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Fairmont, West Virginia (U.S.)

Marion County

image by Masao Okazaki, 18 July 2022
based on photo located by Daniel Renteria, 18 July 2022

Flag
Seal
Variant flag
Rejected proposal (1918)

See also:

Flag

Here is an article mentioning the flag, and its designer, Janice Watts: https://www.timeswv.com/news/local_news/fairmont-woman-recalls-designing-city-s-flag/article_ed235cc2-aac8-549a-a336-9e0f27e752db.html

You can also see the flag of Fairmont flying at https://www.google.com/maps/
I have also added a closer-up image of the flag (which has a different design from the one shown in the flagpole, not too sure why) from https://www.reddit.com/r/vexillology/comments/t2u1gs/fairmont_west_virginia_flag/
Daniel Renteria, 18 July 2022

To summarize the information in the Times West Virginian, the flag of Fairmont was adopted on June 5, 1984 after city manager Ed Daley announced a city flag contest. The top three designs were picked by a judging panel and the winner was chosen by the city council. The top three designs all received a $50 savings bond.

The yellow circle in the flag represents friendship in "the Friendly City", Fairmont's nickname. Inside of it three rivers are depicted coming together, the Tygart Valley and West Fork rivers forming the Monongahela River. A miner's pick and shovel are shown representing ties to the coal industry.

Some notable stories about this flag include: being presented to a gold-medal winner at the 1984 Olympics native to Fairmont, a Russian delegation to the college, and finally also being used in a time capsule.
Daniel Rentería, 2 December 2023

Seal

image located by Paul Bassinson, 16 February 2020

Source: https://www.fairmontwv.gov/
Paul Bassinson, 16 February 2020

Variant flag

image by Masao Okazaki, 18 July 2022
based on photo located by Daniel Renteria, 18 July 2022

Rejected proposal (1918)

image located by Daniel Rentería, 2 December 2023

At one point in 1918, The West Virginian announced a $10 prize for the best design of a Fairmont municipal flag. This contest was to close on September 1. The winning design was announced on the night of December 16, a sketch of this being approved by the Chamber of Commerce. A good amount of entries were also received for this contest.

This winning design had a blue background and a gold fringe. In gold leaf letters with black outline are the words "City of Fairmont, W. Va." and "Incorporated 1843." Painted in natural colors is a depiction of a coal mine and an oil derrick, set in a West Virginia landscape. It also seems, although the wording is a bit tricky, that the ring's outlines are in gold as well. The designer of this flag was H.J. Kistner, a painter who had just moved from Fairmont to California. This flag was intended to be used more ceremonially, along with the American and state flags.

However, it seems the city council rejected the flag due to its cost, and there was some annoyance reflected in the newspaper's issues until a few years after the fact. I am certain this flag had very little or no use at all.

Drawing of the flag from the December 17, 1918 issue of The West Virginian.
Daniel Rentería, 2 December 2023