Ohio state symbols
Ohio has 29 official state symbols, most of them in Chapter 5 of the Ohio Revised Code. The oldest is the flag of 1902, followed by the scarlet carnation of 1904; the newest is the 1905 Wright Flyer III, named the state airplane in 2025. In between, Ohio has adopted a state rock song, a state pet and two tomato symbols.
Flag, flower and bird
Ohio’s swallowtail flag of 1902 is its oldest symbol. The scarlet carnation followed in 1904, adopted in memory of President William McKinley, an Ohioan who wore one as a good-luck charm. The northern cardinal became the state bird in 1933, the Ohio buckeye the state tree in 1953 and “With God, all things are possible” the state motto in 1959. Ohio flint, a fine-grained form of quartz, became the state gemstone in 1965.
Tomatoes and pawpaws
Food symbols run in pairs in Ohio. Tomato juice became the state beverage in 1965, and in 2009 the Legislature named the tomato the state fruit and the pawpaw the state native fruit.
Wildlife
The ladybug became the state insect by resolution in 1975; the resolution praised the beetle as friendly, hardy and useful to nature. The large white trillium, which grows in every Ohio county, became the state wildflower in 1987, and the white-tailed deer, important to the state’s early settlers, the state animal in 1988. The black racer snake followed in 1995, and in 2010 the spotted salamander and the American bullfrog became the state amphibian and frog.
Fossils
Ohio has two official fossils. Isotelus, a trilobite from about 440 million years ago, became the state invertebrate fossil in 1985; the law cites a specimen from Huffman Dam near Dayton as the largest complete trilobite then known, though a larger one has since been found in Manitoba. In 2021 Dunkleosteus, an armored fish from the Devonian period whose remains are still being found in northeast Ohio, became the state fossil fish, after a 12-year-old from Medina testified for the bill.
History in the landscape
Several symbols honor Ohio’s past. The Newark Earthworks, prehistoric geometric earthen enclosures in Licking County, became the state prehistoric monument in 2006. The Adena pipe, a human-figure pipe carved from Ohio pipestone by the Adena culture and excavated in 1901 from a mound near Chillicothe, became the state artifact in 2013. The Blaine Hill Bridge, built in 1828 on the National Road and called by the law the oldest bridge in the state, is the state bicentennial bridge. The barn, proposed by seventh graders at Genoa Middle School in Westerville, became the state historical architectural structure in 2019.
Flight, derbies and rock
Ohio’s newest symbol is the 1905 Wright Flyer III, which first flew on June 23, 1905, near Dayton; it became the state airplane in 2025. Akron’s All-American Soap Box Derby, a youth racing program dating from 1934, is the official gravity racing program, and the Ohio State Reformatory museum in Mansfield is the state penal museum. And since 1985, “Hang On Sloopy,” a 1965 hit for the McCoys, has been the state rock song.
Flag, seal, song, motto and nickname
-
1902Flag of Ohio
FlagA swallowtail burgee rather than a rectangle: three red and two white stripes, with a blue triangle at the hoist holding seventeen white stars, thirteen grouped around a white 'O' with a red center and four more at the triangle's peak. By statute the stripes stand for roads and waterways, the triangle for hills and valleys, the 13 stars for the original states plus four more for Ohio's place as the 17th state, and the 'O' for Ohio and the buckeye.
Ohio Rev. Code § 5.01 (originally enacted 1902)
- 1996
Great Seal of Ohio
SealThe coat of arms inside a circle with the words 'THE GREAT SEAL OF THE STATE OF OHIO'. It shows a sheaf of wheat and a bundle of 17 arrows in front of Mount Logan as seen from Adena, with a rising sun casting 13 rays and the Scioto River and farm fields between.
The current statutory design of the coat of arms and seal dates from 1996.
Use restricted: Ohio Rev. Code § 5.10: the design may be reproduced only as required by law or with the governor's permission; § 5.99 sets a fine of up to $500 and/or up to 30 days in jail for violations.
Ohio Rev. Code §§ 5.04 (coat of arms) and 5.10 (great seal)
- 1969
Beautiful Ohio
SongWritten in 1918. The lyrics are still under copyright, so they are not reproduced here. Official page.
