Editing Flag of Minnesota (section)

===1893 flag===
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 | header            = Flag of Minnesota, 1893–1957
 | image1            = Flag of Minnesota (1893–1957).svg
 | caption1          = Obverse
 | image2            = Flag of Minnesota (1893).svg
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In 1891, the Minnesota legislature voted to sponsor an exhibition at the [[1893 Chicago World's Fair]], and in response then governor [[William Rush Merriam]] appointed a board to supervise the preparations. The board comprised only men, but preparations specific to the showcasing of "women's work" were passed off to an all-women group of volunteers known as the Women's Auxiliary Board. Minnesota had no official flag at that time, and the Auxiliary Board formed a six-person committee to design a flag. The committee held a contest to design the flag, and 200 entries were submitted. In February 1893, Amelia Hyde Center was announced the winner and received $15 ({{inflation|US|15|1893|fmt=eq}}){{inflation/fn|US}} for her winning design.<ref name="flag origin">{{Cite web|url=https://www.leg.state.mn.us/webcontent/leg/symbols/flagarticle.pdf|title=The Origin of the Minnesota State Flag|last=Becker|first=William|website=Minnesota State Legislature|access-date=August 10, 2017|archive-date=March 3, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303184704/http://www.leg.state.mn.us/webcontent/leg/symbols/flagarticle.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> The Board then successfully petitioned the legislature to officially adopt the design as the state flag.<ref name="design-23-minnpost">{{cite news |last1=Convery |first1=William |title=Who designed the Minnesota state flag? |url=https://www.minnpost.com/mnopedia/2023/07/who-designed-the-minnesota-state-flag/ |access-date=25 October 2024 |work=MinnPost |date=July 10, 2023 |archive-date=September 15, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240915224224/https://www.minnpost.com/mnopedia/2023/07/who-designed-the-minnesota-state-flag/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
[[File:Minnesota_state_flag_makers_(1893).png|left|thumb|The women who designed it<ref>{{Cite news |last=Humanities |first=National Endowment for the |date=1893-10-13 |title=St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, October 13, 1893, Minnesota Day Edition - World's Fair Edition, Image 10 |url=https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn90059522/1893-10-13/ed-1/seq-10/#date1=1756&sort=relevance&rows=20&words=banners+flag+state&searchType=basic&sequence=0&index=15&state=&date2=1963&proxtext=state+flag+banner&y=0&x=0&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=12 |access-date=2025-05-13 |issn=2168-0116}}</ref>]]
Center's design was white on the [[Obverse and reverse|obverse]] side and bright blue on the reverse side. In the center of both sides<ref>{{Cite web |title=First state flag by Fjelde sisters {{!}} Collections Record {{!}} Minnesota Historical Society |url=https://collections.mnhs.org/search/collections/record/6093d0b3-a27b-474f-a398-5ee5b36672db |access-date=2025-05-02 |website=collections.mnhs.org |language=en}}</ref> was the [[Seal of Minnesota#History|state seal]] wreathed in white [[Cypripedium acaule|moccasin flowers]] overlaying a ring of blue. The seal depicted a farmer using a plow while a Native American figure on horseback rides to the west. A red ribbon across the seal bore a motto, {{Lang|fr|[[L'Étoile du Nord]]}} (in [[French language|French]], "The Star of the North"). The years 1819 (establishment of [[Fort Snelling]]), 1858 (statehood), and 1893 (adoption of the flag) appeared in gold around the seal. "Minnesota" was written in gold under the seal, and 19 gold stars, representing the fact that Minnesota was the 19th state to be admitted after the [[Thirteen Colonies|original 13 states]],<ref name="govser">{{cite web |title=State Symbols |url=http://www.house.leg.state.mn.us/hinfo/govser/GOVSER2.pdf |website=Minnesota House of Representatives |access-date=August 20, 2009 |archive-date=December 24, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181224225136/http://www.house.leg.state.mn.us/hinfo/govser/GOVSER2.pdf%20 |url-status=live }}</ref> were arranged in clusters to form the five points of a star. Historians have noted the design was likely influenced by various flags used by Minnesota's [[infantry]] regiments during the [[American Civil War|Civil War]], many of which consisted of a blue field emblazoned with either an American eagle or the state seal with a scroll.<ref name="flag origin" />

The first flag was made of silk and was embroidered by [[Pauline Fjelde|Pauline]] and Thomane Fjelde, who won a gold medal for their creation. The flag was adopted on April 4, 1893.<ref name="Pioneers">{{cite web|url=http://www.mnterritorialpioneers.org/info/flag.htm|title=Flag of the State of Minnesota|author=MN Territorial Pioneers, Inc|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101025215334/http://www.mnterritorialpioneers.org/info/flag.htm|archive-date=October 25, 2010|url-status=dead|access-date=February 20, 2011}}</ref>