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Dorchester County, Maryland (U.S.)

image by Falko Schmidt, 30 December 2003

Description of the flag

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Description of the Flag

From www.tourdorchester.org/pages/kids5.htm:

In 1968-1969, during the County's tercentennial celebration, a private effort was made to develop a flag as well. Dora Mitchell and Nellie Marshall researched information on the Sackville coat of arms and produced a prototype flag in which the coat of arms was painted on a field of buff.

According to county records, this design was officially adopted on July 17, 1969. This prototype was carried in the tercentennial parade and was then placed in a time capsule to be opened in 2019. There is no record of other production of the flag.

In 1984, the Union Trust Company wanted several of the flags and while seeking a supplier, learned that according to the rules of heraldry, it was unconventional and inappropriate to include a full coat of arms on a flag. The traditional method was to depict only a portion contained within the shield on the arms, as were the flags of the State of Maryland and Baltimore. Thus the design was changed and the flag was divided into quadrants, two each of red and gold and a diagonal stripe composed of a blue and gray design.
The radically different new flag was unexpected, but the Commissioners took the advice of the heraldry experts and the new flag was officially adopted on April 24, 1984. Flags were made and distributed throughout Dorchester County.

A statewide flag presentation to a veterans group held in St. Mary's County accepted a decision by the Commissioners to place the County Seal on a white rectangle of cloth with a blue border and use this as the County's symbol. Today, this is the banner that is produced and donated to various organizations in the County and State. It has not yet been adopted as the official flag but it is the only one displayed in the Commissioners meeting room and County facilities.

Located by Falko Schmidt, 30 December 2003