"Beautiful Ohio" dates from 1918. The state adopted it in 1969, and since 1989 the official version uses special lyrics by Wilbert B. McBride.
Ohio Rev. Code § 5.09
- 1959
With God, all things are possible
MottoEnglish.
Proposed by a Cincinnati schoolboy and adopted in 1959. The ACLU of Ohio challenged it in federal court, and in 2001 the full Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled it constitutional.
Ohio Rev. Code § 5.06
Animals
-
1933Northern cardinal
BirdCardinalis cardinalis -
1988White-tailed deer
MammalOdocoileus virginianusDesignated as the official 'state animal'; the law adds that the title does not change the Division of Wildlife's duty to manage the deer herd. The Supreme Court of Ohio says it was chosen for its importance to Ohio's early settlers.
Ohio Rev. Code § 5.032 · Onecle (copy of the Ohio Revised Code)
-
1995Black racer
ReptileColuber constrictorThe statute names the subspecies Coluber constrictor constrictor.
Ohio Rev. Code § 5.031 · Onecle (copy of the Ohio Revised Code)
-
2010Spotted salamander
AmphibianAmbystoma maculatum -
2010American bullfrog
FrogRana catesbeiana -
1975Ladybug (lady beetle)
InsectCoccinellidaeAdopted by a General Assembly resolution rather than a Revised Code section; the resolution praised the beetle as friendly, hardy and useful to nature. No single species is named.
- 2019
Shelter pet
PetAnimals adopted from shelters were named the official state pet to promote awareness of shelter animals.
Ohio Rev. Code § 5.036 (S.B. 86, 132nd General Assembly) · Ohio Legislative Service Commission
Plants and fungi
-
1904Scarlet carnation
FlowerDianthus caryophyllusThe statute adopts the flower to honor the memory of President William McKinley, an Ohioan. Alliance physician Levi Lamborn raised the red carnation from French seedlings in 1866 and gave McKinley one before each of their 1876 congressional debates; McKinley kept wearing it as a lucky charm. McKinley handed his lapel carnation to a young admirer moments before he was shot at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo in September 1901.
Joint resolution of the General Assembly (1904); now Ohio Rev. Code § 5.02 · Remarkable Ohio (Ohio History Connection historical marker program)
-
1987Large white trillium
WildflowerTrillium grandiflorumThe statute notes that the plant grows in every one of Ohio's counties, which is why it was chosen alongside the cultivated carnation.
Ohio Rev. Code § 5.021 · Onecle (copy of the Ohio Revised Code)
-
1953Ohio buckeye
TreeAesculus glabra
Earth and sky
- 1985
Isotelus (trilobite)
FossilIsotelusDesignated as the official invertebrate fossil. The statute describes a genus of Ordovician trilobites from roughly 440 million years ago and cites a specimen collected at Huffman Dam in Montgomery County as the largest known complete trilobite, a record since surpassed by a larger Isotelus found in Manitoba in 1998.
Ohio Rev. Code § 5.071 · Onecle (copy of the Ohio Revised Code)
- 2021
Dunkleosteus
Fossil fishDunkleosteus terrelliAn armored Late Devonian fish whose remains are still being found in northeast Ohio. A 12-year-old from Medina testified to Ohio senators in support of the bill.
Ohio Rev. Code § 5.078 (S.B. 123, 133rd General Assembly) · Court News Ohio (Supreme Court of Ohio)
- 1965
Ohio flint
GemstoneThe statute describes it as a cryptocrystalline form of quartz.
Ohio Rev. Code § 5.07 · Onecle (copy of the Ohio Revised Code)
Food and drink
- 1965
Tomato juice
BeverageSolanum lycopersicum - 2009
Tomato
FruitSolanum lycopersicum - 2009
Pawpaw
Native fruitAsimina triloba
Songs, words and language
- 1985
Hang On Sloopy
Rock songThe McCoys made "Hang On Sloopy" a hit in 1965. Ohio named it the official rock song by resolution in 1985, after a Columbus newspaper column prompted by a proposal in Washington state to honor "Louie Louie."
