FORTISVEX Rhode Island State Flag 6x10 Feet Nylon - Made in USA with Brass Grommets

Once you reach 6x10 feet you have left house flags behind. Sixty square feet is commercial size for a commercial flagpole, and this is the last size built with grommets before the construction switches to rope.

This is the Rhode Island state flag at 6x10 Feet (60 square feet) in nylon, made in the United States and finished with brass grommets.

Built to the Rhode Island flag specification

The Rhode Island flag is set out in the Rhode Island General Laws provisions on the state flag. It is a white field with a gold anchor encircled by thirteen gold stars and a blue ribbon carrying the motto Hope.

The current design was adopted in 1897.

Rhode Island General Laws Section 42-4-3 gives five feet six inches by four feet ten inches and then adds the words, or in these proportions. The statute authorizes scaling in as many words.

We reproduce that design faithfully, in the standard outdoor flag sizes the whole industry uses and that the states themselves buy. What matters on an outdoor flag is that the colors, the seal and the emblems are right, and they are.

The law that defines it, in its own words

Rhode Island General Laws Section 42-4-3 reads:

The flag of the state shall be white, five feet and six inches fly and four feet and ten inches deep on the pike, bearing on each side in the center a gold anchor, twenty-two inches high, and underneath it a blue ribbon twenty-four inches long and five inches wide, or in these proportions, with the motto "Hope" in golden letters thereon, the whole surrounded by thirteen (13) golden stars in a circle. The flag shall be edged with yellow fringe. The pike shall be surmounted by a spearhead and the length of the pike shall be nine feet, not including the spearhead.

The statute writes the measurements with foot and inch marks in parentheses; they are spelled out here.

You do not have to take our word for any of that. Read Rhode Island General Laws Section 42-4-3 in full at Justia, and check what we sell against it.

It is the real flag we produce, not a simplified version.

What is on it and what it means

The anchor is hope, a colonial symbol used since the seventeenth century. The thirteen stars are the original states and Rhode Island as one of them.

Worth knowing about this flag

It is one of only a handful of state flags on a white field, and it is normally made with gold fringe, which is part of the specification rather than an optional extra.

Where the Rhode Island flag flies

No citizen state capitol program was confirmed. the white state flag flies over one of the world's largest self supported marble domes. On Rhode Island Independence Day, the fourth of May, commemorating the 1776 Act of Renunciation in which Rhode Island was the first colony to renounce allegiance to King George the Third, the Department of State opens the State House on a special Saturday, encourages residents to display the state flag, and sells large Rhode Island flags at the State House Visitor's Center. The original Act of Renunciation is held by the Department of State and viewable at the State Archives.

Fly it on Rhode Island’s birthday

Rhode Island became the 13th state on May 29, 1790. Under the United States Flag Code as amended July 7, 1976, a state flag flown on the state’s birthday takes its place beneath the United States flag, and that day is the one date every year the Rhode Island flag has an official reason to go up.

Buy it now and it is on the flagpole for the day. The full list of state birthdays is on our state birthdays page.

Nylon or polyester in Rhode Island

Polyester leans favorable given near total coastal and Narragansett Bay salt exposure and wind at Providence. Nylon only well inland.

Sixty square feet makes this a commercial flag, and on an exposed site from the list above, the right material is the difference between one season and three.

What you have here is the nylon, appropriate for the sheltered and moderate wind sites listed above, for any house bracket, and for anywhere the flag is brought down during storms. Two things decide it: it is light, flying on an ordinary breeze rather than going limp, and it dries fast, which is the defense against mildew in humidity. The trade is ultraviolet durability — nylon’s amide bonds break under sun, fading and weakening faster than polyester, and it loses about a tenth of its strength wet. For an exposed site on the list above, the polyester version is worth a look instead.

One more thing that decides it, and it is the part people only learn after buying twice: a nylon flag flies on days a polyester flag will not. If the flag matters to you on a still morning, on a holiday, at a funeral, at a ceremony, that is an argument for this one even on a site where the polyester would last longer. A flag that hangs is not doing its job either.

