The flag of the state of Arkansas is a red field charged with a large blue-bordered white diamond. Twenty-nine five-pointed stars appear on the flag: twenty-five small white stars within the blue border, and four larger blue stars in the white diamond. The inscription "ARKANSAS" appears in blue within the white diamond, with one star above and three stars below. The star above and the two outer stars below point upwards; the inner star below points downwards. The design was created by Willie Kavanaugh Hocker of Wabbaseka and selected from a field of 65 entries in a 1912 contest.
Around 1912, when it was discovered that Arkansas did not have a state flag, the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) chapter decided to sponsor a contest to design a flag. Hocker, a member of the Pine Bluff DAR chapter, won with a design that is similar to the current flag. She designed a flag with three blue stars in the middle of a white diamond, surrounded by a blue border charged with 25 stars, on a red field. At the request of the flag committee, chaired by Secretary of State Earle Hodges, Hocker added the word "ARKANSAS" and rearranged the stars to one on top and two on bottom of the state name. This flag was adopted by the legislature on February 26, 1913. In 1923, the legislature added a fourth star, representing the Confederate States of America. The arrangement of the four stars was changed from 2-2 to the current 1-3 a year later.
Proposals for a New Flag of Arkansas[]
A blue diamond to represent the Diamond state, the stars in the center to represent the three governments that have had rule over the state (Spain, France, US) and also representing the three nicknames for the state. The fourth star that represents the confederacy was removed. The green represents the state's motto "The Natural State"
AR Proposed Flag "Vexilo"
AR Proposed Flag "Sammy"
AR Flag Proposal "Jack Expo"
AR Flag Proposal "Andy Rash"
AR Flag Proposal "FlagFreak"
AR Flag Proposal "Tibbetts"
AR Flag Proposal "Graphicology"
AR Flag Proposal "AlternateUniverseDesigns"
Arkansas State Flag Proposal No. 1 Designed By: Stephen Richard Barlow 6 AUG 2014 at 1305hrs cst
AR Flag Proposal "Ben Karnell"
AR Flag Proposal "BigRed618"
Arkansas State Flag Symplistic Proposal. The diamond state with three stars for its three slogans. By Ed Mitchell. 2013.
Arkansas flag proposal 1 by Hans. Jan 2015. (details)
Arkansas flag proposal 2 by Hans. Nov 2015. (details)
Arkansas flag proposal 3 by Hans. Nov 2015. (details)
Arkansas flag proposal 4 by Hans. Dec 2015. (details)
Arkansas flag proposal 5 by Hans. Jan 2016. (details)
AR Proposed Flag "Flylittlecat"
AR Proposed Flag "InfdevMinecrafter"
AR Proposed Flag "Lacourzan1995"
AR proposed flag "5thEye"
AR Proposed Flag "GreatPierre"
AR Proposed Flag "leatherboot"
AR Proposed Flag "vertci"
Ratio 5:8. State Name removed. Diamond turned into a Capital A. Color set changed to light blue and deep red to echo the 1924 flag. Design by Rotten Ali.
Homage to the original Hocker design, simplified. Stars removed from the border to avoid Confederate symbolism.
I have never liked Arkansas' pseudo-confederate flag. When I think of Arkansas I think of green forrests and farmland. Arkansas' official state nickname, after all, is "The Natural State." This is the first of a series of designs for a new Arkansas state flag, with the color Green serving as the unifying element. Posted by Ken Morton.
Much of rural Arkansas is covered by vast pine forests. Green Flag #2. [Based upon an earlier design by NJI Media.] Posted by Ken Morton
Arkansas is the nations number one producer of poultry. Green Flag #3. Posted by Ken Morton
Green flag #4. Posted by Ken Morton
Green Flag #5. Posted by Ken Morton. [I like this one.]
Green Flag #6. Posted by Ken Morton.
Green Flag #7. Posted by Ken Morton.
This design for an Arkansas state flag is based upon the signal flag for the letter "A". Posted by Ken Morton [June 27, 2019]
Version two of a signal flag-based design. Posted by Ken Morton. [June 27, 2019]
Proposed flag for Arkansas; blue, white and red, with a star. Posted by Ken Morton.
The flag combines elements from Arkansas flags dating back to 1912. The diamond shape comes from Arkansas being the first state in which diamonds were discovered. The blue and white color of the stars make reference to a confederate battle flag. The top star represents Arkansas as both a US state and once a Confederate state. The bottom three stars have three separate meanings: The three nations to which Arkansas has belonged (Spain, France, and the U.S.); The Louisiana Purchase, which brought Arkansas into the U.S., was signed in 1803; Arkansas was the third state (after Louisiana and Missouri) formed from the Louisiana Purchase. The green field evokes Arkansas status as “the Natural State." Posted by Preston Knapp [1]
Proposal "less is more" for a flag for Arkansas. The existing flag design is very strong - it's just cluttered with stars and letters. Just take them all off and you're good to go. By Qaz Dec 2019 (details)
Part of series of designs for state flags, all in blue and white. (Posted by Ken Morton)
Dark green to represent the Natural State. Diamond shape remains identical from current flag. Four blue stars rearranged in an 'A' pattern.
AR Flag Proposal "apollohawkridge" based on heraldic design by u/GaggiArt