The current flag of Montgomery County, Maryland, was adopted on October 5, 1976. It was designed by the British

College of Arms The College of Arms, or Heralds' College, is a royal corporation consisting of professional Officer of Arms, officers of arms, with jurisdiction over England, Wales, Northern Ireland and some Commonwealth realms. The heralds are appointed by the ...

. It is commonly flown outside of the Montgomery County's governmental facilities, such as fire stations. The flag is based on the coat of arms of the

Montgomery family Clan Montgomery (also Montgomerie) is a Scottish clan of the Scottish Lowlands. History Origins of the Clan The Montgomeries emigrated from Wales to Scotland in the 12th century with the Clan Stewart, FitzAlans. The Cambro-Norman family derive ...

, a scion of which,

Richard Montgomery Richard Montgomery (2 December 1738 – 31 December 1775) was an Irish soldier who first served in the British Army. He later became a major general in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, and he is most famous for l ...

, gave the county its name. It is the county's second flag, replacing the first one, which had been in use from May 3, 1944, until its replacement in 1976.

History

Former flag: 1944–1976

A former flag was used by Montgomery County from May 3, 1944, until October 1976. It was designed by Lilly Catherine Stone and featured the former Montgomery County coat of arms along on a white background, inscribed with the county's name and the date it was founded.

Current flag: 1976–present

The current flag is a

banner A banner can be a flag or another piece of cloth bearing a symbol, logo, slogan or another message. A flag whose design is the same as the shield in a coat of arms (but usually in a square or rectangular shape) is called a banner of arms. Also, ...

of the arms granted to the county by England's

College of Heralds The College of Arms, or Heralds' College, is a royal corporation consisting of professional officers of arms, with jurisdiction over England, Wales, Northern Ireland and some Commonwealth realms. The heralds are appointed by the British Sovereig ...

. At the request of the Montgomery County Executive, it was officially adopted by the Montgomery County Council as the county flag by Bill 38-76 on October 5, 1976. Bill 38-76 has since been designated as Section 1-402 of the Montgomery County Code. The

fleur-de-lis The fleur-de-lis, also spelled fleur-de-lys (plural ''fleurs-de-lis'' or ''fleurs-de-lys''), is a lily (in French, and mean 'flower' and 'lily' respectively) that is used as a decorative design or symbol. The fleur-de-lis has been used in the ...

in two quarters of the flag comes from the arms of the Montgomery family. The oldest known depiction of the Montgomery fleur-de-lis appears on the seal of John de Mundegumri, who lived in the late 12th century. In 1368, the family's chief Sir John Montgomery married Elizabeth, the heiress of the Eglinton family, whose arms incorporated three rings. Their descendants combined the Montgomery fleurs-de-lis with the Eglinton rings in one quartered shield. The indented line which separates the upper and lower quarters of the flag represent the borders of local government. The shades of red and blue are identical to those on the

American flag The national flag of the United States of America, often referred to as the ''American flag'' or the ''U.S. flag'', consists of thirteen equal horizontal stripes of red (top and bottom) alternating with white, with a blue rectangle in the c ...

, whereas the shade of gold is identical to that found on the

Maryland state flag The flag of the state of Maryland is the 17th-century heraldic banner of arms of Cecil, 2nd Baron Baltimore. It consists of the arms of his father George, 1st Baron Baltimore (1579–1632), quartered with those of his grandmother, heiress of th ...

, denoted as PMS 124 on the

Pantone Matching System Pantone LLC (stylized as PANTONE) is a limited liability company headquartered in Carlstadt, New Jersey. The company is best known for its Pantone Matching System (PMS), a proprietary color space used in a variety of industries, notably graphic ...

scale.

Design

According to the Montgomery County government in 1999, the flag was described as:

Colors

The official description of the flag in the county code states that the shade of red and blue used on the flag are to be identical to that found on the county's coat of arms.

References

External links

* * {{Montgomery County, Maryland topics Montgomery County

Flag of Montgomery County, Maryland The current flag of Montgomery County, Maryland, was adopted on October 5, 1976. It was designed by the British College of Arms. It is commonly flown outside of the Montgomery County's governmental facilities, such as fire stations. The flag is ...

Flag A flag is a piece of fabric (most often rectangular or quadrilateral) with a distinctive design and colours. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term ''flag'' is also used to refer to the graphic design empl ...

1976 establishments in Maryland