<P> A number of municipalities and counties in Ohio have adopted pennants and swallowtails based on the state burgee . The city of Mentor and Adams County have flags that essentially replace the annulus with a seal and modify the pattern of stars in the triangular union . </P> <P> The flag of the Governor of Ohio consists of the Great Seal of Ohio encircled with 13 white stars on a scarlet field, with a five - point star in each corner . Like the state flag, it has 17 stars in total . </P> <P> The Adjutant General's office adopted this design in 1905 to represent the Governor on official occasions . One such flag hangs in the Rutherford B. Hayes Center Library, a memorial to the 32nd Ohio Governor and 19th U.S. President . The design was officially recognized by the 96th General Assembly effective October 3, 1945: </P> <P> It shall have a white star in each of the four corners on an oblong scarlet background with the official seal of the state of Ohio in the center surrounded by thirteen white stars . The proportional dimensions of the flag and of its various parts shall be according to a design approved by the adjutant general and in accordance with the governor's flag used by the adjutant general's office for over thirty years . </P>

Why does the ohio state flag have 17 stars