Oregon City residents may soon see a new city flag flying over municipal buildings as early as next month, nearly four decades after the current flag was adopted.
On Wednesday, the city’s five-member commission selected the new flag’s final design, which features the following elements:
- Upper white horizontal and vertical stripes that form the shape of the Oregon City Municipal Elevator while also evoking Indigenous fishing platforms
- A lower white stripe representing Willamette Falls
- A green stripe representing the McLoughlin Promenade
- A green square symbolizing the parks and town squares envisioned in the city’s original plat
- A blue field representing the confluence of the Willamette and Clackamas rivers
Oregon City’s current flag, adopted in 1989, features the city seal centered on a blue background, surrounded by a dozen stars. The flag is not flown over city buildings today.
The seal, topped by a bald eagle and enclosed within a blue oval bordered in gold, bears the words “1844” — the year of the city’s incorporation — and “City of Oregon City” at the top and the phrase “End of the Oregon Trail” at the bottom…