Flag of Indiana

A centennial contest

Indiana went a century without a state flag. For the state’s centennial in 1916, the Daughters of the American Revolution held a design competition, and the winner was Paul Hadley, an artist from Mooresville. His blue-and-gold design was adopted by the General Assembly in 1917, though the law called it the state “banner.” In 1955 the legislature renamed it the state flag and changed its dimensions to standard flag sizes.

What the flag means

Hadley’s design is full of symbolism, all of it explained in the Indiana Historical Bureau’s account:

• The torch. In the center, a flaming torch stands for liberty and enlightenment.
• The rays. Lines spreading out from the torch represent the far-reaching influence of liberty and enlightenment.
• Thirteen stars. An outer circle of 13 stars stands for the original thirteen states.
• Five stars. A half circle of five stars below the torch stands for the next five states admitted before Indiana.
• The nineteenth star. A larger star above the flame stands for Indiana, the 19th state, with the word INDIANA arched above it.
• Blue and gold. The field is blue and the torch and stars gold or buff.

A new flag every day

Indiana treats its flag in an unusual way. A 1967 law requires that a new state flag be flown over the Capitol every day when practical. The used flags go to the Department of Administration, which sends them to groups named by state legislators; each legislator may request two of them in each 300-day period. When the state flag flies with the US flag, it goes on the observer’s right of the US flag.

Colors and proportions

The law does not set exact shades. For printing, the Indiana Historical Bureau uses Pantone 072C for the blue and 109C for the gold. The statute allows the flag to be made three feet by two feet, five feet by three feet, or any size in proportion.