List of Ohio state symbols
Encyclopedia
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
, each of which is accompanied by a brief description and corresponding facts. The majority of these items are officially recognized by State Law, having been ratified by an act of the Ohio General Assembly
Ohio General Assembly
The Ohio General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Ohio. It consists of the 99-member Ohio House of Representatives and the 33-member Ohio Senate...
and executed by the governor's signature. These items can be found in the Ohio Revised Code
Ohio Revised Code
The Ohio Revised Code contains all acts passed by the Ohio General Assembly and signed by the governor. The Ohio Revised Code replaced the Ohio General Code in 1953. However the current organization and form of the Ohio Revised Code Title 29 was completely re-written and issued into law by the...
, General Provisions, Chapter 5. Two of Ohio's official symbols have not been officially signed into law, but were made official through resolution in the Senate.
State motto
Adopted in 1959, the Ohio mottoMotto
A motto is a phrase meant to formally summarize the general motivation or intention of a social group or organization. A motto may be in any language, but Latin is the most used. The local language is usual in the mottoes of governments...
, With God, all things are possible
With God, all things are possible
"With God, all things are possible" is the state motto of the U.S. state of Ohio. It is derived from the Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 19, Verse 26....
, is a quotation taken from Matthew, 19:26. There was, however, a period from 1865 until 1867 when the motto was: Imperium in Imperio (trans. from Latin: Empire within an Empire). Too controversial for a post-Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
society, it was repealed after two years.
State slogan
The current official marketing sloganSlogan
A slogan is a memorable motto or phrase used in a political, commercial, religious and other context as a repetitive expression of an idea or purpose. The word slogan is derived from slogorn which was an Anglicisation of the Scottish Gaelic sluagh-ghairm . Slogans vary from the written and the...
(as of 2008), which has appeared on the Ohio license plate since 2001, is: Ohio— Birthplace of Aviation. The reference is to Orville and Wilbur Wright
Wright brothers
The Wright brothers, Orville and Wilbur , were two Americans credited with inventing and building the world's first successful airplane and making the first controlled, powered and sustained heavier-than-air human flight, on December 17, 1903...
, the inventing duo from Dayton
Dayton, Ohio
Dayton is the 6th largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County, the fifth most populous county in the state. The population was 141,527 at the 2010 census. The Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 841,502 in the 2010 census...
who are credited with building the first successful airplane. A similar version of the slogan appears on Ohio's commemorative state quarter
50 State Quarters
The 50 State Quarters program is the release of a series of circulating commemorative coins by the United States Mint. Between 1999 and 2008, it featured each of the 50 U.S. states on unique designs for the reverse of the quarter....
. In the case of the quarter, it reads: Birthplace of aviation pioneers. The addition of pioneers on the quarter's version, denotes space
Human spaceflight
Human spaceflight is spaceflight with humans on the spacecraft. When a spacecraft is manned, it can be piloted directly, as opposed to machine or robotic space probes and remotely-controlled satellites....
as well as air travel, as Ohio has been the birthplace of 24 NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
astronauts. Ohio's notable astronautical pioneers include: John Glenn
John Glenn
John Herschel Glenn, Jr. is a former United States Marine Corps pilot, astronaut, and United States senator who was the first American to orbit the Earth and the third American in space. Glenn was a Marine Corps fighter pilot before joining NASA's Mercury program as a member of NASA's original...
, the third human and first American to orbit the Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
; Neil Armstrong
Neil Armstrong
Neil Alden Armstrong is an American former astronaut, test pilot, aerospace engineer, university professor, United States Naval Aviator, and the first person to set foot upon the Moon....
, who as a member of the Apollo 11
Apollo 11
In early 1969, Bill Anders accepted a job with the National Space Council effective in August 1969 and announced his retirement as an astronaut. At that point Ken Mattingly was moved from the support crew into parallel training with Anders as backup Command Module Pilot in case Apollo 11 was...
mission, was the first person to walk on the moon
Moon
The Moon is Earth's only known natural satellite,There are a number of near-Earth asteroids including 3753 Cruithne that are co-orbital with Earth: their orbits bring them close to Earth for periods of time but then alter in the long term . These are quasi-satellites and not true moons. For more...
; Jim Lovell
Jim Lovell
James "Jim" Arthur Lovell, Jr., is a former NASA astronaut and a retired captain in the United States Navy, most famous as the commander of the Apollo 13 mission, which suffered a critical failure en route to the Moon but was brought back safely to Earth by the efforts of the crew and mission...
