vermont, Camel’s Hump and Mount Mansfield

    Note: “Verd Mont” translates to Green Mountain.

  • a left-facing deer’s head

    deer

    flourishing wildlife

  • “Freedom and Unity” on a banner flanking the word “Vermont”

    motto

    personal liberty, welfare of the common good

Coat of Arms

First seen in 1807 on Vermont bank notes, the coat of arms wasn’t formalized and standardized until 1840.

the Vermont coat of arms

Colors

The Vermont flag features a field of deep blue.

Vermont statute describes the colors featured in the coat of arms, but Cable or Pantone values are not provided.The hex values here are approximations.
Blue
#003366
Gold
#ffcc33
Red
#c2091d
Pine
#5a8562
Green
#002a22
Brown
#c24b20

Construction

Although not specified in Vermont statutes, the flag is typically produced with a 3:5 proportion.

construction sheet for the flag of Vermont

Previous iterations

  • a field of green with a blue canton charged with thirteen unevenly spaced white stars

    Pre-1804

    An unofficial flag, representing the Green Mountain Boys, a Vermont militia led by Ethan Allen.

  • seventeen alternating red and white horizontal stripes with “Vermont” inscribed in the top red stripe; a dark blue canton is charged with seventeen white stars in five rows

    1804–1837

    The first official flag mimics the U.S. flag, but with 17 stars and 17 stripes (a change they expected the U.S. flag to adopt). Vermont is inscribed on the first red stripe.

  • thirteen alternating horizontal stripes; a dark blue canton is charged with the coat of arms inside an eight-pointed star-burst

    1837–1924

    The flag changed to 13 stripes (again to match the U.S. flag) and within the canton the coat of arms is placed within an 8-pointed star. Sometimes a 5-pointed star was used.

  • the current flag

    1924–Present

    The current flag of Vermont, no longer matching the U.S. flag.

Sources