by Angela Donlon-Gatchell

Created on: September 07, 2008

Arkansas, the land of outrageously beautiful natural lakes and subtropical climate became the twenty-fifth state to join the United States. For Seventy-six years this land existed without a state flag. The Pine Bluff Daughters of the American Revolution put a change to that and sponsored a statewide flag design contest so the newly commissioned U.S.S. Arkansas can fly the flag with honor.

The contest was a hit. There were 65 entries received ranging in designs from crayon drawings to silk flags. The winning entry was a red, white, and blue flag designed by Miss Willie Hocker of Wabbasseka. She was also a member of the Pine Bluff chapter where the contest was originated. Her design was simple and filled with meaning and eventually went through some changes.

The original designed displayed a large white diamond bordered by twenty-five white stars sitting on top of a blue band. Centered on the white diamond were three blue stars. Surrounding the white diamond was a field of red. The white diamond on a red field represented how Arkansas was the only place in North America where diamonds were discovered and mined. The twenty-five white stars on the blue band outlining the white diamond signify that Arkansas was the 25th state to join the union (1874). The three blue stars represented three separate ideas.

The (3) blue stars stood for the (3) nations that had ruled the land (Spain, France, and the United States), Arkansas was part of the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, and that Arkansas was the (3rd) state created from the purchase. Out of the (3) stars there are twin stars that are parallel with each other signifying the twin states of Arkansas and Michigan who were admitted to the Union at the same time on June 15, 1836. Three was a magical number and was the reason for the changes to come.

The committee felt it would be best to have the state name on the flag and Miss Hocker agreed. She suggested the blue stars be rearranged to have one star above the Arkansas name and two stars below it. With these changes the Arkansas Legislature adopted the design and now had a state flag.

In 1923 the Legislature gave the flag a face lift. A fourth star was added to honor the role of Arkansas as a member of the Confederate States of America (1861 to 1865). Now there were two stars above the state name and two stars below.

One year later, 1924, came another change to the flag. An argument was made regarding the fourth star. The argument was that the addition of this star "compromised the original meaning and symmetry of the design." Now the original three stars were moved below the state name (keeping the significance of three's). The three stars below the state name had two stars placed "symmetrically, parallel above and to the right and left of the star in the lower corner of the diamond" and the fourth star (the confederate star) was centered above the state name. Finally the Arkansas state flag had a happy ending and has stayed this way to date.

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