For its 2003 bicentennial, Ohio is doing something that requires the flags of its 88 counties. Some counties, including Trumbull County, don't have flags yet, so they're going to create them. The Trumbull County Board of Commissioners is asking schoolchildren to come up with a county flag. Not being a Trumbull County schoolchild, I have no input on the topic, but I do have some thoughts.

Trumbull County was formed out of the Connecticut Western Reserve in 1800, so it should have some link to Connecticut (and possibly Ohio, of course). It originally had 25 townships, so it could have 25 stars (or 35 for the current number of jurisdictions). The county is a square, so the flag could have a square in it. The county has a tradition of industry, especially steel and auto, and was the birthplace of President McKinley. Matt Walcoff, 20 October 2001

This county flag resulted from a 2002 contest to prepare for Ohio's Bicentennial. A portion of each age group's winning entry was included in the final design. A local artist Jay Sylvester is responsible for the bringing the pieces together into the flag we see today. The white stars stand for twenty-four townships on a field of gold which represents pride in the county. Corn stalk leaves represent agriculture. The six leaves on the left stand for the cities: Warren, Niles, Girard, Hubbard, Cortland and Newton Falls. The five leaves on the right are for the villages of Lordstown, McDonald, West Farmington, Orangeville and Yankee Lake.