The Flag may be described as: Quarterly Argent (silver) and Gules (red), a cross bottony counterchanged (alternating colors). In the 1st quarter a wheat sheaf Or (gold), fimbriated or outlined in Sable (black); in the 4th quarter an outline map of the county Vert (green), set within a triangle Or (gold).
In 1968, the County Flag was designed by Mrs. Jean O. Hannon in a countywide contest (League of Women Voters of Howard County, Know Your County, 1971). The wheat sheaf represents agriculture, and the map and triangle represent the County's industrial future. Mr. James E. Nicholson, a Baltimore City flag buff, suggested that any future flags be predominantly orange in color (Baltimore Sun, 20 Sept. 1968).
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