Rhode Island state symbols

How to read it

Each is named in chapter 42-4 of the Rhode Island General Laws. The bird is “the breed of fowl, commonly known as the ‘Rhode Island red’” (§ 42-4-5, 1954), so the state bird is a farm breed, not a wild species. The flower is the violet, Viola sororia in the statute (§ 42-4-9, 1968, amended 2001), and the tree is the red maple, Acer rubrum (§ 42-4-8, 1964). The motto belongs to the state arms, which the law describes as “a golden anchor on a blue field” with the word “Hope” as their motto (§ 42-4-1). The Department of State gives the day each was adopted: the red maple on March 6, 1964, the violet on March 11, 1968 and the Rhode Island Red on May 3, 1954.

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When the motto dates from

Neither source gives a separate date for “Hope”. The Department of State dates the arms, anchor and motto together, to 1882; the oldest entry in the statute’s history is the General Laws of 1896.

Other official symbols

The state song is “Rhode Island’s It for Me”, words by Charlie Hall and music by Maria Day, adopted in 1996; the Department of State lists it as “Rhode Island Is It for Me”. The state shell is the quahaug, adopted on June 30, 1987.