The flag of Ohio was introduced on 9th of May in 1902. It was created in 1901 by John Eisenmann and shows the colours of the USA and an unusual shape, which is probably due to its origin as a cavalry standard during the Civil War or the Spanish-US-American War. The shape of the flag is called a burgee. A burgee is normally used on yachts and is more like a pennant with a swallowtail. On the mast is a blue isosceles triangle, and in the centre is a red disc outlined in white and surrounded by seventeen white stars. The disc represents a "buckeye", a fruit of the chestnut tree (Aesculus glabra), which is the country's state tree and also symbolises the state's nickname: "The Buckeye State". The white border is also an "O", the first letter of the state's name. There are five red and white stripes in the waving part of the flag. 13 stars represent the original 13 colonies of the USA and 4 more were added because Ohio was the 17th state to be join the USA. The design of the flag with triangles and stripes is intended to represent the landscape of Ohio with its mountains, plains and rivers. The triangles stand for the hills and valleys, the stripes for roads and waterways.
about 8000 B.C. · settlement by Indians (Miami, Wyandot, Shawnee, Lenape, Ottawa, Erie, Iroquois)
17th century · French expeditions explore the country, French colonization in the east and in the west of today's Ohio and on Lake Erie
1763 · Peace of Paris, France has to cede its North American possessions to United Kingdom
1783 · Treaty of Paris, the end of the Independence War of the United States against United Kingdom, all the land to the Mississippi is ceded by United Kingdom to the United States
1786 · parts of today's Ohio on Lake Erie are subordinated under the state of Connecticut as the "Western Reserve"
1787 · today's Ohio is a part of the Northwest Territory
1787 · founding of Marietta on Muskingum River
1789 · founding of Cincinnati
1794 · Indian battle at the Little Miami River, General Wayne forces the Indians to peace
1799 · first legislative assembly in Cincinnati
1800 · Connecticut gives up the "Western Reserve"
1st of March 1803 · Ohio is the 17th State to join the USA
1835 · Toledo War with the Michigan Territory over the City of Toledo
The name The name "Ohio" comes from the vocabulary of the Iroquois Indians and refers to the Ohio River. It translates as "beautiful river" or "great river".
