The flag of Indiana was designed by Paul Hadley and officially adopted by the state of Indiana on May 31, 1917. It was the state's first official flag and has remained unchanged since then except for the creation of a statute to standardize the production of the flag.
Originally described as the state "banner", the name was changed to "flag" by the 1955 Indiana State General Assembly.
On a field of blue, the flag displays a torch, colored gold or buff, surrounded by an outer circle of thirteen stars and an inner circle of five stars.
The flaming torch stands for "Liberty and Enlightenment" The six rays radiating from the torch are meant to symbolize the expansive nature of those two concepts. The thirteen stars of the outer circle represent the thirteen original colonies of the United States. The five stars of the inner circle represent the next five states admitted to the Union. The largest star, positioned at the top of the torch and below the state name, represents Indiana, the nineteenth state.
