Howard County's New Flag Celebrated At Special Ceremony

HOWARD COUNTY, MD — The new flag for Howard County was ceremonially raised outside the George Howard Building in Ellicott City for the first time this week.

The Howard County Council formally adopted the flag on May 5 with the passage of Council Bill 22-2025 and Howard County Executive Calvin Ball signed the legislation into law May 6. The ceremony included an honor guard comprised of Howard County Fire and Police Officers as well as Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps cadets from Atholton High School.

"For more than 56 years, Howard County’s former flag flew high. While it served us well as a central symbol of our county, today, we welcome in a new flag, whose lasting design reflects our county’s vibrancy and diversity, is a perfect blend of our past, present and future, and is an inspiration to all who live, work and play here. As we mark the end of a two-year process with this flag raising, I’d like to take a moment to thank all who were involved along the way. From the members of our resident-led Howard County Flag Commission whose time, input, and recommendations led us through the process, to all who took the time to dream up and submit a new flag design for our county, and to our community members who shared their feedback and participated along the way, we sincerely thank you," Ball stated at the flag raising.

Designed by Ellicott City resident Esen Paradiso, Howard County’s new flag features arching lines of gold and white over a field of green and blue. The flag’s design reflects the diversity and inclusion of Howard County’s natural and human resources – a historically proud and future-oriented central Maryland community and represents an evolving agricultural past blended with an optimistic cultural, environmental and economic future which is cosmopolitan, vibrant and thriving, county officials stated.

Paradiso explained that the arch represents both the historical past of Howard County – the Thomas Viaduct in Elkridge and its dynamic future – the Chrysalis in Downtown Columbia. The stripes represent Howard County’s historical and contemporary abundance of agricultural and natural resources.

The golden circle represents the boundless energy of the sun empowering a diverse community with a view toward the horizon, a bright and optimistic future – and a primary color from the Maryland flag as a location anchor for Howard County. The blue represents the optimism of endless skies, the hope of a bright future and the abundance of natural and recreational resources – lakes, rivers and waterways. The green color represents the planned preservation and utilization of the natural environment, the continuing investment in a thriving agriculture economy and the promise of growing a culturally appreciative community.