The Maine State Flag Shop

The original Maine flag of 1901 featured a pine tree in the center with a blue star in the corner.  Pine trees were very important to the shipbuilding industry and the star symbolized Maine being the northern most state at the time. 

In 1909, a new flag was modeled after flags used in the American Civil War.  It featured the state coat of arms on a blue field. The same blue used in the American Flag. In the center of a heraldic shield, a moose rests under a tall pine tree. A farmer and seaman represent the traditional reliance on agriculture and the sea by the state.

The North American Vexillological Association (NAVA) conducted a survey in 2001 that ranked Maine's current flag as one of the worst in design.  Amongst the 72 U.S. state, U.S. territorial and Canadian provincial flags, Maine's flag ranked 60th (13th worst).  NAVA criticized the unoriginality of "[state] seal on blue bed-sheet" design, which is currently used by over half of the flags of U.S. states; Maine is one of 26 U.S. states that use a blue flag with the state arms or seal on them.

In November of 2024, the state is planning to hold a referendum on whether to restore the 1901 flag or keep the current one. The referendum had initially been scheduled for 2023, but the Maine Legislature delayed it until 2024. The Legislature then attempted a further delay until 2026, which was vetoed by Governor Janet Mills.  On August 5, 2024, the winner of the flag redesign contest was announced, with honors going to Adam Lemire of Gardiner, Maine.  His design, chosen out of more than 400 entries, features a pine tree modeled after one he saw in Viles Arboretum in Augusta, Maine. It has sixteen branches, one for each of Maine's counties.  Lemire's design will become the new Maine flag should the referendum pass.