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History of the Texas State Flag

On December 10, 1836, President Sam Houston approved the first national flag of the Republic of Texas. This Texas state flag, known as the "National Standard of Texas" displayed a large golden five pointed star centered on an azure ground. This Texas state flag flew over the Republic of Texas until January 25, 1839. A bill describing the "Lone Star Flag" was introduced on December 28, 1838 by Senator William H. Wharton. This bill was passed by the Texas Congress on January 21, 1839 and approved by Texas President Mirabeau B. Lamar on January 25, 1839, almost six years before Texas became a member of the United States of America. Early designs of the Texas state flag are attributed to many including Joanna Troutman, Sara Dodson, Charles Bellinger Stewart, Peter Krag and William Wharton, but it was long held that the actual designer of the Texas State Flag, the Lone Star Flag, was not known. When Texas was admitted to the Union in 1845, the Lone Star Flag came along. From September 1, 1879 until the 1933 Flag Act, Texas was without an official state flag. The legislation adopted in 1933, was quite particular about the design and location of the lone star and the colors of the Texas state flag: blood red, azure blue and white. However, no standard for "blood red" or "azure blue" existed and flags manufactured within the state varied in color and dimension. The statutes concerning the flag were revisited and the official description of the state flag was revised. The Texas state flag consists of a rectangle with a width to length ratio of two to three containing: (1) a blue vertical stripe one-third the entire length of the flag wide, and two equal horizontal stripes, the upper stripe white, the lower red, each two-thirds the entire length of the flag long; and (2) a white, regular five-pointed star in the center of the blue stripe, oriented so that one point faces upward, and of such a size that the diameter of a circle passing through the five points of the star is equal to three-fourths the width of the blue stripe. The colors of the Texas state flag were also stipulated as being "Old Glory Red" and "Old Glory Blue", the same colors found in the national flag of the United States. These colors are defined in the Standard Color Reference of America.

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