List of Ohio state symbols

Since 1902, the Buckeye State has had a flag unique in design amongst its domestic counterparts. The Ohio swallowtail flag was designed by Cleveland architect John Eisenmann. The flag was first unveiled at the 1901 Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, a year before it was officially adopted by the Ohio General Assembly.[8][9][10][11] Eisenmann himself explained the flags symbolism:

"The triangles formed by the main lines of the flag represent the hills and valleys as typified in the State Seal, and the stripes the roads and waterways. The stars, indicating the thirteen original states of the Union, are grouped about the circle which represents the Northwest Territory; and that Ohio was the seventeenth state admitted into the Union is shown by adding four more stars. The white circle with its red center, not only represents the initial letter of Ohio, but is suggestive of its being the Buckeye State."[12]

To commemorate the centennial of the flag In 2002, the General Assembly adopted The Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag of Ohio: I salute the flag of the state of Ohio and pledge to the Buckeye State respect and loyalty.[13] The pledge was designed to be given by Ohio residents following the Pledge of Allegiance.[14]

While it has been revised several times over the centuries, the Great Seal of Ohio currently features the following device, which closely resembles the design passed into law on March 25, 1803, by the first session of the General Assembly:

In the right foreground of the shield a full sheaf of wheat bound and standing erect; in the left foreground, a cluster of seventeen arrows bound in the center and resembling in form the sheaf of wheat; in the background, a representation of Mount Logan, Ross county, as viewed from Adena state memorial; over the mount, a rising sun three-quarters exposed and radiating thirteen rays to represent the thirteen original colonies shining over the first state in the northwest territory, the exterior extremities of which rays form a semicircle; and uniting the background and foreground, a representation of the Scioto river and cultivated fields.

— ORC §5.04

The sheaf of wheat represents Ohio's agriculture; the seventeen arrows for Ohio being the seventeenth state admitted into the Union; the Sun portrayed as rising is an allusion to coming wealth and prosperity; the mountains, over which the Sun is depicted, are symbolic of Ohio being the first state west of the Allegheny range.[3] The Great Seal was inspired by the view of the Scioto River Valley from the Adena Mansion, the Chillicothe-area home of Ohio's sixth governor.

The official state tree of Ohio is the Ohio buckeye (Aesculus glabra). Perhaps the earliest example of what can be included as an official state symbol of Ohio was, at least until the mid-20th century, unofficial.[15]

Ohio natives have long been referred to as Buckeyes, although the debate on when this exactly began is inconclusive. Historical sources point to at least two instances: the first of these involves Col. Ebenezer Sproat, the first sheriff in the Northwest Territory and Ohio Country in 1788.[16] Sproat was dubbed hetuck (trans: buckeye) by the local Indians, whom he met with in Marietta and was ever after known as buckeye.[17] The second notable occurrence—and arguably the more documented—began around the 1840 election of the one time army commander and eventual ill-fated 9th President of the United States, William Henry Harrison. Whig convention delegates for Harrison adorned themselves with various buckeye paraphernalia, which Harrison had chosen as his symbol.[17]

The buckeye had also been the athletic nickname of the state's largest public university for decades before a 1953 act of the Ohio General Assembly recognized the Ohio buckeye as the official state tree.

The state wildflower of Ohio is the large white trillium (Trillium grandiflorum). In 1982, the Native Plant Society of Northeastern Ohio assembled with a goal of nominating and selecting a flower that was "native" to Ohio to unseat the scarlet carnation. On April 26th, 1983, the group selected the large white trillium to take on the role as state wildflower, which they brought to state representatives in 1984. A year later, State Representative Bob Clark, a member of the House Natural Resources Committee, sponsored a bill to name the large white trillium the official state wildflower of Ohio, leading the scarlet carnation as state flower.

Trillium was chosen by the Society because it was present in all 88 counties of Ohio, could be easily recognized, and was not endangered.

The Newark Earthworks became the official state prehistoric monument in 2006 by §5.073 of the Ohio Revised code.[31]

Native fruit
The pawpaw became the state native fruit in 2009 as well.[32]

In 1959, the General Assembly named Alliance the "Carnation City" of Ohio.[38]

The Blaine Hill Bridge in Belmont County, which was constructed in 1828 as part of the National Road, is the oldest bridge in the state. It was named the state bicentennial bridge in 2002.[39]