Iowa State Flag

Flag of Iowa

Iowa was almost 75 years old before the state banner was adopted by the Legislature in 1921. With memory of the Civil War still fresh in their minds, Iowans had not adopted a state banner because they felt a national banner was the only one needed.

Iowa's flag was designed by the state's Daughters of the American Revolution in response to Iowa national Guardsmen stationed at the Mexican border during WWI that requested an emblem of Iowa to represent their unit.

The flag consists of three vertical stripes: the blue stripe stands for loyalty, justice and truth; the white stripe for purity; and the red stripe for courage. On the white center an eagle carries streamers in its beak which are inscribed with the state's motto: "Our liberties we prize and our rights we will maintain." The name "IOWA" is in red below the streamers. The eagle carrying streamers also appears on Iowa's state seal.

The Daughters of the American Revolution organized another state flag contest won by DAR member Dixie Cornell Gebhardt in 1917. The winning flag design, adopted in 1921, is on a background of three vertical red, white and blue stripes representing Iowa's part in the 1803 Louisiana Purchase. The blue stripe represents loyalty, truth and justice, the white stripe signifies purity, and the red stripe stands for courage. A flying eagle with a scroll in its mouth taken from the state seal is centered on the flag above the word IOWA.