Idaho had its own Betsy Ross

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Most flags consist only of symbols, but about one-third of U.S. states have added something extra. Among others, California, Kansas, Montana and Washington let everyone know who they are by spelling out their name on their flags.

Emma Edwards Green
Emma Edwards Green
Idaho is another example, but it also has a one-of-a-kind distinction. Its state seal, which is part of the flag, was designed by Emma Edwards, the only female to have created a state seal. An art student, she submitted her proposed version to a contest held in the final decade of the 19th century, and she was handed $100 for her efforts in 1891, less than a year after the state joined the Union.

Edwards went about creating the seal with deep thought and bright imagination. “I was careful to make a thorough study of the resources and future possibilities of the State,” she recounted. “I invited the advice and counsel of every member of the Legislature and other citizens qualified to help.”

State seal of IdahoPart of her planning involved “the question of Woman Suffrage,” she continued. Hoping that suffrage would arrive soon, she balanced the gender scales on the seal by drawing “a mining man” and then adding a “woman, signifying justice.”

She also sprinkled in all sorts of symbols: a star, a liberty cap, a pick and shovel, ore, a fir tree, grain, an elk’s head, and even the state flower: a mock orange.

“The star signifies a new light in the galaxy of states,” she explained, while “the river depicted in the shield is our mighty Snake or Shoshone River, a stream of great majesty.”

To decide the hues in the seal, Edwards explained that “my principal desire was to use such colors as would typify pure Americanism and the history of the State. As Idaho was a virgin state, I robed my goddess in white and made the liberty cap…the same color. In representing the miner, I gave him the garb of the period.”

Flag of Idaho

In 1896, to the artist’s delight, Idaho became the fourth state to grant women the right to vote. In 1907, the state placed the work of Miss Edwards (who had become Mrs. Green in the interim) on the state flag and sealed the deal by writing “State of Idaho” across the bottom.

By James Breig

James Breig is a veteran author who specializes in history. His most recent book is “Star-Spangled Baseball: True Tales of Flags and Fields” about the links between the sport and flags. He is also the author of a nonfiction book about WWII, "Searching for Sgt. Bailey: Saluting an Ordinary Soldier of World War II" and co-author of "The Mystery of the Multiple Mothers," a novel. All three are available at www.amazon.com. His articles have appeared in newspapers and national magazines, including the Colonial Williamsburg Journal (search for them at www.history.org/journal) and History Magazine. He has won many national awards for his opinion writing, media columns and feature articles.

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