With more than 70,000 residents located in the heart of Montgomery County, the city of Gaithersburg is one of the largest cities in Maryland. The city occupies approximately 10 square miles in the geographic center of Montgomery County and its southeastern border lies just 13 miles from the northwestern border of Washington, DC, according to the city website. Now, Gaithersburg is working on ideas for a new City Flag.
Mayor Jud Ashman confirmed that ideas for a new flag are being worked on after a social media post from an account dedicated to bringing the city a new flag. Mayor Ashman said, “We are working on ideas for a new City flag. Nothing ready to show yet, but I’m excited about the project.”
According to the City of Gaithersburg, The logo, which can be found on the city’s current flag, is an oak tree encircled by a green “G,” which reflects the small-town ambiance of Gaithersburg and the importance of the environment in the city’s past, present & future. It is representative of the famed Forest Oak tree, a 300 year-old landmark that was felled by a wind storm in 1997.
The peony is the city flower, commemorating the large peony gardens of Edward Schwartz. He cultivated 40,000 plants of 400 different varieties on land that is now home to Gaithersburg City Hall. Some of the peony plants survive at City Hall and at nearby Seneca Creek State Park.
We’ll have an update, with any finalized ideas for a potential new flag for the city, as soon as the information is available.