, commander of the Apollo 13
Apollo 13
Apollo 13 was the seventh manned mission in the American Apollo space program and the third intended to land on the Moon. The craft was launched on April 11, 1970, at 13:13 CST. The landing was aborted after an oxygen tank exploded two days later, crippling the service module upon which the Command...
mission, and famous for the voice transmission: Houston, we've had a problem; and Judith Resnik, who was killed in the Challenger Disaster
Space Shuttle Challenger disaster
The Space Shuttle Challenger disaster occurred on January 28, 1986, when Space Shuttle Challenger broke apart 73 seconds into its flight, leading to the deaths of its seven crew members. The spacecraft disintegrated over the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of central Florida at 11:38 am EST...
on January 28, 1986.
State symbols
| State flag | |||
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Since 1902, the Buckeye State has had a flag unique in design amongst its domestic counterparts. The Ohio burgee – as a swallowtail shape flag is called—was designed by Cleveland architect, John Eisemann John Eisemann John Eisemann was an architect from Cleveland, Ohio who created the Ohio flag in 1902. The shape of the flag of Ohio is a burgee.-External links:... . The flag was first unveiled at the 1901 Pan-American Exposition Pan-American Exposition The Pan-American Exposition was a World's Fair held in Buffalo, New York, United States, from May 1 through November 2, 1901. The fair occupied of land on the western edge of what is present day Delaware Park, extending from Delaware Ave. to Elmwood Ave and northward to Great Arrow... in Buffalo Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the... , a year before it was officially adopted by the Ohio General Assembly. Eisemann himself explained the flags symbolism:
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. The pledge was designed to be given by Ohio residents following the Pledge of Allegiance Pledge of Allegiance The Pledge of Allegiance of the United States is an expression of loyalty to the federal flag and the republic of the United States of America, originally composed by Christian Socialist Francis Bellamy in 1892 and formally adopted by Congress as the pledge in 1942... . |
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| State seal | |||
| While it has been revised several times over the centuries, the Great Seal of Ohio has always featured the devices Emblem An emblem is a pictorial image, abstract or representational, that epitomizes a concept — e.g., a moral truth, or an allegory — or that represents a person, such as a king or saint.-Distinction: emblem and symbol:... specified in the act passed into law on March 25, 1803 by the first assembly of the state legislature:
The sheaf of wheat represents Ohio's agriculture; the seventeen arrows for Ohio being the seventeenth state admitted into the Union; the sun rising is an allusion to coming wealth and prosperity; the mountains, over which the sun rises, are symbolic of Ohio being the first state west of the Allegheny range Allegheny Mountains The Allegheny Mountain Range , also spelled Alleghany, Allegany and, informally, the Alleghenies, is part of the vast Appalachian Mountain Range of the eastern United States and Canada... ; The river represents the Scioto River Scioto River The Scioto River is a river in central and southern Ohio more than 231 miles in length. It rises in Auglaize County in west central Ohio, flows through Columbus, Ohio, where it collects its largest tributary, the Olentangy River, and meets the Ohio River at Portsmouth... . The Great Seal was inspired by the view of the Scioto River Valley from the Adena Mansion (the first governor of Ohio's estate) in Chillicothe. |
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| State tree | |||
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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. 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 Ebenezer Sproat Ebenezer Sproat , surname also spelled Sprout, was an officer of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, a pioneer to the Ohio Country, and one of the founders of Marietta, Ohio, the first permanent American settlement in the Northwest Territory... , the first sheriff Sheriff A sheriff is in principle a legal official with responsibility for a county. In practice, the specific combination of legal, political, and ceremonial duties of a sheriff varies greatly from country to country.... in the Northwest Territory Northwest Territory The Territory Northwest of the River Ohio, more commonly known as the Northwest Territory, was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 13, 1787, until March 1, 1803, when the southeastern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the state of Ohio... and Ohio Country Ohio Country The Ohio Country was the name used in the 18th century for the regions of North America west of the Appalachian Mountains and in the region of the upper Ohio River south of Lake Erie... in 1788. Sproat was dubbed hetuck (trans: buckeye) by the local Indians Native Americans in the United States Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as... , whom he met with in Marietta Marietta, Ohio Marietta is a city in and the county seat of Washington County, Ohio, United States. During 1788, pioneers to the Ohio Country established Marietta as the first permanent American settlement of the new United States in the Northwest Territory. Marietta is located in southeastern Ohio at the mouth... and was ever after known as buckeye. The second notable occurrence—and arguably the more documented—began around the 1840 election of the one time army commander Army of the Northwest (United States) The Army of the Northwest was a U.S. Army unit formed at the outset of the War of 1812 and charged with control of the state of Ohio, the Indiana Territory, Michigan Territory and Illinois Territory.