# 4284 - 2008 42c Flags of Our Nation: Florida

 

Issue Date: September 2, 2008
City: Washington, DC

 

The first state flag of Florida was created in 1868. It consisted of the State Seal of Florida on a white field. At the time, the Florida State Seal contained a female Western Plains Indian scattering flowers with a steamboat, cocoa tree, and mountains in the distance. 

 

In 1900, at the suggestion of Governor Francis P. Fleming, a red cross (known as Saint Patrick’s flag) was added behind the seal to prevent it from looking like the white flag of truce. Some 85 years later, realizing the inaccuracies of the current seal, the Florida state government changed its design. It now has a Seminole Indian woman, a sabal palm tree (the official Florida state tree), a more appropriate boat, and no mountains. 

 

Florida’s first capitol building was built in 1845. In 1973, construction began on a new capitol building, which was completed in 1977. Five years later, the old building was restored to its 1902 state and converted to a museum honoring Florida life and government. 

 

The Florida state motto, “In God We Trust,” was first incorporated into the state seal in 1868. In 2006, it was made the state’s official motto by then-Governor Jeb Bush. 

 

The Florida State Flag stamp is part of the 2008 Flags of Our Nation Series.