Nevada’s state flag features a dark blue background, crossed branches of mugwort, a gold banner with the state motto “Battle Born,” a silver star, and the state name. The design was created by Louis Schellbach III and slightly modified in 1991 due to a misplaced amendment.
The state flag of Nevada was adopted on March 26, 1929. The flag is largely dark blue, and in the upper left corner are two crossed branches of mugwort, the official floral symbol of the state. Above the flowers, a gold banner bears Nevada’s official motto, “Battle Born,” which is considered a reference to the state’s entry into the United States during the American Civil War. Inside the wreath is a silver star, a symbol of Nevada’s lucrative silver mines, under which the state name is inscribed. Although the basic design was adopted in 1929, it was slightly changed by a 1991 state legislature act.
Nevada has flown multiple flags at different times since becoming a state on October 31, 1864. At least three radically different designs were used for the Nevada state flag in the early 20th century alone. The former state flag of Nevada featured the state coat of arms and 36 silver and gold stars, as Nevada was the 36th state admitted to the United States of America. It is believed that these flags were ultimately deemed too expensive to produce. Lieutenant Governor Maurice Sullivan is credited with suggesting a redesign of the Nevada state flag in 1926.
As other states did, Nevada announced a flag design contest and offered the winning designer a cash prize of $25 US dollars (USD). The basic design of the Nevada state flag was the work of Louis Schellbach III. Although the bill to change the design of the state flag is believed to have been proposed in 1926, it did not pass until March 1929.
The design of the Nevada state flag was changed slightly by an act of the state legislature in 1991. Senator William Raggio proposed changing the design. A 1989 discovery by researcher Dana Bennett is believed by some to have influenced Raggio’s decision and the legislative action that followed. Bennett, a specialist in legislative history, discovered that an amendment to the original 1929 Flag Design Act had been misplaced.
As a result, the design of the Nevada state flag may not have been technically legal. It is believed that the word “Nevada” should have been placed under the sagebrush flowers, rather than between the points of the silver star. Lawmakers then shifted the state name slightly, placing it entirely below the silver star, but keeping it within the confines of the sagebrush wreath. Although Schellbach’s original flag design has been modified somewhat over the years, many still refer to it by his name.
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