Rhode Island’s State Flower

Rhode Island was the first of four states to select a violet as an official flower, yet it was the last state to officially adopt an official flower.

In the late 1890s, a Rhode Island School Commissioner named Thomas Stockwell organized a vote for a state tree. Next, he tackled the state flower.

Students from various precincts voted for their favorite flowers. The ten flowers receiving the most votes were then listed on an official ballot. Students were asked to vote for their favorite among the ten finalists.

The results were announced on Arbor Day of 1897. The violet had won with 10,013 votes. The other flowers, listed in decreasing order, were the rose, pansy, pink, arbutus, goldenrod, water lily, lily, daisy, and buttercup.

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But Rhode Island’s grown-ups seemed rather bored with the whole affair; the violet wasn’t officially adopted.

The next year, Stockwell put together a special Arbor Day program for public school teachers and students. The theme was the violet. Professor W. W. Bailey of Brown University nominated the bird foot violet, Viola pedata, as Rhode Island’s official flower.

But it would be more than half a century before Rhode Island finally adopted a state flower. A teacher and politician named Francis (Frank) Sherman finally decided Rhode Island had waited long enough. He introduced a state flower bill, and the violet was adopted on March 11, 1968.

Thus, Rhode Island was the last state to adopt an official state flower, though other states continue to change their designations.

Image courtesy
of the Santalady

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