The Story Behind the Lowell City Flag

On June 14, 1777, an act was established the official flag for the United States of America, originally with 13 stars upon it.  The 13 stripes represent the 13 original colonies and a star is placed on the flag for each of the 50 states in the nation is what most think of.  June 14 was proclaimed Flag Day by President Woodrow Wilson but it wouldn’t be until the 1940s when the day was established by an act of congress.

The City of Lowell has its own flag.  Not many know it exists or what it looks like.  But it is real. Not a tale passed down through generations about a large furry being in the woods or a strange looking creature living in the water.  The flag is real even if its history is a bit hazy.

Representing Lowell
The history of the City of Lowell flag does have origins that many centuries back.  In fact, it has only been decades since the creation of the flag. Two decades to be exact.  In 1998, Councilmember Jeanne Shores, who would go on to become Lowell’s first female Mayor, thought Lowell should be able to participate in an upcoming parade of flags during a Michigan Municipal League conference.  “Jeanne wanted to march in this little ceremony and do one more thing to show off our little community. And we were one of only perhaps 20 Cities without a flag.” says former mayor Jim Hodges, reflecting on the origin of the flag.  It was important for Shores that Lowell be represented alongside approximately 100 other cities and their flags.

With an idea in her mind, Shores went to work making a future Lowell City flag a reality.   A contest ensued to design the flag with Shores selecting the winner. The winning image represented Lowell as an image of a showboat and two rivers.  Our research did not reveal who submitted this image.

Did you know Lowell had a city flag? Do you like it, or think it should be changed to something like the City’s paddle wheel icon?

1 Comment

  1. Ginny Bieri Gauger was the contest winner. It is a Lowell ledger article and can be easily googled.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.


*