House Concurrent Resolution 16 (116th General Assembly) · Ohio History Connection
- 2002
Pledge to the state flag
Flag pledgeThe law says the Ohio pledge may not replace the U.S. Pledge of Allegiance or be recited before it.
Ohio Rev. Code § 5.013 · Onecle (copy of the Ohio Revised Code)
Culture and history
- 2025
1905 Wright Flyer III
AircraftDesignated the state airplane. The statute notes it first flew on June 23, 1905, near Dayton. Governor Mike DeWine signed the bill in April 2025; it took effect July 2, 2025.
Ohio Rev. Code § 5.022 (S.B. 24, 136th General Assembly) · Ohio Legislative Service Commission
- 2019
The barn
Historical architectural structureThe idea came from a group of seventh graders at Genoa Middle School in Westerville; Governor John Kasich signed the bill in December 2018.
Ohio Rev. Code § 5.074 (S.B. 86, 132nd General Assembly) · Ohio Legislative Service Commission
- 2013
Adena pipe
ArtifactA human-figure effigy pipe carved from Ohio pipestone by the Adena culture; William C. Mills excavated it in 1901 from a burial mound near Chillicothe.
Ohio Rev. Code § 5.075 (S.B. 33, 130th General Assembly) · Onecle (copy of the Ohio Revised Code)
Places and institutions
- 2006
Newark Earthworks
Prehistoric monumentGeometric earthen enclosures in Licking County built in prehistoric times.
Ohio Rev. Code § 5.073 · Onecle (copy of the Ohio Revised Code)
- 2002
Blaine Hill Bridge
Bicentennial bridgeBuilt in 1828 in Belmont County as part of the National Road; the statute calls it the oldest bridge in Ohio.
Ohio Rev. Code § 5.072 · Onecle (copy of the Ohio Revised Code)
- 2014
Ohio State Reformatory museum, Mansfield
Penal museumRun by the Mansfield Reformatory Preservation Society on the grounds of the former reformatory.
Ohio Rev. Code § 5.077 (H.B. 483, 130th General Assembly) · Onecle (copy of the Ohio Revised Code)
- 2023
All-American Soap Box Derby
Gravity racing programThe Akron-based youth racing program dates from 1934.
Ohio Rev. Code § 5.076 (H.B. 423, 134th General Assembly) · Ohio Legislative Service Commission
Questions about Ohio's symbols
- What is the Ohio state bird?
- The northern cardinal, adopted in 1933.
- What is the Ohio state flower?
- The scarlet carnation, adopted in 1904 in memory of President William McKinley. The state wildflower is the large white trillium.
- What is the Ohio state fossil?
- Isotelus, a trilobite from about 440 million years ago. A specimen from Huffman Dam near Dayton was once the largest complete trilobite known.
- What is Ohio's state beverage?
- Tomato juice, adopted in 1965. The tomato itself became the state fruit in 2009.
- What is the Ohio state pet?
- Shelter pets, meaning animals adopted from shelters, named in 2019 to promote awareness of shelter animals.
Photo credits (10)
- Flag of Ohio: John Eisenmann, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
- Northern cardinal: patricia pierce, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Scarlet carnation: Darkone (talk · contribs), CC BY-SA 1.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Large white trillium: Paul Johnston, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Ohio buckeye: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- White-tailed deer: USDA photo by Scott Bauer, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
- Black racer: The, CC BY-SA 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons
- Spotted salamander: Andrew Murray, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- American bullfrog: Carl D. Howe, CC BY-SA 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons
- Ladybug: Marcel Zurreck, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Something out of date? Tell us and we will check it against the law.
Sources
- 1902: Ohio Flag Adopted Ohio Magazine
- Ohio Revised Code 5.10 - State Seal Onecle (copy of the Ohio Revised Code)
- Ohio Revised Code 5.09 - State Song Onecle (copy of the Ohio Revised Code)
- Ohio Revised Code, Chapter 5 (state symbols) Onecle (copy of the Ohio Revised Code)
- Ohio state symbols State Symbols USA