One hundred years ago today, the Ohio General Assembly accepted a pennant for Buckeyes — the state flag.

        It has become what's probably the second-most recognizable symbol of the Buckeye State, behind the older Great Seal of the State of Ohio.

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        “Even though Ohio was formed in 1803, we didn't get an official flag until 1902,” said Michael Ring, a spokesman for the Ohio Historical Society. “Most people think we had one earlier. There were different, earlier versions of a flag, but this one was the real thing.”

        Ohio's flag is distinctive because it is the only swallow-tailed — or burgee — state flag in the country.

        It will take a prominent role today at Sardinia Elementary in Brown County, and in other schools.

        “We'll have a red, white and blue day, find out some information about the flag on the Internet and discuss the flag,” principal Susan Paeltz said. “I'll give a flag to each classroom. I think the kids need to know about the state flag.”

        When it was selected in 1901, the state flag was little more than an afterthought, said Michael O'Bryant, a Mason educator and historian who researched the flag while writing The Ohio Almanac in 1996.

        “The flag was created only because one was needed to fly over the Ohio Building at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo,” he said.

        The original, now in the Ohio Originals exhibit at the Ohio Historical Center in Columbus, was created by John Eisenmann, architect of the Cleveland Arcade. On April 24, 1902, he transferred all rights to the state. The General Assembly made the flag official on May 9, 1902.

        To celebrate the flag's centennial, the Ohio Bicentennial Commission created a state flag for the Ohio Newspaper Association, which distributed it to member papers. The Enquirer has published a full-page flag today for students.

        “Teachers and parents can use it to help kids learn more about the Ohio flag,” said Lee Yoakum, a spokesman for the commission.

        Unfortunately, the flag's debut at the Pan American Exposition turned sour when, on Sept. 6, 1901, William McKinley — who was from Canton, Ohio — was shot by an anarchist.

        He died in Buffalo eight days later — but in time to see his own state's flag.

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