San Diego County, California (U.S.)

Last modified: 2016-03-22 by rick wyatt
Keywords: san diego county | california |
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image by Jens Pattke, 1 May 2001

• Description
• Colored variant
• County seal

- indicates flag is known.
- indicates it is reported that there is no known flag.

Municipal flags in San Diego County:

Chula Vista Coronado Escondido Imperial Beach La Mesa

Oceanside Poway San Diego Solana Beach

See also:

• Counties of California
• Municipal flags of California (index page)
• California
• United States of America

Description of the flag

Here is the image of the flag of San Diego County in the state of California, red-white-green (unequal bands) with county seal in center.
Source: Gaceta de Banderas 20; SEV
Jens Pattke, 1 May 2001

Colored Variant

image by Zachary Harden, 4 November 2006

From the flags I have seen in the county, the seal is not in black and white but is colored.
Zachary Harden, 4 November 2006

A photograph showing the county flag with the colored seal in the background of a meeting of the County Board of Supervisors can be seen at http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2005/01/12/news/top_stories/20_17_051_11_05.txt.
Ned Smith, 5 November 2006

County Seal

From www.co.san-diego.ca.us:

"Architect Samuel Hamill was responsible for creating the design of the seal of San Diego County, which was explained in detail by the Board of Supervisors:

The central element of the seal is a double-headed axe rising from a bundle of sticks, which served as a symbol of authority in ancient Rome. Also included in the seal are the stars and stripes of the United States, a stylized dolphin representing the fruits of the sea, and a horn of plenty representing the fruits of the land. A clipper ship recalls San Diego's historic background of the sea, and the airplane looks into the future. Mt. Palomar Observatory represents a world renowned achievement in science and San Diego's position on the threshold of scientific history. The observatory overlooks an orange grove, which reflects the agricultural riches of the county. Encircling the seal is the motto "The Noblest Motive is the Public Good"--a quotation from Virgil that was chosen by the Building Committee as the motto to adorn the Civic Center Building. At the bottom is the date 1851, which is the date the county was founded. [ Resolution of the Board of Supervisors of San Diego County; February 11, 1937.]

The choice of this design elicited considerable confusion among the citizens, many of whom did not understand what it was meant to represent. One citizen commented "this emblem which is to adorn the Civic Center... represents nothing in the Heavens above, nor the Earth beneath, but is an object of mirth to you men. Still since it is to cost the tax payers 1,000 bucks it is nothing to make merry over." [ W.J. Dougherety. Letter to the Board of Supervisors of San Diego County. February 20, 1938. Records of the Board of Supervisors of San Diego County.] Despite such complaints, the seal was officially adopted by the Board of Supervisors in 1937, replacing an earlier seal that had been chosen in 1933. It adorned the northern entrance to the Civic Center until the city moved out in 1964, when it was also placed over the southern entrance."