Ohio's state flower is the scarlet carnation. The government chose this
flower in honor of President McKinley. He always wore one on the lapel
of his coat.
The state bird is the cardinal. The cardinal became the state bird in 1933.
Cardinals are easily spotted because of their crest.
The state flag of Ohio is different from other state flags. Ohio's state
flag is a burgee. A burgee is a narrow, triangle shaped flag. Ohio adopted
its flag in 1902.
The Iroquois named the tree the buckeye because they thought the seeds
looked like a buck's eye. (A buck is a male deer.)
"Beautiful Ohio," written by Ballard MacDonald became Ohio's state song in 1969.
I sailed
away:
Wandered
afar;
Crossed
the mighty restless sea;
Looked
for where I ought to be.
Cities
so grand, mountains above,
Led to
this land I love.
CHORUS
Beautiful
Ohio, where the golden grain
Dwarf the
lovely flowers in the summer rain.
Cities
rising high, silhouette the sky.
Freedom
is supreme in this majestic land;
Mighty
factories seem to hum in tune, so grand
Beautiful
Ohio, thy wonders are in view,
Land where
my dreams all come true.
Twenty years later the words needed changing so the Ohio legislature adopted
new lyrics written by a lawyer from Youngstown, William McBride.
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