The Texas State Flag: Lone Star Meaning, History and How to Fly It

We sell one state flag, and it is Texas. That was not an accident. The Texas state flag is the one customers ask us about by name, and it comes with more rules written into state law than any other flag we know. When we rewrote this post, we went straight to Chapter 3100 of the Texas Government Code and read every section. Some of what we found settles arguments we hear every week.

TL;DR: The Texas state flag is the 1839 national flag of the Republic of Texas: a blue vertical stripe with one white five-pointed star, beside two horizontal stripes, white over red. State law assigns a meaning to each color. It may fly at the same height as the US flag on a separate pole, but never higher, and the US flag goes on the left as you face them.

What the Texas State Flag Looks Like by Law

Texas spells out the design precisely in Government Code § 3100.002 (>Texas Government Code ch. 3100). We paraphrase the key points here:

• The flag is a rectangle with a width to length ratio of two to three.
• One blue vertical stripe takes up one third of the length.
• Two equal horizontal stripes fill the rest, white on top and red below.
• One white five-pointed star sits in the center of the blue, one point up, sized so a circle through its points equals three fourths of the blue stripe's width.
• The red and blue match the US flag, defined as Pantone 193 red and 281 dark blue.

One detail we like: the statute's 2:3 ratio matches a 4x6 flag exactly. A 3x5 is the size most people fly, and it is close, but the 4x6 is the one that matches the letter of the law.

Texas Flag Meaning: Bravery, Purity, Loyalty

The meaning is written into the same statute. "The red, white, and blue of the state flag represent, respectively, bravery, purity, and loyalty." That is § 3100.002(c), word for word. The star itself is the Lone Star, the symbol of Texas as a single, independent republic, and it gives the state its nickname. The official retirement ceremony in § 3100.152 adds its own reading: the blue for the valor of ancestors, the white for purity, the red for those who died in service of the state.

Texas State Flag History: Republic First, State Second

The current design dates to January 25, 1839, when the Congress of the Republic of Texas adopted it as the national flag. The statute's own words: "The state flag is the 1839 national flag of the Republic of Texas." When Texas joined the Union on December 29, 1845, the flag of the republic became the flag of the state. The retirement ceremony text in state law calls it "one of only two flags of an American state that has also served as the symbol of an independent nation." That is the state's claim, and Texans repeat it with pride.

Now the myth.

Here is where we have to correct a story we hear constantly, including from customers who know Texas history far better than we do. The legend says Texas is the only state allowed to fly its flag at the same height as the US flag because it was once a nation. Texas law says the two flags should fly on poles of the same height, with the US flag to the observer's left (>§ 3100.055). Every other state can do the same thing. The federal Flag Code lets any state flag fly at the same height on a separate staff, as long as the US flag holds the position of honor on its own right (>4 U.S.C. § 7). No state flag may fly higher. Texas included. The legend is a good story, and we understand why it survives, but nothing in the law supports it. We would rather tell you that than sell you a myth.

How to Fly the Texas Flag: The Rules in Chapter 3100

We get asked about these rules so often that we put them in one table.

Texas also has its own pledge, set in § 3100.101: "Honor the Texas flag; I pledge allegiance to thee, Texas, one state under God, one and indivisible." When both pledges are said, the pledge to the US flag comes first.

The vertical rule trips people up.

How the Texas Flag Ranks

In the North American Vexillological Association's 2001 survey of 72 flags from US states, Canadian provinces and US territories, Texas placed second with 8.13 out of 10, behind only New Mexico (>NAVA survey results, archived). NAVA noted that Texas briefly took the lead after the survey was mentioned on a radio show on Texas Flag Day. We will let Texans decide what that says.

Our Texas Flag

We carry a Texas flag with an appliqued star and sewn stripes, made in the USA from nylon in three sizes from 3x5 to 5x8. It has a reinforced polyester header with brass grommets. The fly hem, the edge that takes the most wind, is quadruple-stitched. It lives in our Texas flags collection. Flying it beside the Stars and Stripes? Pair it with a US flag of the same size. Our Durable Patriot is 100% nylon too, so the two flags fly and wear at a similar pace. Our flag size guide matches size to pole height.

Same height. US flag on the left.

Texas State Flag Questions

Can the Texas flag fly at the same height as the US flag?

Yes, on separate poles of the same height, with the US flag to the observer's left and raised first. But this is not unique to Texas. Federal rules let any state flag fly at the same height on its own pole. No state flag, Texas included, may fly above the US flag.

What do the colors of the Texas flag mean?

Texas Government Code § 3100.002(c) assigns the meanings: red for bravery, white for purity, blue for loyalty. The Lone Star stands for Texas as a single republic. The red and blue are the same colors as the US flag, defined in the statute as Pantone 193 red and 281 dark blue.

When was the Texas flag adopted?

The Congress of the Republic of Texas adopted the design on January 25, 1839. State law calls the state flag "the 1839 national flag of the Republic of Texas." It became the state flag when Texas entered the Union on December 29, 1845.

Which way should the Texas flag hang vertically?

Blue stripe on top, with the white stripe to the observer's left of the red stripe, per § 3100.059. Hung horizontally, the white stripe goes above the red and to the observer's right of the blue stripe. Flying it with the red stripe on top is reserved as a distress signal.

What is the Texas pledge of allegiance?

"Honor the Texas flag; I pledge allegiance to thee, Texas, one state under God, one and indivisible." It is set in Texas Government Code § 3100.101. When both pledges are recited, the pledge to the United States flag is said first, and people face the flag with the right hand over the heart.

What size Texas flag should I buy?

Match it to your US flag and your pole. On a house bracket we suggest 3x5. On a 20 ft yard pole, 3x5 or 4x6. Our Texas flag comes in three sizes, and the 4x6 matches the 2:3 ratio in the Texas statute exactly.

Keep reading: From 13 Stripes to 50 Stars: The History of the American Flag.