The benchmark institutions generally lean on comes from the American Legion: the federal government's own expectation is about ninety days for a daily sunrise-to-sunset flag, and roughly a quarter of that flying around the clock. Retailers report three to six months for nylon flown daily, four to eight months for polyester, and one to three years for occasional flying. Treat those as working estimates rather than a warranty, since exposure can shift them a great deal.

How the 6x10 Feet is built

Four rows of stitching is enough for a house flag; sixty square feet is not a house flag, and the fly end needs six rows to handle the force it actually generates.

Here is the arithmetic: 60 square feet of nylon at roughly two ounces a square yard. A thirty mile an hour wind sends the fly end moving faster than the wind itself, since the wave traveling toward the tip picks up speed as it goes — which is why the tip wears out first, and why the fly end's stitching count is the figure to check on any listing.

Proper folding at this size needs two people and clear ground. Sixty square feet is too much fabric for a tailgate fold.

With lock stitching, every stitch knots into its neighbor, so damage stays contained at the break instead of running down the seam. Read 6 rows not as 6 times the strength but as 5 backups. This size puts the most sustained strain on the heading of anything on the flag, so it is built two inches wide, heavy duty white and reinforced, with brass grommets and tooth washers.

This flag is commercial grade nylon, light enough to move in a gentle breeze, and it sheds water instead of soaking it up, drying fast — which matters, since a wet flag is a heavy flag that works its own seams harder. UV resistant, field tested ink is what stands between the flag and the sun, since sun is what fades a flag over time.

A design that reproduces cleanly

An anchor, thirteen stars and a short motto. No seal, which keeps it well clear of the expensive end, though the white ground shows soiling.

For what it is worth, the North American Vexillological Association surveyed 72 state, provincial and territorial flags in 2001 and rated them from zero to ten. The Rhode Island flag placed 28, at 6.12 out of 10.

Will it fit my flagpole?

This size wants an in-ground flagpole between thirty and forty feet.

Questions about the 6x10 Feet

What size flagpole for a 6x10 foot flag? Thirty to forty feet. At this size the flag is commercial and the flagpole has to be an in-ground pole with a truck and halyard.

Why does the 6x10 foot flag have grommets when the 8x12 foot flag has a rope? Sixty square feet is the most two brass grommets can be asked to carry. Above this the load is spread along a rope sewn the length of the heading.

Does a 6x10 foot flag need a heavier flagpole? A sixty square foot flag in a gust loads a flagpole hard. If the pole was sold for a 4x6 foot or 5x8 foot flag, check its rating before stepping up.

The last size on grommets

This is the boundary: everything larger switches to a full-length sewn rope because two grommets cannot hold the load. The 6x10 foot flag runs six rows of stitching and a two inch heading while staying just inside the grommet range.

Specifications

• Size: 6x10 Feet
• Area: 60 square feet
• Material: 100 percent nylon
• Fly end: 6 rows of lock stitching
• Heading: heavy duty white, reinforced, 2 inch
• Finish: Brass Grommets
• Ink: UV resistant, field tested
• Made in the United States by FORTISVEX

Which size do I need?

Both tables come down to one ratio: the flag’s length wants to be a quarter to a third of the flagpole’s height. When a size sits on the border between two rows, the smaller flag will fly on more days and outlast the bigger one, while the bigger flag is the one people notice from further off.

If you know your flagpole height, start here.

