Flag of San Diego County, California

County of San Diego

The County of San Diego Flag
Adopted	February 18, 1957 (1957-02-18)
Designed by	Estelle Secor

The flag of San Diego County was adopted in February 1957, although an actual specimen would not be created until September 1957. It features the San Diego County seal adopted in 1937 centered on a horizontal tricolor of red, white, and green.

History

In 1956, a committee consisting of John Davidson, County Purchasing Agent Verne Gehringer, and Director of Parks and Recreation Cletus Gardner, conducted a study for the design of an official flag for the County. Gardner wrote in a memo to the Board on February 14, 1957 that "One of the original reasons for this [sic] designing was to have an official County flag hanging in the Board Chambers."

The Board formally adopted a drawing of the flag on February 18, 1957. Secor presented the completed, hand-sewn flag to the Board of Supervisors on September 10, 1957. Later in 1962, the Board directed that the hand-fabricated official flag of the County by Mrs. Secor, be thoroughly cleaned and permanently enclosed in a glass case in the Board Chamber. The original County flag is still on display in the Board Chamber, Room 310 at the County Administration Center, 1600 Pacific Highway, San Diego, California 92101. The U.S. flag, Californian state flag, and County flag are all displayed at most County facilities.The following is a copy of the resolution approving the County flag.

On February 18, 1957, the Board of Supervisors adopted an official flag for the County of San Diego. The flag features the County seal on a field of white, bordered at the top by a band of red, and at the bottom by a band of green, significant of the territory of San Diego County having been under the control of King Charles of Spain, the Republic of Mexico, the Republic of California, and the United States of America. The County flag was designed by Estelle Secor, a former County employee in the Road Department.

Design

The colors red, white, and green symbolize the city's Spanish and Mexican past.

The seal on the flag was designed by architect Samuel W. Hamill and adopted in 1937, replacing a seal that was in use since 1933. It depicts a double-headed axe rising from a bundle of sticks, which served as a symbol of authority in ancient Rome. Also included in the seal are the stars and stripes of the United States, a stylized dolphin representing the fruits of the sea, and a horn of plenty representing the fruits of the land. A clipper ship recalls San Diego's historic background of the sea, and the airplane looks into the future. Mt. Palomar Observatory represents a world renowned achievement in science and San Diego's position on the threshold of scientific history. The observatory overlooks an orange grove, which reflects the agricultural riches of the county. Encircling the seal is the motto "The Noblest Motive is the Public Good"--a quotation from Virgil that was chosen by the Building Committee as the motto to adorn the Civic Center Building. At the bottom is the date 1851, which is the date the county was founded.

The seal's design elicited some confusion among citizens who did not understand what it was meant to represent. One citizen commented "this emblem which is to adorn the Civic Center... represents nothing in the Heavens above, nor the Earth beneath, but is an object of mirth to you men. Still since it is to cost the tax payers 1,000 bucks it is nothing to make merry over." Despite such complaints, the seal was officially adopted by the Board of Supervisors in 1937, replacing an earlier seal that had been chosen in 1933. It adorned the northern entrance to the Civic Center until the city moved out in 1964, when it was also placed over the southern entrance."

See also

• Flag of San Diego

External links

• "The County Seal". About San Diego County. San Diego County. Archived from the original on 1997-06-26.