- Campaigns :... and eventual ill-fated 9th President of the United States, William Henry Harrison William Henry Harrison William Henry Harrison was the ninth President of the United States , an American military officer and politician, and the first president to die in office. He was 68 years, 23 days old when elected, the oldest president elected until Ronald Reagan in 1980, and last President to be born before the... . Whig Whig Party (United States) The Whig Party was a political party of the United States during the era of Jacksonian democracy. Considered integral to the Second Party System and operating from the early 1830s to the mid-1850s, the party was formed in opposition to the policies of President Andrew Jackson and his Democratic... convention delegates for Harrison adorned themselves with various buckeye paraphernalia, which Harrison had chosen as his symbol. The buckeye had also been the athletic nickname of the state's largest public university Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly referred to as Ohio State, is a public research university located in Columbus, Ohio. It was originally founded in 1870 as a land-grant university and is currently the third largest university campus in the United States... for decades before a 1953 act of the Ohio General Assembly recognized the Ohio Buckeye as the official state tree. |
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| State flowers | |||
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Cultivated Flower The State flower of Ohio is the Scarlet Carnation. On February 3, 1904, the Ohio General Assembly Ohio General Assembly The Ohio General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Ohio. It consists of the 99-member Ohio House of Representatives and the 33-member Ohio Senate... passed a resolution providing for a state flower to be chosen. The act naming the Carnation as the state flower specified the scarlet carnation for the memory of William McKinley William McKinley William McKinley, Jr. was the 25th President of the United States . He is best known for winning fiercely fought elections, while supporting the gold standard and high tariffs; he succeeded in forging a Republican coalition that for the most part dominated national politics until the 1930s... . McKinley, who was assassinated William McKinley assassination The assassination of William McKinley occurred on September 6, 1901, inside the Temple of Music located on the grounds of the 1901 Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York... in 1901, was one of seven Presidents President of the United States The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces.... born in Ohio. He was reported to have always worn a scarlet carnation in his lapel for good luck, after having received one—from his opponent—during his campaign for the U.S. House of Representatives United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution... . He won the election, and wore a carnation thereafter. Wildflower The Ohio Revised Code, General Provisions, Chapter 5, Section 5.021 names the Large White Trillium Trillium grandiflorum Trillium grandiflorum, commonly known as white trillium, great white trillium, white wake-robin, or in French as trille blanc, is a perennial monocotyledonous plant in the lily family... (trillium grandiflorum) the official wildflower Wildflower A wildflower is a flower that grows wild, meaning it was not intentionally seeded or planted. Yet "wildflower" meadows of a few mixed species are sold in seed packets. The term "wildflower" has been made vague by commercial seedsmen who are interested in selling more flowers or seeds more... of Ohio effective March 5, 1987. The deciding factor in the flower's being selected was that it can be found in all of Ohio's 88 counties. |
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| State Bird | |||
 CardinalNorthern Cardinal The Northern Cardinal or Redbird or Common Cardinal is a North American bird in the genus Cardinalis. It can be found in southern Canada, through the eastern United States from Maine to Texas and south through Mexico... (C. cardinalis) |
Ohio's state bird, the Cardinal Northern Cardinal The Northern Cardinal or Redbird or Common Cardinal is a North American bird in the genus Cardinalis. It can be found in southern Canada, through the eastern United States from Maine to Texas and south through Mexico... (C. cardinalis), was designated the state bird by the General Assembly in 1933. It was then listed as effective in the Ohio Revised Code in 1953. |
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| State Animal | |||
 State Animal – White-tailed deer White-tailed Deer The white-tailed deer , also known as the Virginia deer or simply as the whitetail, is a medium-sized deer native to the United States , Canada, Mexico, Central America, and South America as far south as Peru... |
The White-tailed deer White-tailed Deer The white-tailed deer , also known as the Virginia deer or simply as the whitetail, is a medium-sized deer native to the United States , Canada, Mexico, Central America, and South America as far south as Peru... (O. virginianus) became the official state wild animal in 1988. |
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| State reptile | |||
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The Black Racer Coluber constrictor Coluber constrictor is a species of nonvenomous, colubrid snakes commonly referred to as the eastern racers. They are primarily found throughout the United States, east of the Rocky Mountains, but they range north into Canada, and south into Mexico, Guatemala and Belize... became the state reptile in 1995. |
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| State Insect | |||
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7-spot ladybug, Coccinella septempunctata Coccinella septempunctata Coccinella septempunctata, the seven-spot ladybird , is the most common ladybird in Europe... The insect known as the 7-spot ladybug (or lady beetle), Coccinella septempunctata, was designated as the official state insect by Senate Concurrent Resolution 14, 111th General Assembly, 1975–1976 Session. It was designated Ohio's official insect by Public Chapter 896 of the 99th General Assembly. It is a species from Europe, and not native to North America. |
