MONTAGUE — Inside the Great Hall at the Massachusetts State House in Boston hangs hundreds of town flags representing nearly all the 351 municipalities in the state, and Montague will soon be included.

The flag that will be sent to Boston was debuted during Monday’s Selectboard meeting, with Assistant Town Administrator Chris Nolan-Zeller and Town Administrator Walter Ramsey showing the flag to attendees. The nylon flag displays the Montague town seal in black and blue coloring with an all-white background and a gold fringe.

The Selectboard learned that Montague did not have a flag on display at the State House last year, and the matter was first discussed during an Oct. 21, 2024 meeting.

Originally, the idea for the flag was brought to Ramsey by a resident last summer, and after reaching out to state Rep. Natalie Blais, D-Deerfield, she started working with the town to get a flag in the State House. Administrative Assistant Angie Amidon helped make headway on the project.

“It originated from a resident about getting a flag displayed, and then we got a notice from the office of state Rep. Natalie Blais,” Amidon said in an interview. “Walter [Ramsey] approached [Executive Assistant Wendy Bogusz] and I, and I went online to find a company that did the flags because there are quite a few do’s and don’ts about what the measurements were and what it had to be made of and things like that.”

At the October Selectboard meeting, the board unanimously authorized Ramsey to work with Framingham Flag & Pennant Co. in Shrewsbury to get two flags — one for the State House and one for the town to keep — for a cost of $1,030, funded through the community development discretionary budget.

Peter Whelan, owner of Framingham Flag & Pennant Co., explained in an interview that his company serves municipalities looking to have their flags hung in the State House. The standard that flags must meet is each much be 4 feet by 6 feet, printed on both sides and have a background for the design so there is proper contrast.

Whelan said the flags aren’t stitched due to the complexity of the designs, the cost that goes into stitching the design and the durability of the stitching. Rather, the flags are dye printed for durability, as well as keeping labor costs down.

“Montague’s lettering is so elaborate that you couldn’t possibly stitch [the design] onto a 4 by 6 flag,” Whelan said, adding that the design margin is even smaller, with around 3 feet of space to print the design while accounting for the margins.

Now that the flag is in hand at Town Hall, Blais said she’ll bring it to Boston within the next few weeks.

An unofficial website documents all the municipalities represented at the State House. The database, updated as of Jan. 4, indicates that only three towns in Franklin County — Montague, Hawley and Warwick — do not have a flag at the State House.

When asked about Montague being represented at the State House, Ramsey said he’s glad to complete the project.

“It’s important to be represented out in Boston,” he added.

For Blais, she said she’s “thrilled” to see Montague take the step to have a flag at the State House. One of her first projects as a state representative was bringing the Williamsburg flag to the State House with former state Sen. Adam Hinds and former state Rep. Steve Kulik, and she said she’s happy to be a part of the process for Montague.

“The room that the flag is flown in is really spectacular — light-filled and certainly color-filled with all of the various flags from the municipalities across the commonwealth,” Blais said about the Great Hall. “To have Montague there is really special.”

Erin-Leigh Hoffman can be reached at ehoffman@recorder.com or 413-930-4231.