By Niles Anderegg, research and content development associate, ICMA 

Flag day in the United States is a day that recognizes the adoption of the Stars and Stripes as the official U.S. flag back in 1777. What is less recognized, however, are the local flags of cities and counties found across the country. With this in mind, here are three interesting flags. 

Local flags are often associated with a community's founder or with the person a community is named after. The flag for the District of Columbia, for example, comes from the family crest of U.S. President George Washington. Another is the flag for Montgomery Country, Maryland, which was based on the family crest of the Montgomery family and was actually designed by the British College of Arms at special request from the county. 

Another common motif found in local flags is a reflection of the natural features where a community is located. Corpus Christi, Texas, for example, has on its flag a seagull on a blue background. The blue represents the Corpus Christi bay and the seagull represents the people of the city, as well as being a common bird found in the area. 

Some flags have long histories that reflect an area’s history. In more recent times, local flags have come to stand for not just a community’s past but also its present and where it hopes to be in the future. One such community is Inglewood, California. Its centennial flag from 2008 literally tells you about both the city's past and its future. This type demonstrates the modern use of flags, not just as symbols but as part of a community’s branding efforts. 

Related Content

Community Flag Day Programs. This blog post from 2014 looks at what communities across the country do to celebrate flag day. 

Pocatello Gets 709 Flag Ideas. A 2016 blog tells the story of Pocatello, Idaho, and the community’s response to having been named the city with the worst city flag in America. 

Supreme Court Will Hear Confederate Flag License Plate Case. Another 2014 blog post, this time dealing with a Supreme Court case on whether the state of Texas can refuse to put confederate flags on state license plates.