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Howard County, Maryland (U.S.)

by Steve Kramer, 10 May 1996

Description of the flag
History of Howard County

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Description of the flag

Its flag was designed by Mrs. Jean O. Hannon, who won a design contest sponsored by the Central Maryland News. It adds two symbols to the Crossland Banner of Maryland: a sheaf of wheat in the first quarter, to represent the county's agricultural heritage (specifically the Ellicotts and the Carrolls of Howard County, founding families who made wheat the county's staple crop rather than tobacco), and the county's silhouette in green in the fourth quarter, ringed with a golden triangle, symbolizing the county's 'unique position in future development of the Eastern seaboard.'

It was first raised over Ellicott City on 19 September 1968.

Steve Kramer, 10 May 1996

History of Howard County

The area almost directly between Baltimore and Washington, D.C., was established in 1650 -- but as part of Anne Arundel County. It later became the Howard District (after local statesman John Eager Howard), gaining its own seal in 1840, and becoming a full-fledged separate county in 1851.
Steve Kramer, 10 May 1996