APRIL 25, 2026 — The City of Paragould, Arkansas, has initiated a public selection process to adopt a new flag, transitioning from a student-led design contest to a formal community vote.
According to the City website, the project is overseen by the Paragould City Beautiful committee and refined by a professional graphic designer, follows specific vexillological criteria such as a four-colour limit and the exclusion of text.
Each of the three finalists utilizes a green colour scheme to denote the city’s position as the seat of Greene County and its status as a Tree City. This initiative aims to establish a permanent visual identity that simplifies the city’s historical and geographic narrative into a reproducible emblem.
The first design proposal features a central orange emblem that references the railroad’s role in the city’s establishment alongside the green and blue horizontal silhouette of Crowley’s Ridge. The composition is intended to represent a community rooted in its heritage while maintaining a forward-looking trajectory.
The second design employs two distinct shades of green to symbolize the partnership of the town’s founders J. W. Paramore and Jay Gould, while maintaining the overarching Tree City theme. The focal point of this candidate is a railroad motif, positioned to acknowledge the infrastructure that facilitated the town’s initial expansion.
The third design candidate focuses on a geometric synthesis of land and history through a heavily green-centric palette. Like the second proposal, it uses dual shades of green to represent the collaboration of the city’s founders in establishing the community. The central imagery features a rising geometric form that serves as a multifaceted representation of both the railroad and the elevation of Crowley’s Ridge.
Image: City of Paragould
