County Flag

History of the County Flag

Like the Loudoun County Seal, the county’s distinctive flag was derived from the coat of arms which was approved by the College of Arms in London and adopted by the Board of Supervisors in 1968. Loudoun is believed to be the first county in the United States to have a flag based on a coat of arms officially sanctioned by the College of Arms.

Presentation of the Flag

On March 14, 1968, the coat of arms was officially presented to the county by Dr. Conrad Swan, the Rouge Dragon, who was a representative of Queen Elizabeth and a member of the College of Arms. According to a news account at the time, it was the first time the Pursuivant of Arms had performed such a ceremony on American soil.

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The formal reception took place at Morven Park and later moved to the Goose Creek Country Club for dinner. Among the county representatives were William S Leach, Chairman of the Board of Supervisors, and Huntington Harris, the board’s vice-chairman. Harris had been the driving force behind Loudoun County’s efforts to get a coat of arms.

Description of the Flag

The Loudoun County Code of Ordinances describes Loudoun County’s flag in detail:

  • The edging of the flag consists of green indentation with white or silver drops, suggesting milk drops. The ermine field contains nine green wheat symbols in each field.
  • The flag is rectangular and consists of eight alternating red and ermine right triangular fields with the bases of the triangles forming the border of the flag and the apexes of the triangles converging in the center of the flag.
  • The flag represents the agricultural background of the county (the green color); the Monroe Doctrine and President Monroe’s association with the county (the indented or “embattled” edging); and the dairy industry, still so important to the county (the white or silver drops suggestive of milk).