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Preston County, West Virginia (U.S.)

image by David Zigler, 7 January 2023
based on photo

Flag
Seal
Bicentennial seal

- indicates flag is known.
- indicates it is reported that there is no known flag.

Municipal flags in Preston County:

See also:

Flag

The Preston County flag was adopted on June 16, 2018 after a Bicentennial flag and seal contest and was originally used as a Bicentennial flag until the county commission decided that they would keep it and use it as the official county flag. It was designed by Abbie Belanger from the Town of Bruceton Mills who submitted her design during the flag contest and won the contest.

The flag is a white field with with the Bicentennial emblem in the center. It is made up of a black ring with the county outline in the center. Two scrolls inscribed with the county name surround the county outline. In between the scrolls are two Rhododendron flowers, the West Virginia state flower which can be found in the county as well. In between the flowers is the number 200, referencing the number of years (at the time of adoption) the county existed. above and beneath the county outline are the two years 1818 and 2018, the years the county was founded and it's bicentennial year.

The Preston County Journal wrote an Article about the adoption of the Bicentennial County flag and Emblem:

Simplistic beauty is how Preston County Commissioner Don Smith described design of the Bicentennial flag unveiled at the Monday commission meeting. Preston High School freshman art student Abbie Belanger of Bruceton Mills had her design chosen from 135 submitted for consideration. She lives with her father, Nick Belanger “When I received the announcement my piece was chosen, I thought, ‘This is news to me,’” Abbie said. “I was anxious and nervous coming here today. And knowing this was going from a tiny design to a flag is exciting.”

Commission President Craig Jennings said the design would be turned into the county flag after this bicentennial year. “We will have them for sale around the county,” Jennings said. Smith said the choice wasn’t easy, as there were many good designs with eight art classes of work to consider. “We narrowed it down to six designs,” Smith said. “And one of the things we were looking at is how do we get this design on a flag.” Smith said they made a couple of minor changes to Belanger’s design, but it is largely the same. “We added the years on the flag and removed the Buckwheat Festival from the design,” Smith said. Abbie said she actually had three different designs, but with this one, she wanted to make Preston County itself the centerpiece.

“I wanted to add a ribbon to it and put Preston County on the ribbon,” Abbie said. “And then with the blank space in the middle I put the 200 for the bicentennial.” Abbie said she looked at it for a while and thought it needed something, and that is when it came to her to put the rhododendron, the state flower, on it. “It took me about a day to put the design together,” she said. Her art teacher is Emily Harmon, who called Abbie an amazing artist. “I have some pretty great artists in my classes, and Abbie is amazing, but I don’t think she always recognizes that in herself,” Harmon said. “She was very surprised to get this. She actually told me the name of someone she thought was going to be chosen.” Harmon said some kids need a little push and be recognized for their talent. “It is amazing to see kids who are recognized for their work,” Harmon said. “Then they begin to see their potential and think, ‘Wow, maybe I can do some amazing things.’”

The commissioners said in addition to a county flag for sale, the bicentennial committee would be looking into producing garden flags and perhaps banners for residents to purchase to celebrate the county. In conjunction with the 200th anniversary of Preston County, a bicentennial committee has been formed by several organizations. Plans are being made for celebrations throughout the county over the next year with a large celebration June 16. One of the highlights of the June 16 events will the display of the historic courthouse bell that is still in the planning stages. The next bicentennial committee meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. Wednesday in the County Commission meeting room.

Links:
Article about the flag: https://www.wvnews.com/prestoncountynews/news/bicentennial-flag-design-unveiled
Google Streetview of the county flag at the former chamber of commerce building: https://www.google.com/maps/
Dominion post article showing a more clear view of the flag: https://www.dominionpost.com/
David Zigler, 7 January 2023

Seal

image located by Paul Bassinson, 3 April 2019

Source: https://www.prestoncountywv.gov/images/logopcb.png
Paul Bassinson, 3 April 2019

Bicentennial seal

image by David Zigler, 7 January 2023