Historic Texas Flags

The Texas state flag is the 1839 national flag of the Republic of Texas. The state flag is a rectangle that has a width to length ratio of two to three. It contains one blue vertical stripe that has a width equal to one-third the length of the flag, and two equal horizontal stripes, with the upper stripe white, the lower stripe red, and each having a length equal to two-thirds the length of the flag. The flag has one white, regular five-pointed star. The five-pointed star is located in the center of the blue stripe, oriented so that one point faces upward, and sized so 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 red and blue of the state flag are the same colors used in the United States flag. The red, white, and blue of the state flag represent, respectively, bravery, purity and loyalty.

According to The Handbook of Texas Online, "The Lone Star Flag was adopted by the Texas Congress in 1839...Senator William H. Wharton introduced a bill on December 28, 1838, containing the flag's design, and the bill was referred to a committee consisting of Senator Oliver Jones and two unnamed senators. This committee reported a substitute bill embodying the flag design introduced by Wharton, and the substitute bill was passed by the Congress on January 21, 1839 and approved by President Mirabeau B. Lamar on January 25, 1839."

In "The Lone Star Flag of Texas", an article which appeared in the September 1948 issue of Frontier Times, author Adina de Zavala suggests a meaning for each point of the star. According to the article, the five points of the star represent the characteristics of a good citizen, which are fortitude, loyalty, righteousness, prudence, and broadmindedness.

The text of the current law is available on the Texas Statutes Web site, Texas Government Code, Chapter 3100, Sections 3100.001 - 3100.003.

For more information on the design of the Lone Star flag and pictures of historic Texas flags, see the Texas Treasures Web site.