NE JV 14 Published by the New England Vexillological Association
May Nº14 2002 THE SEVEN CITY FLAGS OF CONCORD, NEW HAMPSHIRE by Dave Martucci The Hunting of the Flag At City Hall stage coaches and other hors On April, 25, 2002, my wife Janet So we began our in-person search at drawn vehicles in the 19th Centur and I travelled to three New England City Hall, 41 Green Street, in the office The assistant was sure the colo cities for the purpose of flag research. of the City Clerk, Janice Bonenfant, of the stripes were probably blu The North American Vexillological who is named in the code as custodian and white but as for the other d Association is working on compiling of the information. Her assistant had tails, nothing had been found. Th data on the top 100 US cities by Clerk’s Assistant who helped us sa population plus all of the State capi- she had been meaning to go up tal cities for a special issue of RAVEN, the Council Chambers and see our annual book/journal. We had there is a flag there. Unfortunatel decided every state would have at a meeting was in progress and w least two flags in the book, it’s capi- wouldn’t be allowed to enter. Sh tal and largest city (or second larg- promised to look into that and l est if the capital is the largest). us know. Our mission was to visit the cities The Clerk’s Office also provided u of Concord, capital of New Hamp- with an illustration of the City Se shire; Montpelier, capital of Vermont; also taken from the City Code, A and Burlington, Vermont’s largest ticle 1-2-1. (Article 1-2-2 provid city. Concord proved to be the most for a temporary seal.) It reads: interesting city of these and although The seal of the City shall we had come searching for only one been doing some searching in advance be in the form of a scroll, flag that we knew existed from writ- of our visit because we had emailed with the following device and ten documents on the web, we found them but so far had not received a re- inscription: A field encom- not one but seven flags! ply. All she had come up with for us passed with a scroll; on the I had done some research online was a crude black-and-white photocopy field a view of the State and had located Section 1-2-3 of the of a page out of the City Codes that at House, as existing previous Concord City Code that reads: least had a sketch. It shows a flag of to the 1909 enlargement; City Flag . The City flag shall above, the inscription on, be of the design indicated be- “Penacook, 1725,” with the low with or without the words motto, “The wilderness was “Concord” and “New Hamp- glad for them”; below, the shire” as they appear inscription in scroll, “Con- thereon. The official design cord Adopted City Charter, and color scheme of the flag 1853” the motto, “Law, Edu- will be on file with the City cation, Religion.” The whole Clerk. shall be arranged according The date of adoption given in the to the impression of said seal Code is 10 December 1979. Unfor- dark-light-dark vertical stripes, with a hereunto annexed. tunately, no illustration is provided Concord Coach and the inscription It was also adopted on 10 Decem with the online code. “CONCORD” arched over the top and ber 1979 and no illustration is ava In case you’re counting, that makes “NEW HAMPSHIRE” arched below. able on the web site. two flags, one with the inscription Concord was long famous for the Con- After gathering that rather spar and one without. Both are official. cord Coach manufactory that made information, we decided to look NE14JV NE14JV I should also note the re- around 1950, which seems about 2. It explained the symbols as fol- written, the next step was verse of the flag in use is a right given the further information lows: to present the design at mirror image except that the we uncovered. P a dove holding an olive brach for a public hearing that was inscriptions are not. After we returned upstairs, I peace, which in Latin is “con- scheduled for 13 Novem- We thanked them and went looked over some printed matter cord”. ber 1979 and then a back to the Clerk’s Office about the city’s history and then Ms. P a star showing Concord is the Council vote. As previ- where we showed the photo to Lee recalled she had had a folder State Capital. ously stated, the official the Assistant. She wondered with a newsclipping in it about the P the blue is the color of New flag was adopted less why it was obviously different flag. She called looking for it and at Hampshire. than two months later, City Flag prior to 1950 (defacto). and suggested we go to the that moment it was in the Clerk’s P the Concord Coach represents on 10 December 1979. Obverse of the City Flag presently in use in Concord Public Library, lo- office! Back we went! Concord. The article also states City Hall (defacto). cated right next door, and ask there. Back to City Hall P 1853 is the year the City was in- there were two existing To the Library Back in the Clerk’s Office, the