Catalog

Year Adopted: 1925.

The Oregon state flag, adopted in 1925, is navy blue with gold lettering and symbols. The state colors are blue and gold.

On the flag’s face the legend “STATE OF OREGON” is written above a shield which is surrounded by 33 stars. Below the shield, which is the obverse portion of the state seal, is written “1859” the year of Oregon’s admission to the union as the 33rd state. The flag’s reverse side depicts a beaver. Oregon is the only state whose flag has a different pattern on the reverse side.

The shield depicts the mountains and forests of Oregon, an elk with branching antlers, a covered wagon and ox team, the Pacific Ocean with a setting sun, a departing British man-of-war ship (a symbol of the departure of British influence in the region) and an arriving American merchant ship (a symbol of the rise of American power). The 33 stars supporting the shield signify that Oregon was the 33rd state to join the Union.

Acquired with the Louisiana Purchase of 1803 and explored by the Lewis and Clark Expedition of 1805-1806, the Oregon frontier was formerly explored by the French, Spanish, Russian and British. The Oregon Territory was created in 1848 after the Oregon Treaty established the border between British North America and the United States. In 1853 the Washington Territory was carved out of the Oregon Territory. An Oregon constitutional convention was authorized in 1857, and Oregon was admitted to the Union in 1859 as the 33rd state. (ref; bluebook.state.or.us, Oregon History)