Maine Will Vote on a New State Flag

For more than a century, Maine’s state flag has been a bit cluttered.

Against a blue backdrop, it depicts a farmer and a sailor standing on either side of an emblem that shows a moose beneath a pine tree. A star appears at the top, along with the state motto, “Dirigo,” Latin for “I lead.”

This week, Maine announced the winner of a flag redesign contest that state residents will be able to vote on this fall.

Out of more than 400 submissions, the winning flag came from Adam Lemire, an architect from Gardiner, a town of roughly 6,000 residents in Kennebec County. Mr. Lemire’s minimalistic design shows an eastern white pine and a blue North Star against an off-white background.

Those who entered the contest were asked to follow guidelines that would make their designs similar to the state’s original flag, known as the Pine Tree Flag, which was used in the first decade of the 20th century.

Maine’s old flag has experienced a wave of popularity since the state’s 2020 bicentennial celebration, appearing on hats, T-shirts, tote bags and license plates. Mr. Lemire retained the simplicity of the original design while putting his own spin on the pine.