Maine Flag Status — Is the Flag at Half-Staff Today?
The current status could not be loaded just now. The national status is on the main flag page.
Who lowers the flag in Maine
In Maine, flags are lowered by order of the Governor and announced through the state website. Maine sits at the eastern edge of the country, so it reaches sunrise and sunset before anywhere else in the contiguous United States — a Maine flag goes up first in the morning and comes down first at the end of an order.
The flag of Maine
A blue field bears the state coat of arms: a shield with a pine tree, a moose, and the motto “Dirigo” above a North Star — flanked by a farmer with a scythe and a seaman with an anchor.
Maine on the American flag
Maine’s star joined the national flag on July 4, 1820 — the Fourth of July after admission, as the Flag Act of 1818 provides.
Sunrise and sunset in Augusta
The flag is raised at sunrise and lowered at sunset. Today at the state capital:
How Maine became a state
Maine had been the northernmost district of Massachusetts since the 1650s. It separated from Massachusetts and joined the Union on March 15, 1820 as a free state, part of the Missouri Compromise that admitted Missouri as a slave state on the same political timetable.
Admitted March 15, 1820 — the 23rd state.
Maine at a glance
Did you know
- Maine produces about 80% of the U.S. lobster harvest.
- It is the only U.S. state bordered by only one other state (New Hampshire).
- Eastport is the easternmost city in the U.S.
- About 90% of Maine is forest.
Born or raised here: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (poet; Portland) · Stephen King (novelist; Portland) · Edna St. Vincent Millay (poet; Rockland) · Andrew Wyeth (painter, longtime resident) · Joshua Chamberlain (Union general; Brewer)
Official source
Orders are announced by the Governor’s office.
Common questions.
Is the flag at half-staff in Maine today?+
The status above answers that for today. A national half-staff order applies in Maine as it does everywhere else; the Governor can also lower flags within the state independently.
Who orders flags to half-staff in Maine?+
In Maine, flags are lowered by order of the Governor and announced through the state website. Maine sits at the eastern edge of the country, so it reaches sunrise and sunset before anywhere else in the contiguous United States — a Maine flag goes up first in the morning and comes down first at the end of an order.
Does a county order mean the whole of Maine lowers its flags?+
No. A county or single-facility order (the State Capitol, for instance) applies only where it says it does. This page shows those separately from the statewide status precisely so the two are never confused — if the status above reads full-staff, Maine has no statewide order in effect regardless of any local one.
When should the flag be raised and lowered in Maine?+
The flag flies from sunrise to sunset. Today at the state capital, Augusta, those times are shown above. On the final day of a half-staff order that runs "until sunset", the flag returns to full height at the local sunset — which is why the West Coast stays lowered a few hours after the East.
Flag status for every state, and the day in American history — one page, every morning.
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