Historic Hood River
Coe Flag
6-12-2015
Notes
In honor of Flag Day this Sunday:
This is the Coe Flag on its 150th anniversary in 2011. The flag is one of the most cherished artifacts at our museum, and only comes out for special events and with very special handling. The Coe flag was gifted to Hood River County by Henry Coe in 1924. The flag was flown for the first time in 1861 on the 4th of July.
Creating an 8′ by 12′ flag was no simple task in 1861. Nathaniel Coe traveled to Portland by steamer to purchase the red, white and blue bunting for this flag, and Mary Coe took the stripes to the Dalles to be sewn together on the nearest sewing machine. Local women hand stitched the field of stars on the blue background.
Norma
Thirty-three stars for the 33rd state, Oregon.
Norma
Sorry, now I am counting 34!
Arthur
Kansas added the 34th star in 1861, so this would likely have been the first 34 star flag in the region.
L.E.
That is a treasure that the entire Gorge should be aware of and cherish.
This would have been during the time of the civil war. Lots of meaning to each of those stars.
Zigmar
Do you know the names of the Scouts?????
Arthur
Great question Zigmar. I know just who to ask. I’ll try to get him to fill us in on the names.