Welcome to the Buckeye State! Ohio’s symbols can really make a person think. It is the only state with a flag that isn’t rectangular, for example. And yet it ranks among the nicest state flags. (Continued below)
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| Nicknames & Slogans | |||
| Nicknames | The Buckeye State, Mother of Modern Presidents | 1953 | |
| Symbols of State | |||
| Motto | With God, All Things Are Possible | 1959 | > |
| Song | Beautiful Ohio | 1969 | > |
| EcoSymbols | |||
| Flower | scarlet carnation (Dianthus caryophyllus) | 1904 | > |
| Wildflower | large white trillium (Trillium grandiflorum) | 1986 | > |
| Tree | Ohio buckeye (Aesculus glabra) | 1953 | > |
| Fruit | tomato (Lycopersicon esculentus) | 2009 | > |
| Native Fruit | pawpaw (Asimina triloba) | 2009 | > |
| Bird | cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) | 1933 | > |
| Animal | white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) | 1988 | > |
| Reptile | black racer (Coluber constrictor) | 1995 | > |
| Amphibian | spotted salamander (Ambystoma maculatum) | 2010 | > |
| Frog | bullfrog (Rana catesbeiana) | 2010 | > |
| Fish | [none] | ||
| Insect | ladybug (Coccinellidae) | 1975 | > |
| Gemstone | Ohio flint | 1965 | > |
| Invertebrate Fossil † | trilobite (Isotelus) | 1985 | > |
| Fossil Fish † | Dunkleosteus maximus | 2021 | |
| Soil | Miamian (unofficial)  |
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| Cultural Symbols | |||
| Artifact | Adena pipe | 2013 | > |
| Prehistoric Monument | Newark earthworks, Licking county | 2006 | > |
| Beverage | tomato juice | 1965 | > |
| Bicentennial Bridge | The Blaine Hill bridge in Belmont County | 2002 | > |
| Rock Song | Hang on Sloopy | 1985 | > |
| Flag Salute | 2002 | > | |
There are some tragic stories behind the state flower (the scarlet carnation) as well as the nickname Buckeye State. Instead of calling Ohio the Mother of Presidents, maybe we should call it the Mother of Dead Presidents. The color red is repeated on three other symbols—the cardinal, tomato, and tomato juice.
It also has three symbols that have a lot to say about the first Americans—flint, the Adena pipe, and the Newark earthworks. Actually, the nickname Buckeye State has a Native American origin as well.
Ohio’s official fossils take us even farther back in time—much farther, The official fossil fish, Dunkleosteus, was a monstrous creature that only a scientist could love. However, 21st-century Ohio is a pioneer in aviation as well as conspiracy theory.
If you think state flags and flowers are nothing more than trivia, guess again. A thorough exploration of the more than 1,500 items adopted as state symbols embraces geography, history, and psychology.
You have found the best state symbols website, but it’s just the tip of the iceberg. The introduction above is adapted from Geobop’s State Symbols and My State Symbols Book, by far the biggest and most detailed state symbols references ever. You can learn still more about the symbols of the 50 states in the books Flag Quest and Grading the States. (Learn more about them here.)
After you spend some time exploring your favorite state’s symbols, you can come back here and tell us what you think about them.
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