All San Bernardino County government buildings will soon fly a new county flag for the first time in 40 years.
San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors adopted the flag on Tuesday, Dec. 3, the third in the county’s 171-year history.
The banner incorporates five stars that represent the county’s five supervisorial districts and the county’s arrowhead logo. The 1853 date of the county’s establishment, a silhouette of mountains representing the San Bernardino National Forest communities, and gold and blue stripes representing the county’s desert and valley communities will also characterize the newest iteration of the flag.
“I’m proud of our new county flag and I look forward to seeing it fly at county offices and proudly displayed in our meeting rooms,” Third District Supervisor Dawn Rowe said. “The stars and stripes celebrate the unique diversity of our geography and communities and the colors are bold and distinct in a way befitting the nation’s largest county.”
The new flag was designed by the County Administrative Office Design Team with input from county leadership, county officials said in a written statement. Contending representations included flags with different variations of the county seal which, ultimately, were outvoted by the new mountain flag design.
On the same day the new design was selected, the county also adopted a flag policy that governs its use along with the U.S. and state flags to “protect against the creation of alternative county flags.”
Inland Empire community members have expressed mixed feelings about the new flag.
Mary C. Peat of Alta Loma and Dharmender Chowdary of Riverside commented expressions of approval on San Bernardino County’s Facebook announcement on Dec. 8.
Chowdary believes the new flag “captures the essence of the county” and Peat agrees that the new flag is “very nice.”
Others, however, like Diana Mota of San Bernardino, commented that the new design “did not follow the rules of flag design.” There is not supposed to be lettering on a flag, she continued, and suggested that her county follow suit like the state of Montana, “which recently changed its flag due to that very reason.”
Mota included a lengthy paragraph further breaking down the rules of flag design which include, but are not limited to, the usage of two or three simple colors, no lettering or seals, and to avoid duplicating other flags.
San Bernardino County flag throughout the years
The board adopted the first county flag on April 23, 1973. Like the new flag, it included a scalloped arrowhead logo, the 1853 date, and a silhouette of mountains.
The current county flag was adopted by the board on Aug. 27, 1984, in celebration of the opening of the County Government Center in San Bernardino, which was also marked by the introduction of a county logo as seen on the flag.
The county stopped using the logo during the late 1990s, but it remained on the flag.
Information has not yet been released as to when the new flags will adorn San Bernardino County. For more information, visit main.sbcounty.gov.
McKenna Mobley is a Daily Press reporter and can be reached atmmobley@gannett.com.
