Welcome to TheseUnitedStates - Iowa Flags

This page will direct you to Iowa Flag products that you can buy.

About the Iowa State Flag

Iowa did not feel the lack of a state flag for almost three-quarters of a century after it achieved statehood.  Then during World War I, Iowa National Guardsmen stationed along the Mexican border expressed a desire for a flag to designate their unit.  That was all the Iowa chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution needed to hear.  

The new flag was designed by Iowa DAR member Dixie C. Gebhardt of Knoxville, Iowa.  Her design recalled the French tricolor that had flown over Iowa prior to the Louisiana Purchase.  Ms. Gebhardt explained that she chose the color blue for loyalty, justice and truth; white for purity; and red for courage.  In the white center stripe Ms. Gebhardt added  a bald eagle holding in his beak a blue scroll bearing the state motto - "Our liberties we prize, and our rights we will maintain"  - in white lettering.  The name Iowa is emblazoned in red below the banner.  The new flag was approved by the state legislature on March 29, 1921.  

So Iowa simply adopted a state banner, rather than a state flag. But everyone knew it was still a flag. The new flag was designed by Daughters of the American Revolution member Dixie C. Gebhardt of Knoxville, Iowa. It was essentially the French tricolor with an emblem in the center - a bald eagle with a scroll in its beak bearing the the state motto, "Our liberties we prize, and our rights we will maintain." The new flag was approved by the legislature on March 29, 1921.

Symbolism

Gebhardt explained that the color blue stands for loyalty, justice and truth; white for purity, and red for courage.

Iowa was almost 75 years old before the state flag was adopted by the General Assembly. Creation of the state flag had been suggested for years by patriotic organizations, but no action was taken until World War I, when Iowa National Guardsmen stationed along the Mexican border suggested a state flag was needed to designate their unit. This prompted the state's Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) to design a flag in 1917. The Iowa General Assembly officially adopted the design in 1921. Designed by Mrs. Dixie Cornell Gebhardt of Knoxville, Iowa, a member of the DAR, the state flag consists of three vertical stripes -- blue, white and red. Gebhardt explained that the blue stands for loyalty, justice and truth; the white for purity; and the red for courage. On the white stripe is a bald eagle carrying a blue streamer in its beak. The state motto " Our Liberties We Prize, and Our Rights We will Maintain" is written on the streamer. The name of the state is emblazoned in red letters. The flag may also be flown on the sites of public buildings. When displayed with the United States flag, the state flag must be flown below the national emblem.

Iowa State Flag

Iowa State Flag Stickers

Miniature Iowa State Flag

Iowa Hawkeyes Flag

Iowa State Flag Posters

 

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