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| State Fossil | |||
| The Isotelus Isotelus Isotelus is a genus of asaphid trilobite from the middle and upper Ordovician period, fairly common in the Northeastern United States, northwest Manitoba, southwestern Quebec and southeastern Ontario... maximus Trilobite Trilobite Trilobites are a well-known fossil group of extinct marine arthropods that form the class Trilobita. The first appearance of trilobites in the fossil record defines the base of the Atdabanian stage of the Early Cambrian period , and they flourished throughout the lower Paleozoic era before... became the official state invertebrate fossil in 1985. |
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| State Gemstone | |||
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Ohio Flint Flint Flint is a hard, sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as a variety of chert. It occurs chiefly as nodules and masses in sedimentary rocks, such as chalks and limestones. Inside the nodule, flint is usually dark grey, black, green, white, or brown in colour, and... became the official state gem stone in 1965. |
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| State Prehistoric Monument | |||
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The Newark Earthworks Newark Earthworks The Newark Earthworks in Newark and Heath, Ohio, consists of three sections of preserved earthworks: the Great Circle Earthworks, the Octagon Earthworks, and the Wright Earthworks. This complex contained the largest earthen enclosures in the world, being about 3,000 acres in extent. Today, the... became the official state prehistoric monument in 2006 by §5.073 of the Ohio Revised code. |
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| State fruits | |||
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Fruit Tomatoes became the state fruit in 2009. Native Fruit The Pawpaw Asimina triloba Asimina triloba, the pawpaw, paw paw, paw-paw, or common pawpaw, is a species of Asimina in the same plant family as the custard-apple, cherimoya, sweetsop, ylang-ylang and soursop... became the state native fruit in 2009 as well. |
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| State Beverage | |||
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Tomato juice Tomato juice Tomato juice is a juice made from tomatoes. It is usually used as a beverage, either plain or in cocktails such as a Bloody Mary or Michelada.-History:... became the state beverage through a bill passed in 1965. |
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| Groundhog | |||
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Ohio's official Groundhog Groundhog Day Groundhog Day is a holiday celebrated on February 2 in the United States and Canada. According to folklore, if it is cloudy when a groundhog emerges from its burrow on this day, it will leave the burrow, signifying that winter-like weather will soon end... is named Buckeye Chuck. |
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| U.S. Ship | |||
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The USS Ohio is a ballistic missile submarine, which is not only the name of the ship, but the official name of the class of submarine as well. |
State songs
Ohio's official songs include:Beautiful Ohio
Beautiful Ohio
"Beautiful Ohio" is the official song of the U.S. State of Ohio.-History:The first lyrics were written by Ballard MacDonald and the music by Robert A. "Bobo" King, who used the name Mary Earl...
, by Ballard MacDonald
Ballard MacDonald
Ballard MacDonald was a Tin Pan Alley lyricist.Born in Portland, Oregon, among his credits are:Beautiful Ohio, Rose of Washington Square, Second Hand Rose, Parade of the Wooden Soldiers, Back Home Again in Indiana, The Trail of the Lonesome Pine, Play That Barbershop Chord, Clap Hands, Here Comes...
(lyrics) and Mary Earl(music), was adopted as the official state song in 1989.
Hang on Sloopy
Hang on Sloopy
"Hang on Sloopy" is a song by the pop group The McCoys which was #1 in America in October 1965 and is the official rock song of the state of Ohio and The Ohio State University...
, by Wes Farrell
Wes Farrell
Wes Farrell was an American musician, songwriter and record producer, who was most active in the 1960s and 1970s...
and Bert Russell, is the state's official Rock Song
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
, adopted by the General Assembly in 1985. The song was never signed into law, but was enacted through House Concurrent Resolution 16, 116th General Assembly, 1985–1986 Session.
Miscellaneous symbols
| Herb Capital | ||
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Between the late 19th century and early 20th century local residents began to call their city "The Herb Capital of Ohio", in 1972 the name was made official. |
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| Carnation City | ||
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In 1959, the General Assembly named Alliance the "Carnation City" of Ohio. |
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| Bicentennial Bridge | ||
| The Blaine Hill Bridge in Belmont County Belmont County, Ohio Belmont County is a county located in the U.S. state of Ohio. It is part of the Wheeling, West Virginia Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of 2010, the population was 70,400. Its county seat is St. Clairsville... , which was constructed in 1828 as part of the National Road National Road The National Road or Cumberland Road was the first major improved highway in the United States to be built by the federal government. Construction began heading west in 1811 at Cumberland, Maryland, on the Potomac River. It crossed the Allegheny Mountains and southwestern Pennsylvania, reaching... , is the oldest bridge in the state. It was named the state bicentennial bridge in 2002. |
See also
- List of Ohio-related topics
- Lists of United States state insignia
- State of Ohio
Citations & references
- All listed codes (§) are from the General Provisions of the Ohio Revised Code unless otherwise stated. Retrieved in March 2008.