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Columbia, South Carolina (U.S.)

Richland County, Lexington County

image located by Dave Fowler, 5 February 2020

Current Flag
Former Flag
Seal
Police Department

See also:

Current Flag

The City of Columbia has adopted a new flag: https://www.postandcourier.com/free-times/news/local_and_state_news/it-s-official-columbia-adopts-a-new-city-flag/article_78c92b12-47a7-11ea-8b60-873866c4c120.html

Columbia City Council on Feb. 4 concluded a more than three-year, at-times rambling process of selecting a new city flag to replace the antiquated corn-and-cotton festooned banner that had flown over the city for more than a century. Council chose a flag created by design studio/print shop The Half and Half.

It features a deep blue field, with two lighter shades of blue and a streak of white flowing diagonally across the flag, with a six-point star in the left corner. “It speaks to, I believe, not only who we are, but who we hope to be as a city,” Mayor Steve Benjamin tells Free Times. “It symbolizes the rich land that exists at the corner of the connection of the Saluda and Broad rivers, which form the Congaree and laid the foundation for [the city].

“The star references not only [being] the capital, but I think it also references, in a positive way, the resilience of this place after [the burning of the city] in 1865. In a way that’s positive, it hearkens back to our past.” Council adopted the flag at the Feb. 4 meeting, and will ratify the decision at its next meeting.
Dave Fowler, 5 February 2020

Former Flag

2:3 image(s) by permission of David B. Martucci
image(s) from American City Flags, Raven 9-10 (2002-2003), courtesy of the North American Vexillological Association, which retains copyright.

Text and image(s) from American City Flags, Raven 9-10 (2002-2003), courtesy of the North American Vexillological Association, which retains copyright. Image(s) from American City Flags by permission of David B. Martucci.

Design

The flag of Columbia has a dark blue field. In its center is the city’s seal with a diameter of 3 units on a field of 6:9. The seal has two concentric yellow circles around its outer circumference, one inside the other, forming a ring with a dark blue field. CITY of COLUMBIA S.C. curves clockwise over the top and JUSTITIA VIRTUTUM REGINA curves below, counterclockwise, all in white. In the center of the seal, facing outward, is a female figure, Justice. Blindfolded, she holds the scales of justice in her left hand, which is slightly raised; in her right hand she holds an unsheathed sword, point on the ground. Her gown is white, with a brown lining visible at her feet and in the drape on her left side. She stands on yellow ground, the background behind her is sky blue. In the field curving on either side of the seal are a stalk of corn on the hoist side and a cotton plant on the fly side. The corn plant has green leaves, two yellow ears of corn with brown tassels, and a third ear of corn at the top with only the brown tassel. The cotton plant has green leaves, a brown stem, and four white cotton tufts. Both plants are large, and occupy about 4.5 units of the field, top to bottom.
John M Purcell, American City Flags, Raven 9-10, 2002-2003

Symbolism

The seal shows Justice reigning symbolically. Corn and cotton were the principal crops in the Columbia area when the flag was adopted.
John M Purcell, American City Flags, Raven 9-10, 2002-2003

Selection

A contest was held, with a $25 prize going to the winner.
Flag adopted: 1912 (official).
John M Purcell, American City Flags, Raven 9-10, 2002-2003

Designer

A local schoolteacher, whose name has been lost in official records.
John M Purcell, American City Flags, Raven 9-10, 2002-2003

More about the Flag

The flag was developed as a memento for the men and women from Columbia who have served in the United States Armed Forces.
John M Purcell, American City Flags, Raven 9-10, 2002-2003

In addition to the city flag on a dark blue background, there appear to be a couple of other variants. A light blue version is visible in the mayor's office:
media.thestate.com/smedia/2013/08/16/17/45/7FhUz.AuSt.74.jpeg
www.blackmeetingsandtourism.com/images/stories/apr_may_09/jul_aug11/Mayor_in_office.jpg
media.thestate.com/smedia/2014/06/25/20/10/wvj9O.AuSt.74.jpeg
www.seanrayford.com/img/s8/v15/p1149358736-11.jpg

There also appears to be a logo flag, on a gray background: 2.bp.blogspot.com/-TPngKXmSL1c/UE4PzYfIT9I/AAAAAAAAAlI/7jYFGTTKM1Y/s1600/IMG_7176.JPG which uses this logo: www.free-times.com/archives/images/23_30/famously_hot_logo.jpg
Dave Fowler, 5 July 2014

Seal

image located by Paul Bassinson, 25 November 2019

Source: https://www.columbiasc.net/
Paul Bassinson, 4 March 2019

Elmwood Park

image located by David Sigley, 22 October 2024

The flag is a vertical white field with the neighborhood logo in the center.

The flag for sale on the neighborhood association's Website: https://www.historicelmwoodpark.org/store/p/flag
David Sigley, 22 October 2024

Police Department

image located by Randy Young, 7 July 2014

Several glimpses of the Columbia Police Department's flag can be seen in the photo stream of the department's Facebook page.

The Columbia Police Department flag features the department's shoulder patch centered on a navy blue field. The flag in many of the photos has a gold fringe when displayed indoors.

Randy Young, 7 July 2014