The State Flag of Texas

The state flag of Texas has a long and storied history. From its beginnings in 1838, until the present day, the Lone Star Flag has flown as the Texas flag.

The flag's origins and use

The Texas flag first saw use as the national flag of the Republic of Texas. When Texas became the only state to join the United States by means of a treaty, the Lone Star Flag continued to see use as the flag of Texas. However, the state was officially "flagless" from 1879 until 1933. According to the letter of the law, Texas had no official state flag during these years, but the Lone Star was the de facto state flag. Since 1933, it has legally been the official flag of Texas.

Colors and markings

The Texas flag features a blue vertical stripe running the length of the left side of the flag and two equally sized horizontal rectangles, one white and one red, to the right. The blue section of the flag bears a single white star. According to state law, the red, white and blue are the exact same shade as the colors of the American flag.

Symbolism

The Texas Flag Code assigns symbolism to each element of the flag's design. The white stands for purity, the red for bravery and the blue for loyalty. The single star represents Texas and "stands for our unity as one for God, State, and Country," according to the law. The single star design predates the Texas flag, and was originally used to symbolize Texan unity when Texas seceded from Mexico.

Many other flags and variations upon the "lone star" theme were used during the Texas Revolution, but the flag still flown in Texas today was the most popular and long-lived of these designs. Though not officially the flag of the state of Texas for many years, the Lone Star Flag was the de facto flag because it was the national flag of the Republic of Texas. Today, it is flown with great pride by Texans across the country.