Flag of Montgomery County, Maryland facts for kids
The current flag of Montgomery County, Maryland, was adopted on October 5, 1976. It was designed by the British College of Arms. You can often see it flying outside government buildings in Montgomery County, like fire stations.
This flag is based on the family symbol, called a coat of arms, of the Montgomery family. A famous person from this family, Richard Montgomery, is who the county is named after. This is the second flag the county has had. The first one was used from May 3, 1944, until it was replaced in 1976.
The current flag of Maryland's Montgomery County.
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| Use | Other  |
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| Proportion | 2:3 |
| Adopted | October 5, 1976 |
| Design | A rectangle, three parts wide and two parts tall, quartered by a crenellated line, separating the top two quarters from the two bottom quarters, and a straight vertical line, separating the left two quarters from the two right quarters, with the upper left and lower right quarters consisting of a gold fleur-de-lis on a blue background, with the upper right and lower left quarters consisting of a gold ring with a blue gem on a red background, with a crenellated line formed of 11 squares, 1/11 of flag length, with center block split in middle with left side red and right side blue, with rings and fleur-de-lises to be three times as high as a block in the crenellated line with width proportional, with rings and fleur-de-lises centered horizontally on their quarters and spaced vertically so that upper and lower edge of rings and fleur-de-lises at equal distance from the horizontal outside edge of quarter and nearest part of crenellated line. |
| Designed by | College of Arms |
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The former flag of Montgomery County, Maryland, used from May 3, 1944 to October 5, 1976.
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| Use | Other  |
| Adopted | May 3, 1944 – October 5, 1976 |
| Designed by | Lilly Catherine Stone |
Contents
History of the Montgomery County Flag
The First Flag: 1944 to 1976
Montgomery County used an earlier flag from May 3, 1944, until October 1976. This flag was designed by Lilly Catherine Stone. It showed the county's old coat of arms on a white background. The county's name and its founding date were also written on it.
The Current Flag: 1976 to Today
The flag you see today is like a special picture of the county's coat of arms. This coat of arms was given to the county by England's College of Heralds. The Montgomery County Council officially chose this design as the county flag on October 5, 1976. This decision was part of a law called Bill 38-76. Now, it's known as Section 1-402 of the Montgomery County Code.
The fleur-de-lis (a stylized lily flower) you see in two parts of the flag comes from the Montgomery family's symbols. The oldest known drawing of this fleur-de-lis was on the seal of John de Mundegumri, who lived a long time ago in the late 1100s. It probably showed his French background, as his family originally came to Britain with William the Conqueror during the Norman Conquest.
In 1368, a leader of the family, Sir John Montgomery, married Elizabeth. She was the heir of the Eglinton family, whose symbols included three rings. Later, their children and grandchildren combined the Montgomery fleur-de-lis with the Eglinton rings. They put them together on a shield divided into four parts.
The indented line (the zig-zag line) that separates the top and bottom parts of the flag stands for the borders of local government areas. The shades of red and blue on the flag are the same as those on the American flag. The gold color is the same as the gold on the Maryland state flag. This specific gold color is known as PMS 124 on the Pantone Matching System.
Understanding the Flag's Design
The Montgomery County government described how the flag should be made in 1999. The flag's height should be two parts for every three parts of its length.
The flag is divided into four sections by a zig-zag line across the middle and a straight line down the middle.
- The top-left and bottom-right sections have a gold fleur-de-lis on a blue background.
- The top-right and bottom-left sections have a gold ring with a blue gem on a red background.
The zig-zag line is made of 11 squares. Each square is one-eleventh of the flag's total length. The middle square is split, with the left side red and the right side blue. The rings and fleur-de-lis symbols are three times as tall as one of these squares. They are placed in the center of their sections. They are also spaced so that their top and bottom edges are equally far from the outside edge of their section and the nearest part of the zig-zag line.
Official Colors of the Flag
The official rules for the flag say that the red and blue colors must be the same as those on the flag of the United States of America. The gold color must be the same as the gold on the flag of the State of Maryland.
| Color | Pantone | RGB Values |
|---|---|---|
| Old Glory Blue | 281 | (0,38,100) |
| Old Glory Red | 193 | (187,19,62) |
| Maryland Gold | 124 | (234,171,0) |
Images for kids
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The Montgomery coat of arms after John and Elizabeth married, carved at Eglinton Castle.
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Lilly Catherine Stone with the first Montgomery County flag in 1944.
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The Montgomery County flag flown by firefighters at the Pentagon after the September 11 attacks in 2001.
