This past Wednesday marked the 117th anniversary of legislative approval for Maine’s first official flag.

A replica of the original flag was raised outside the Somerset County Courthouse in Skowhegan. The design of the original Maine flag was made into law on March 21, 1901 but lasted only 8 years as it was replaced by the current Maine flag in 1909.

The original Maine flag shows a single white pine tree and a blue North Star on a plain buff background.

On centralmaine.com they say it’s not really know why the original flag was replaced with the current flag, but some speculate that veterans of the Civil War who later went on to hold state office wanted to see a banner that more closely resembled the Union’s blue battlefield flags.

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