• 6 Feet house bracket: 2x3 Feet or 3x5 Feet
• 15 to 20 Feet flagpole: 3x5 Feet or 4x6 Feet
• 20 to 25 Feet flagpole: 4x6 Feet or 5x8 Feet
• 25 to 35 Feet flagpole: 5x8 Feet or 6x10 Feet
• 35 to 45 Feet flagpole: 6x10 Feet or 8x12 Feet
• 45 to 60 Feet flagpole: 8x12 Feet or 10x15 Feet
• 60 to 80 Feet flagpole: 10x15 Feet or 12x18 Feet
• 80 to 100 Feet flagpole: 12x18 Feet or 15x25 Feet
• 100 to 120 Feet flagpole: 15x25 Feet or 20x30 Feet
• 120 to 150 Feet flagpole: 20x30 Feet or 20x38 Feet
• 150 to 200 Feet flagpole: 20x38 Feet or 30x50 Feet
• 200 to 240 Feet flagpole: 30x50 Feet or 30x60 Feet
• 240 Feet and above: 30x60 Feet or 50x80 Feet, engineered to the flagpole

If you know your flag size, start here.

• 2x3 Feet: 4 to 8 Feet bracket or garden flagpole
• 3x5 Feet: 6 Feet bracket, or 15 to 20 Feet in-ground flagpole
• 4x6 Feet: 18 to 25 Feet in-ground flagpole
• 5x8 Feet: 25 to 35 Feet flagpole
• 6x10 Feet: 30 to 40 Feet flagpole
• 8x12 Feet: 40 to 50 Feet flagpole
• 10x15 Feet: 50 to 60 Feet flagpole
• 12x18 Feet: 60 to 80 Feet flagpole
• 15x25 Feet: 80 to 100 Feet flagpole
• 20x30 Feet: 100 to 120 Feet flagpole
• 20x38 Feet: 120 to 150 Feet flagpole. This is the garrison size under Executive Order 10834, at a one to one point nine ratio rather than the two to three of the commercial sizes, and it is the size flown at the White House and the Capitol
• 30x50 Feet: 150 to 200 Feet flagpole
• 30x60 Feet: 200 to 240 Feet flagpole. This is the largest standard commercial size
• 50x80 Feet: 240 Feet and above, engineered to the flagpole

That same ratio keeps working past a hundred feet, but at that point the flag and the flagpole are no longer separate purchases — the truck, the halyard, the foundation and the wind load all have to be sized together, and a flag chosen without checking the flagpole first damages the pole rather than itself. A handful of well known installations deliberately run past the rule of thumb, and every one of them did it with an engineer, not a chart.

The full range is available to order even where a size is not shown on the site. If what you need is not listed here, ask and we can still get it made.

About the back of the flag

A printed flag's reverse face is a mirror image of the front, and that is standard, not a fault — it describes most of the flags flown across the country. Double sided construction, which reads correctly from either face, sews two flags together with a liner and roughly doubles both weight and price. Single sided remains standard, and correct, unless a state's statute specifically calls for double sided.

Flying it with the United States flag

Title 4, Section 7 of the Flag Code is the source for this. The United States flag is never subordinate in position — nothing flies above it, and nothing takes its place at the viewer’s left when flags are level with each other. On matched flagpoles, the United States flag takes the viewer’s left and the flags should be sized the same; on unequal flagpoles, it goes on the taller one; and on a single pole flying two flags, it goes at the top. There is no penalty for civilians who do not follow the Code, but institutions treat it as the standard regardless.

Buy two and they both last longer

The simplest way to make a flag last is to own two and rotate them monthly — that alone outlasts three flags flown to failure, because rest lets the fabric recover and the fly end is not hammered day after day. Take it down ahead of real storms, since one bad night of wind can undo six good months. Watch the fly end, where fraying starts, and a quick repair there is worth a whole extra season.

For cities, counties, schools and agencies

Our state flags go to municipalities, school districts, fire and police departments, courthouses and state agencies regularly. Tax exempt purchasing is handled on the tax exempt page. For quantity, a replacement schedule, or a size outside this listing, use the contact page.

Why buy it from us

We are a small, American-based company that stocks what it lists. Every flag is made in the United States, uses UV resistant ink, and is finished to the standard described above rather than cut down to hit a price. One flag that lasts is worth more to us than three that do not. Free shipping applies over twenty five dollars.