Alaskan History
The Benny Benson Memorial in Seward, and 13-year-old Benny with his flag, 1927.
Alaska’s Flag Eight Stars of Gold on a Field of Blue In 1926 Territorial Governor George A. Parks decided an important step on Alaska’s path from territorial status to statehood was having a flag. Since the purchase of Alaska from Russia in 1867 the only flag which had flown over the land was the U.S. Stars and Stripes; every other territory had its own flag, so why not Alaska? Governor Parks engaged the Alaskan Chapter of the American Legion, and a plan was soon formulated to hold a contest, open to Alaskan schoolchildren in grades 7 through 12, to design a flag for the territory of Alaska. Contest rules were circulated throughout the territory in January, 1927. The rules stipulated that the first stage of the competition would take place at a local level, with each town setting up a panel of judges to determine the ten best local designs. These would be forwarded to Juneau, where the final competition would take place. The idea proved popular and more than 700 entries were submitted. Finally, after months of deliberation, 142 designs were chosen and sent to Juneau for final consideration by the selection committee. Among them was a simple blue flag with eight gold stars, designed by a 13-year-old Aleut boy from Seward.
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