Minnesota adopted a state seal in 1861 but didn’t have a state flag until 1893 when a design contest was held. The winning design used the state seal as the central emblem and included blue and white colors. The seal shows a farmer, a Native American, and the North Star. The flag received a Gold Medal for Embroidery at the Columbian World’s Fair. The original design was changed in 1957 to a one-sided flag with pink and white slipper flowers replacing the white loafer flowers in the wreath.
Minnesota is one of the northernmost states in the Midwestern region of the United States. It was admitted as the 32nd state in 1858. Although Minnesota adopted a state seal in 1861, there was no Minnesota state flag until 1893. The impetus for creating a state flag appears to have been the upcoming Columbian World’s Fair 1893, held in Chicago, Illinois, USA. All states in the United States, then numbering only 44, were asked to submit and display their state at the exposition, and Minnesota found itself without a state flag.
A commission was appointed by the Minnesota legislature, which sponsored a flag design contest open to state residents. The winning design was submitted by Minneapolis resident Amelia Hyde Center and used the state seal as the flag’s central emblem. Hyde’s design for the flag included several colors: blue and white &mddash; on each side.
The state seal of Minnesota shows a farmer plowing his field, which is located near a stream and a small waterfall. Nearby is a green, open field and the sun rises over the hills and trees in the distance. The farmer’s rifle rests against a tree stump behind him. He watches as a Native American rides holding a spear and looks at him. A ribbon in the seal reads “L’Étoile Du Nord”, French for “The North Star”.
In Minnesota’s first state flag, there were three important historical dates surrounding the seal: 1819, 1858, and 1893. In 1819, Fort Snelling, an important military outpost was established for the protection of new settlers. The year 1858 marks Minnesota’s admission to statehood, and 1893 is the year the flag was designed.
The seal is wrapped in white moccasin flowers on a field of blue. Two ribbons flow from under the seal and frame the state name. Around the sigil, 19 stars in small clusters form the five points of a larger star. The larger star on the flag represents Minnesota. The flag design was stitched onto silk by two Norwegian immigrant sisters, Thomane and Pauline Fjelde, and the Minnesota state flag received a Gold Medal for Embroidery at the show.
The original design of the Center has undergone some changes. In 1957, the legislature changed the Minnesota state flag to a one-sided flag, based largely on production and cost considerations. The South Dakota legislature made a similar decision regarding its state’s two-sided flag in 1963 for the same reasons. During the 1957 changes, pink and white slipper flowers, native to Minnesota, replaced the white loafer flowers in the wreath surrounding the state seal.
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