As- corporated. City Flags and the de- At the library, we met Sandi Lee, sistant handed me the clipping. It The article also gave some of the scription of Reference Librar- was published in the Concord Moni- background of the design. It was the neither of ian. After explain- tor on 22 October 1979. The cover result of an eight-month search by them match- ing our quest, she illustration was in full color and a Council Committee. The commit- es the flags immediately stated showed yet another flag (that’s five!) tee, headed by Councillor John F. discovered so there was a City that was being proposed to the City Upton, reviewed “five or six designs far! That Flag downstairs in Council. It shows two unequal ver- submitted by residents and decided makes flags the Auditorium. tical stripes of blue-white and has that instead of picking one, they number six She thought it was a white dove and star on the blue would use the best features of each.” and seven!! pretty old. We and the Concord Coach and two in- The committee “tried out different According made a bee line scriptions, “CITY OF CONCORD, combinations and placements” of to Keith, the down to see it. It N.H.” arched over the top in blue the symbols. City Code as The article also states Wendell and was different than and “1853” in white on a blue scroll it existed in Alternate City Flag adopted 10 December City Flag prior to 1979 (dejure, recon- Ralph Holt, who were owners of “a any of the other below. October 1979 1979 (dejure, reconstructed). structed). flags we had un- The article, entitled “Coach, Dove flag and home furnishings shop on described an around City Hall and maybe go to covered earlier. A fourth flag! And Star Highlight Flag Committee’s South Street” helped with the design official flag as having “three equal- Further Research Needed the City Manager’s Office. In the This flag is made of a synthetic fab- Offering,” by Randall Keith, Moni- and gathered information on pro- sized stripes — white, blue and white We were only able to devote about hallway, we chanced upon a framed ric, probably Nylon, three vertical tor Staff Writer, was printed on page duction costs. At the point it was — with the city seal in the upper left two hours to this research (and look set of photos of each of the City how much we found!). More needs Councillors and Mayor. Each of to be done. Here are some sugges- them was photographed next to a tions for anyone who wishes to fol- City Flag! The photos, however, Editor’s note: NEVA encourages you low up on this: show the flag hanging from a pole to go on down to your local city hall P Search through the Concord and it was hard to make out any or town office and see if there’s a Monitor for 1951 and for Janu- details. We quickly realized this flag municipal flag (and seal). Send us ary-March and November- De- was not the one in the City Code. A your results and photos or other il- cember 1979 for more news ar- third flag! lustrations for publication. If there’s ticles on the flag search. We dragged the assistant out of no flag, we’d be glad to consult with P Try to contact the participants the Clerk’s Office and she looked your municipality about adopting of the 1979 project, if they are over the photos. “That’s the Coun- one. still alive (Randall Keith, John cil Chambers,” she said. Again she F. Upton, Wendell Holt, and City Flag design of 1951 by a local high City Flag adopted 10 December 1979 (dejure, promised to look there for us when Ralph Holt). school student (defacto, reconstructed). reconstructed). there was no meeting. P Look through the City Codes We proceeded to go upstairs to the before 1979 and immediately af- office of City Manager Duncan stripes of white-blue-white, with the hand corner and a white dove in the terwards. Ballantyne. Just inside the door City Seal appliquéd and embroidered middle of the blue stripe.” P See if there are any Council stands a City Flag! We found it! It is in the center, with a dove holding a Another flag was also described. Records from 1979 (and 1951) indeed different than the one pic- red scroll inscribed “NEW HAMP- “The second design was produced in still available. tured in the Code, having only two SHIRE” in gold over the top and the 1951 by a local high school student. P Contact the local Historical So- (unequal) vertical stripes instead of words “CITY OF” in gold on the hoist It has three vertical bars — blue, ciety. three and the Concord Coach and stripe and “CONCORD” in gold on the white and blue — with the city seal This article, with the photos inscription, all letters in blue, in the fly stripe. The flag is in pretty poor in the middle of the white stripe. The taken in Concord and links to the fly stripe. The Manager’s Assistant condition and I made some recom- words ‘City of Concord’ run across the City Officials, is online at allowed us to photograph the flag. I mendations for preserving this trea- bottom of the flag.”