Few state flags stand out as quickly as California’s Bear Flag.
A grizzly bear strides across a white field. A red star marks the upper corner. The words “California Republic” recall a rebellion that lasted less than a month.
Yet the California state flag did not always look exactly as it does today.
Its story begins in 1846, decades before California officially adopted a state flag. The bear changed. The colors and proportions varied. Even after lawmakers adopted the Bear Flag in 1911, manufacturers produced different versions for more than 40 years.
The history of the California State Flag traces how a hastily made flag of rebellion evolved into one of California’s most enduring symbols.
The California State Flag at a Glance
First Bear Flag raised: June 14, 1846
California statehood: September 9, 1850
Official state flag adopted: 1911
Modern design standardized: 1953
Original flag maker: William L. Todd
Common name: The Bear Flag
The Bear Flag dates back to the Bear Flag Revolt of 1846. California lawmakers officially adopted the design as the state flag in 1911. More than four decades later, the state established the complete design and color scheme that shaped the modern flag.
The Story Behind California’s Bear Flag
In 1846, Mexico controlled California as part of Alta California.
Tensions grew between Mexican authorities and American settlers in the region. Meanwhile, the United States and Mexico had already entered a war, although news traveled slowly enough that settlers in California did not immediately know it.
On June 14, 1846, a group of American settlers took control of Sonoma. They captured Mexican military commandant Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo and other officials and declared a new California Republic.
The rebels needed a flag for their short-lived republic.
William L. Todd, a member of the group and a relative of Mary Todd Lincoln, helped create it. Todd later described using unbleached cotton and attaching red flannel along the bottom. He added a star in the upper-left corner and painted a grizzly bear in the center.
The words “California Republic” appeared beneath the bear.
The rebels raised their new flag over Sonoma on June 14. Their flag soon gave the Bear Flag Revolt its lasting name.
It did not fly for long.
U.S. Navy Commodore John Drake Sloat raised the American flag at Monterey on July 7. Two days later, supporters of the United States lowered the Bear Flag at Sonoma and raised the Stars and Stripes in its place.
The California Republic lasted only a matter of weeks.
Its flag, however, would return.
What Did the Original California Bear Flag Look Like?
Look at an image of the original Bear Flag and the family resemblance is unmistakable.
The basic elements remain familiar:
- A bear in the center
- A single star in the upper-left corner
- A red stripe along the bottom
- The words “California Republic”
But the 1846 flag looked considerably different from the polished California state flag flown today.
Todd worked with materials available at the time rather than following an official government specification. He painted a relatively small, simple bear. The lettering appeared irregular. The proportions and placement of the elements differed from those on the modern flag.
Todd and his fellow rebels created a flag for an immediate purpose, not a carefully standardized state emblem.
That distinction would matter decades later.
What Happened to the Original Bear Flag?
The original Bear Flag survived long after the revolt ended.
The Society of California Pioneers eventually acquired it and preserved it in San Francisco. The 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire destroyed the original flag.
Fortunately, someone had created an accurate copy before the disaster. That copy survives in Sonoma today.
By then, Californians had already embraced the Bear Flag as an important symbol of their state’s history.
There was just one problem.
California still had no official state flag.
California Adopts the Bear Flag in 1911
California entered the Union as the 31st state on September 9, 1850. For more than half a century afterward, state lawmakers never established an official flag.
The Native Sons of the Golden West helped bring the Bear Flag back into prominence. The organization used a version as a marching banner and urged the California Legislature to make the historic design official.
Their efforts succeeded.
In 1911, California lawmakers adopted the Bear Flag as the official state flag. The law established its fundamental elements: the grizzly bear, red star, red stripe and “California Republic” wording.
But lawmakers left something important unresolved.
They did not establish one precise design.
Why Did Early California State Flags Look Different?
Imagine ordering two California flags in the 1920s and discovering that the bears hardly looked related.
That could happen.
The 1911 law told flag makers which elements belonged on the California state flag. It did not provide sufficiently precise specifications for exactly how those elements should look.
As a result, manufacturers interpreted the design differently.
For more than 40 years, Californians flew many variations of the official Bear Flag. The bear offered particularly wide room for interpretation.
Manufacturers changed its size, shape and artistic treatment. Other details varied as flag makers interpreted both the law and the historic Bear Flag.
An early 1919 flag in the California State Capitol Museum collection makes that evolution easy to see. Its bear looks noticeably different from the powerful, detailed grizzly familiar today.
California had an official state flag.
It simply lacked one completely standardized version.
How the California State Flag Changed in 1953
California lawmakers solved that problem in 1953.
They standardized the complete California State Flag design and color scheme. The new specifications transformed a loosely defined state flag into the Bear Flag Californians recognize today.
One of the most noticeable changes involved the grizzly.
California based the modern bear on a 19th-century grizzly bear painting by Charles Nahl, a German-born artist who became known for his depictions of California life.
The standardized design kept the essential visual language of the 1846 flag:
1846: Rebels raised a flag featuring a bear, star, red lower stripe and “California Republic.”
1911: California lawmakers made those basic elements part of the official state flag.
1953: Lawmakers standardized the complete design and colors.
Those changes produced the Bear Flag Californians recognize today.
What Do the Symbols on the California State Flag Mean?
Each major element contributes to the flag’s history and symbolism.
The California Grizzly Bear
The grizzly dominates the center of the flag.
The grizzly bear symbolizes strength, while California State Parks also associates the animal with independence.
The bear carries another distinction. In 1953, California lawmakers named the California grizzly the official state animal. That same year, the state standardized the flag’s modern design.
The Red Star
The five-pointed red star predates the Bear Flag itself.
California legislative history connects the star with sovereignty and the Lone Star of Texas. Its placement on the 1846 flag helped communicate the rebels’ declaration of an independent California Republic.
“California Republic”
These two words create the modern flag’s most direct connection to the events of 1846.
The Bear Flag rebels placed “California Republic” beneath their grizzly. California retained the wording when it later adopted and standardized the flag.
One small detail did disappear.
Todd’s original flag included a period after “Republic.” The modern design does not.
The Red Stripe
The red stripe runs horizontally along the flag’s lower edge and traces directly back to Todd’s original design.
Todd described attaching red flannel to the lower portion of the original flag. California legislative history associates red with courage.
The White Field
White provides the background for the design. California legislative history associates white with purity.
The Green Ground
Today’s grizzly walks across a patch of green ground.
The green adds an important visual element to the modern flag. However, official California sources do not consistently give it the same separate symbolic meaning they assign to the bear, star, white field, and red elements.
Not every detail on a flag necessarily carries an officially documented meaning.
From a Flag of Rebellion to a California Symbol
The California state flag has traveled a remarkable path.
Rebels first raised a handmade Bear Flag over Sonoma in 1846. The 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire destroyed the original, but its design survived.
California lawmakers officially adopted the Bear Flag in 1911. Manufacturers then produced varying interpretations for decades until the state standardized the design in 1953.
Today’s grizzly looks larger and far more detailed than William L. Todd’s original. Precise standards now guide a design that began with cotton, red flannel, paint and an urgent need for a flag.
But its defining elements remain.
The bear. The star. The red stripe. And two words that have endured since rebels raised the original over Sonoma in 1846: California Republic.
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