Iowa State Flag

Date adopted: Mar 29, 1921

The flag of Iowa, a vertical tricolor flag designed by Dixie Cornell Gebhardt in 1917, was officially adopted by the state's legislators in 1921. For the first 75 years of Iowa's existence, it did not have an official banner, largely due to calls for national unity during and after the American Civil War, in which Iowa fought for the Union. The need for a state flag became apparent during World War I, prompted by requests from Iowa National Guardsmen and organizations like the Daughters of the American Revolution. Dixie Cornell Gebhardt, a DAR member and resident of Knoxville, Iowa, designed the flag, which was approved in May 1917. Although it was presented to Iowa troops for designation in 1918, it took until March 1921 for the flag to be formally adopted by the state legislature, with previous efforts hampered by financial considerations. The flag had been widely used to represent Iowa, even before its official adoption.